With so many learning management system (LMS) types out there, making the right choice often becomes a challenge. You need to pick an LMS that won’t just work for your organization “now”, but in the “future” as well.

Having said that, evaluating an LMS requires thoughtful consideration and a clear plan. Lucky for you, in this article, we’ll guide you through the most essential factors and steps to consider as you make your evaluation and choose an ideal platform.

Before we begin, let’s go over some basics first.

TL;DR

• LMS evaluation is the process where you analyze and select the best learning management system (LMS) for your organization.
• Before you begin the evaluation process, be clear on your learning objectives and target audience.
• Create a detailed list of features you want in your new LMS. Then, break it down into must-have features and the nice-to-have extras. Must-haves are non-negotiable.
• Make sure the LMS is user-friendly for different types of users.
• Check if the LMS is scalable and comes with the right integration capabilities.
• See whether the LMS solution aligns with your security and compliance needs.
• Ensure the LMS you choose fits your budget constraints.
• Go with a vendor that would provide ongoing, long-term support.

What is LMS Evaluation?

In LMS evaluation, you basically analyze and select the perfect learning management system for your organization. This generally involves systematic analysis of various LMS options based on their core features, user experience, overall value, and pricing. Such a process, if followed properly, helps organizations pick a learning management system that meets their training needs and leads to higher ROI.

Why is LMS Evaluation Important?

Before making the purchase decision, your company needs to find out whether an LMS is a good fit for your training goals, your learners, and your team. Otherwise, you’ll end up wasting a lot of money, time, and effort.

i) Effort — Most companies start using an LMS simply because they need to scale their operations or want to improve how they work internally. However, using a learning platform for the first time can be tough based on how user-friendly the software is. After all, you don’t want to waste much of your effort switching between platforms and figuring out how each one works.

ii) Time — Just think about hosting all of your training courses and projects in one comprehensive LMS platform. Eventually, this system will serve as a centralized hub for all your e-learning materials. But setting it up takes enormous time. And if you select the wrong system for your organization, it means all your time goes to waste.

iii) Money — Many all-in-one LMSs in the market offer different pricing tiers and usually require a yearly subscription, especially for enterprise plans. Want access to their “advanced features” list? You might need to pay extra money. And if you’ve selected the wrong one, switching plans or providers can be difficult, especially if you’re locked into a yearly contract.

Important Considerations for LMS Evaluation 

Whether you’re selecting an LMS for the first time or looking to improve your existing solution, it’s critical to examine the actual wants and needs of your organization and assess the myriad of LMS systems available on the market.

By following the steps in this guide, you can make sure you look at everything critical when choosing the best learning management system for your institution.

Define Your Objectives and Target Audience 

Remember, there’s no such thing as the perfect LMS solution. It all depends on whether a learning management system can meet your specific business needs and expectations.

That said, it’s vital to be clear on what your learning objectives are and who your target audience is going to be.

To understand the objectives, you must take inputs from all the stakeholders, including faculty leaders, technical staff, the finance department, the sales team, and more. This will help you set the right expectations as you would know what’s limiting your teams to perform better.

Similarly, you can get a detailed understanding of your target audience by looking at your organization’s profile. For instance, if you’re a university, your audience would be students. If you’re a company, then the users could be different, like they could be your employees, customers, partners, etc.

Understanding your audience also means how tech-savvy they are, what technology they have access to, and what languages they speak.

So, before you start evaluating an LMS, make sure you’ve clearly laid out your goals, and you know your target audience very well.

LMS Features and Functionality 

It’s the most important consideration you need to make. Other factors are also important, but what an LMS solution can or can’t do will make all the difference when it comes to reaching the final decision.

The best practice is to create a detailed list of features you want in your new LMS. Then, you should break it down into must-have features and the nice-to-have extras.

Must-have features are must-haves, and they are non-negotiable. These will help you meet your primary learning objectives. Nice-to-have features, on the other hand, will add extra value and enhance the overall experience.

Read more: 8 Must-Have Learning Management System Features

Usability

Usability is the next big thing you should consider after the functionality an LMS offers. Like, if it’s not user-friendly and nobody knows how to use it, then what good can all those features bring to you?

Since different users would possibly be interacting with your system, make sure it has an intuitive interface with a simple dashboard and easy navigation.

Integration Capabilities and Scalability

Obviously, you would want your learning platform to connect easily with your existing platforms and applications. For example, if you’re an e-learning platform and want to sell online courses, then you’d definitely require an LMS with ecommerce integration, right? So it’s important to check whether the LMS comes with the right integration capabilities.

The next essential thing is scalability. Your business may grow in the future, and you may have a wider variety of products or courses. Therefore, the LMS you purchase should have the capacity to facilitate your growth and adjust to your growing business needs.

Data Protection and Compliance

Your business follows certain policies to secure and protect users’ data. When evaluating an LMS option, you should see if it aligns with your rules or not. Some of the best security features you can look for include data encryption, SSL certificates, user roles, single sign-on, data backups, and more.

Apart from security, the learning management system should help you fulfill your compliance needs effectively. Before you choose an LMS, make sure it has the required compliance features such as tracking and reporting, real-time completion checking, course certification, and more.

Cost and Budget

Budget and pricing is a key concern for any business. Get a good idea of what will be the ongoing cost associated with the LMS you want to purchase.

Normally, learning management systems have different pricing structures, such as pay-as-you-go, pay per active-user, pay per learner, and licensing or subscription fees. So examine your options carefully.

In addition to ongoing costs, there will also be other expenses such as implementation prices and add-ons. Factor in all these costs to ensure they are within your budget constraints. It’s a good idea to communicate such things with the potential vendor to be clear on how much you will end up paying them.

Vendor Support and Services

From successfully implementing your LMS to regular updates and maintenance, you’ll need assistance every step of the way. Thus, it makes sense to go with an LMS vendor that would provide ongoing, long-term support.

It’s highly likely that you will troubleshoot an issue in the future that you can’t fix. But having a reliable vendor that can resolve all the technical issues and keep your platform easy to maintain is the best thing you would desire.

Finding the right LMS is hard. But with this detailed guide, you shall be able to streamline the process and select the most suitable option for your needs.

Why Choose Edly LMS

Edly is the most trusted learning management system. Global organizations like the University of Cambridge and MIT count on us to deliver amazing learning experiences online.

Our LMS platform goes beyond simple course and learning management. From learner analytics and user management to integrations, security, and accessibility, it has all the cool features you could envision to offer a full learning experience.

Want to learn more about what Edly LMS has to offer? Please visit our features page or request a free demo at this link.