6 LMS Requirements Categories: Customer Ed Nugget 32

Customer education systems are built around a variety of unique features. Yet these platforms often overlap with employee-focused LMS solutions in multiple ways. That’s why it’s important to recognize that enterprise learning systems aren’t mutually exclusive — and the lines continue to blur.

But what does that mean if you need to choose a customer-oriented LMS? Which capabilities matter most? Good question.

As a longtime learning systems consultant, I’ve seen more purchasing missteps than I can count. I’ve also seen many successful outcomes. What sets them apart? In my experience, the most reliable way to get strong results starts with a full, accurate set of requirements.

It’s a bit tricky, but it’s worth the effort. Because repeatedly, I’ve seen strong requirements help buyers avoid costly pitfalls that slow the buying process or derail it completely.

By fully documenting your needs before you sign a contract, you make it easier for vendors to understand the opportunity and recommend a solution that works. Ultimately, this means you’ll spend more time delivering customer education and getting the outcomes you want.

So, what should you know about defining your LMS requirements? Join me as I take a closer look on this Customer Ed Nuggets mini-podcast…

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Inside 6 Core LMS Requirements Categories

Let’s look closer at the elements of a comprehensive LMS requirements framework…

1. Business Goals

Leading with your business goals is essential, because everything else flows from this. Outline your business situation, customer experience realities, and performance objectives. For example:

• What do you want to accomplish through customer education and why?
• How do you define your target audience?
• Do you want to educate new or existing customers, channel sales personnel, your own sales and customer service teams, or multiple audiences?
• Are you currently addressing these needs?
• What additional context will clarify your current situation?

2. Use Cases

Next, think about each audience segment you want to serve. Are their needs and behaviors similar, or do they vary? For each type of learner, define how they should interact within a learning system environment. The more details you include in these scenarios, the better. For instance:

• When new customers log-in, what are their needs, intentions, and expectations?
• How do you currently respond to these interests and motivations?
• In what ways do these drivers shift for long-time customers?
• Where are the gaps between current realities and your desired approach?

Also, don’t forget administrators, instructors, product managers, and other stakeholders:

• How do you envision the system assisting these people in their daily roles?
• What specific actions or information will help them better meet their needs and move your business needle?

You may have only one use case, or many. Regardless, the key is to specify each in enough detail to clarify how a learning system should fulfill those needs.

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3. Functionality

These days, it’s easy to get distracted by the endless stream of new LMS features — especially when AI is inspiring so many cool advances. But don’t be tempted into thinking that if 50 functional elements are good, 5000 will be 100x better.

What really counts is whether the system you choose has solid features that support everything you, specifically, need to accomplish.

For example, say you’ve mapped 5-10 different use case scenarios. It’s not unusual for each scenario to have at least 5-10 steps requiring specific LMS features. So, if you do the math, that’s perhaps 100-150 different functional requirements. Not 5,000.

Remember: requirements that fit your use cases matter most. So, if a vendor doesn’t offer some of your target features, you shouldn’t even bother talking with them.

On the other hand, those who do offer everything on your requirements list are qualified. They should be on your shortlist. Any additional capabilities they provide are a bonus.

4. Technical/Integration Capabilities

Keep in mind that every use case needs to go deeper than hands-on user functionality. That means you also need to specify backend technical needs. For example, do you need systems integrations to push or pull data from a CRM, a marketing automation application, or other business platforms? Which ones? When? And how should this happen?

Let’s say you’ll be running virtual classrooms:

• Which platforms do you need to support: Zoom, Teams, others?
• What points of systems integration must be included?
• Does the LMS vendor need to provide automated integrations, or will you build them?

Also, how will you handle data privacy and security?

• What if you’re the U.S. want to expand to Europe, where standards are different?
• Does your industry have unique data management standards?
• What data protocols are required by your IT team?

Technical issues can be show-stoppers, so don’t wait to confirm details. Clarify these requirements early in the information gathering phase.

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5. Services/Support Needs

Services and support may seem like an afterthought, but smart LMS buyers know differently. For example:

• How will the new LMS fit into your existing infrastructure?
• If one or more platforms are already in place, will the new system be an  incremental addition?
• Or will you sunset existing platforms and consolidate everything into the new LMS?

If you’re replacing one or more platforms, you’ll need to scope migration plans within a specific timeframe to ensure everything is completed before your current contract expires. This raises multiple service-related questions:

• Does your in-house team have the ability to implement and deploy the system?
• If you want a vendor’s help, what specific assistance do you need and when?

Be sure to specify these expectations upfront. Otherwise, your vendor may not have sufficient expertise or bandwidth to meet your deadline – or you might run out of money before the project is complete. Neither of these will lead to a happy ending.

Also, think about what will happen after deployment. How will administrators and users need to be supported on an ongoing basis? Don’t forget to include this in your requirements.

6. Licensing Model/Pricing

Finally, what usage patterns do you see across your learning systems? Who are your users? How often are they active? And how do you calculate this data?

Answers to these questions will reveal your ideal license model – how a vendor charges you for letting your customers use their system. If the licensing logic is mismatched, you’re likely to be wasting precious administrative time and money. So, look for a framework that most closely aligns with your audience size, patterns, and growth plans.

In addition to the licensing model, you’ll want to calculate the relative costs you can absorb. For instance, at your level of usage, a vendor may be able to meet your requirements for $500,000 a year. But if your budget is only $100,000, the solution is beyond your purchasing limits. That means you’ll need to look for a better fit.

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The Bottom Line on LMS Requirements Categories

If you’re investing in a customer education platform, you’ll want to document all 6 LMS requirements categories as a set and think of them as a whole:

• Business Goals
• Use Cases
• Functionality
• Technical/Implementation Capabilities
• Service/Support Needs
• Licensing Model/Pricing

When combined, these elements work together to form a complete view of your unique needs. This framework is a highly efficient, effective way to narrow the field and build a shortlist of qualified vendors that fit your needs.

It’s a far cry from assuming you need a “gamification LMS,” or an “AI LMS,” or any other feature-driven LMS flavor of the day. And I assure you, it will make a massive difference in leading you to a solution that helps you and your customers succeed.

Watch This Customer Ed Nuggets Episode

Want more details about why and how LMS requirements improve purchasing decisions? Watch the video version of this mini-podcast below…

Or, if you’d rather listen, tune in to the audio version right here at TalentedLearning.com.

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About Talented Learning Customer Ed Nuggets

Hosted by Talented Learning CEO John Leh, the Customer Ed Nuggets podcast is a trusted source of advice, guidance and best practices for customer education professionals of all types. In this series of brief video and audio “nuggets” (each 10 minutes or less), we explore key topics with numerous guest experts.

Join us anytime here or on our YouTube channel to explore all facets of customer education, from how to build a persuasive business case, to effective strategies, technologies and content that help professionals create, deploy and grow successful customer-centered programs.

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Need Advice to Define Your LMS Requirements? Let’s Talk…

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