We see a lot of our customers and colleagues get burned during the process of implementing a new LMS. Most of the time, they are caught off guard by unforeseen events and situations. Here are a few of those events and situations:
- Requirements do not match actual features. Assumptions made by customers, promises made by salesmen and lack of depth in product demos are typical reasons for this.
- Content does not work in the new environment. Even SCORM conformant content may and often does behave differently in different systems. SCORM can be interpreted differently by different systems. The SCORM standard also includes numerous ‘optional’ items that may or may not be supported by SCORM conformant systems and tools. Security is often an issue with a new LMS environment. Something as simple as a reserved character (%, #, &, etc.) or use of spaces in file names can cause issues in a system that can be hard to track down.
- Data migration is more difficult than assumed. Most people focus on the technical aspect of data migration, but the more complex aspect is often the data itself. Deciding what to keep and how to reorganize it can be a logistical nightmare.