When to Invest in a Learning Experience Platform

Are you considering investing in a learning experience platform? Should you focus your energies and budget somewhere else and stick with your learning management system? How will you know when the time is right to go with an LXP?

In “How to Choose a Learning Experience Platform,” Theresa Decker provides guidance on making the decision, selection tips on moving forward with an LXP, and strategies for implementation and launch. Decker also outlines key considerations for the technology in the long term.

Are You Ready to Go?

Learning management systems have long been the tool of choice to deliver and track tracking. A traditional LMS is more about efficiency and compliance, shares Decker, while an LXP prioritizes the learner’s journey, “fostering a more engaging experience through features such as personalized learning recommendations, a robust user interface with customized environments, curated content from diverse sources, and social learning functionality.”

Beyond the main capabilities of the varying technology, it’s important to explore whether your organization is ready for an LXP in other respects. The learning ecosystem needs to align with company goals, stakeholder needs, and take into consideration risks and constraints.

A few questions to ponder include:

• Who are your subject matter experts? How do they usually share knowledge with those who need it?

• What governance mechanisms do you currently have in place to provide structure and oversight around learning initiatives?

• How do learners currently consume and engage with learning content?

Moving Forward

Let’s say you’ve decided that it makes strategic and economic sense to invest in an LXP and that you’ve made and sold the business case for doing so. “Work with decision makers early in the process to define a clear timeline and outline key milestones and deadlines. Plan with dependencies in mind such as existing or upcoming technology contracts, internal risk reviews, and budget cycles,” recommends Decker.

You may want to send out a stakeholder questionnaire to collect input on needs, priorities, and pain points. In addition to the questionnaire, ask stakeholders in-depth questions about all requirements for the new platform, not only functionality but also security, usability, integration capabilities, and reliability.

Conduct market research to explore potential solutions, identifying six to seven vendors that match your criteria, then send them a request for information. From the top-tier vendor candidates, ask for more information about capabilities, then ask for demonstrations. Have the selection team attend the demos to ensure the final vendor will best meet the necessary criteria, making sure that all vendors are treated equally.

Implementation

Platform configuration is the heaviest lift, says Decker. You’ll need to be mindful of governance structure and pay attention to global settings. Along with other platform owners, determine what content you will migrate to the new system, aligning decisions with the organizational learning strategy and emphasizing learner experience. Choose how you will package learning materials.

Some questions to consider:

• Will L&D migrate all enrollments, or just those that are in progress?

• Does the new platform enable users to migrate duplicate completions, or only the most recent one?

• What do the reporting and analytics processes require?

• What records do managers and other stakeholders require the system to have?

You’ll also want to think through system roles (such as administrators, content creators, and instructors) and the scope of each.

We Have Lift Off

Decker specifies that “success depends on user adoption, and a user adoption strategy requires effective change management through all phases of the LXP project … An LXP implementation is a major change effort that requires a defined and measurable change management plan.”

This means starting a communications plan at the early stages of the project. The methods should be based on user needs and should include a variety of organization-wide and team-specific channels and feature an executive presence when possible.

Create persona-based user enablement resources with the right materials at the right time for that audience. Think bite-size training videos rather than long step-by-step guides. Leverage system functionality to engage and motivate learners—for example, gamification and platform success stories.

Make It Worth the Effort

The LXP project team has put in a lot of effort to ensure success, and the organization has devoted significant economic resources to get to launch day. Build in a structured process for ongoing maintenance of the LXP. “A governance strategy is a great way to standardize internal processes about platform management, create accountability across system roles, mitigate potential risks and ambiguity, and guide decision making about content, user access, quality assurance, data security, and platform usage,” writes Decker.

Stay informed about industry best practices and explore potential future features and content delivery methods. Enjoy the true spirit of learning when it comes to your LXP: curiosity, openness, and the willingness to make mistakes, concludes Decker.