Less is Best, So Ditch the Rest: The Custom LMS

There’s no shame in admitting that we love features.

These days, features are everything. And things with added features are really attractive… and everywhere. Think of the humble washer and dryer. Their sole purpose is to return your dirty socks, underwear, shorts, jeans, and shirts to the state you found them in when you took them out of the closet to wear. It’s not complicated, right?

So why, in some cases, do you need an instruction manual so detailed and bloated that it resembles a novel?

We seem to like spending hard-earned resources on bells and whistles that, if they weren’t there, we actually wouldn’t notice.

We’ve all been guilty of it. We’ve all bought something because we were lured by that extra button or widget or pocket. Only to find that the very thing that sucked us into the purchase was, in reality, useless to us. And, unfortunately, it happens when companies try to select a Learning Management System (LMS) for their eLearning and training efforts.

In the eLearning world, we see stuff like:

• WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) Layouts. They are pretty cool, there’s no denying that fact. But that cool factor comes with performance costs. They slow the site down. And honestly, how often do you actually want to change your LMS layout?
• Integrated content authoring tools. These are typically proprietary, which means that if you want to change your LMS, you won’t be able to get your courses out. We recommend (and use) Articulate or Captivate.
• Dashboards on Dashboards on Dashboards. All those fancy charts and graphs are pretty, it’s true. But do they actually support learners with education and training? Do they really help administrators easily and efficiently administer the site? Almost all of the time, the answer is no.
• Eye Candy. You know, all those images, backgrounds, icons… Of course, we want our tools to be nice to look at. Our clients need effective and impactful branding. But bloating an application with too many images, too many fonts, and too many distractions actually gets in the way of getting things done. It can slow site performance and frustrate users and administrators.
• “Up and running in minutes!!” Sometimes this type of on-demand setup is perfect. But more often than not it skips some very important considerations. Do you know who you’re working with? Do they know your business, your needs, and your concerns? Is someone there to help you and discuss the best solution? And how many other companies are tenants within your new plug-and-play bucket, on the same server, in the same database? It bears careful consideration.

What if you could really just buy what you need right now?

Welcome to the world of the Custom LMS!

Your company has its own unique training needs specific to itself. Off-the-shelf LMSs may be able to meet some of those needs, but very likely will fall short of meeting all your current needs. Or, the opposite might be true: they’ve got bells and whistles, gizmos, and gadgetry that you will pay for, but will never use. Either way, the money’s spent.

Sad face. And we’ve seen it. A lot.

A Custom LMS is exactly what it sounds like. It’s built around you. Because at the end of the day, a great LMS is one that works. For you. Your Custom LMS (we may build it, but in all reality, it’s yours) takes into consideration who you are right now, your training needs, and your training challenges and opportunities. For example, do you need to train operators on the field right now? Is it product training? Is it safety training? Do you need an LMS that plays nice with all sorts of mobile devices, or is each learner provided with a specific tablet on which they do their training? Who is your current learning audience? Does your LMS need to manage several different types of learners or several different courses simultaneously?

A Custom LMS designer can help you answer those questions and meet you where you are.

And what if you could expand your LMS as your organization grows?

Welcome to the world of the Custom LMS! (LOL)

Look, it’s short-sighted (and frankly, ridiculous) to think that what we need right now is all we’ll ever need. Stagnation is typically not an option for any organization, whether it’s a small startup or an established industry leader.

A Custom LMS that’s worth its salt works with you to meet your training and eLearning requirements, both now and into the future, as your organization grows and changes. The LMS must be both flexible and robust enough to follow your organization through its phases; it must weather the challenges of a growing organization’s training needs.

A Custom LMS designer and builder like KMI Learning understands – at its core – that it really is about you. We’ve said it a lot in this post, and that’s because it’s very much a part of our value system. At the end of the day, even the most wonderful widget is woefully worthless if you don’t need it. And if you’ve already paid for it, well…

Overwhelm is optional. We invite you to find out more.

Trying to find – and choose – the LMS that meets your special eLearning and training needs can be like trying to take a sip from a fire hose. It can be overwhelming. But a Custom LMS designer and builder brings that deluge down to a manageable trickle. Why? Because we talk with you. We’re curious about what you need. And you’ll only buy what you need. You can ditch all the extra bits and pieces.

Talk with us and ask us questions about your training needs. We work with you to design and build an LMS customized to your specifics. Now, and as far into the future as you’re willing to go.

Connect with us by filling out a short form here.