Earlier this year, Expertus participated in the CLO Symposium, where we had discussions with 23 senior learning executives about a variety of training-related topics. Again and again, executives expressed a high level of frustration with learning management systems (LMSs).

Our recent survey on LMSs also showed significant challenges. About 55% of survey respondents listed customization as their top LMS challenge. Integration was next highest. Almost 40% of respondents said their companies don't use the latest versions of their installed LMS. Reasons for not upgrading include lack of budget (38%), impact on previous customization work (32%), uncertainty about version stability (32%), and lack of technical resources (25%).

Why the problems? Are they part of the package, so-to-speak?

Not necessarily so! But, avoiding major problems does require some upfront thought and a realistic perspective.

Work on LMSs - whether an implementation, an upgrade, or a consolidation - requires in-depth technical expertise with both the LMS application as well as a wide range of other applications, tools, and content. Even if your LMS is a stand-alone application today, we can guarantee that you'll want integration in the future.

We've found that most companies require LMS customization - whether the LMS is hosted or installed behind a corporate firewall - in order to achieve the application's promised benefits. Most companies simply don't have the technical resources for such work, despite what their IT teams may say. And LMS projects are too important to be viewed as training projects.

Anyone who touches your LMS application also should have what we call "domain expertise" - a thorough understanding of corporate learning and its best practices. For instance, if you implement an LMS based solely on your current needs, you'll likely find yourself "trapped" and limited within the next year or so. While there's no need to over-engineer, it's highly important to consider likely future needs and de facto standards for corporate training.

LMSs are highly sophisticated applications that offer great value - if you handle them with care. If you've got questions about the direction you're taking on an LMS-related project, contact me. We're happy to offer an objective and practical perspective.