A learning management system or LMS is a software solution used by institutions or
companies to organize and deliver learning opportunities online. It makes your life hassle-
free by compacting your data and using online training resources worldwide. However, there are three main types of LMS:
● open-source or proprietary
● cloud-based or installed
● free or commercial.
But, finding an LMS that falls within your online training budget and suits all your needs is a big challenge. There are various factors to be taken into consideration while picking the right LMS with a perfectly fit feature set. A smart and excellent LMS lets admins construct training sessions, track the learner’s progress, and create assessments. These five essential features must be included in your next training platform.
1. SCORM-compliant LMS
SCORM a.k.a Sharable Content Object Reference Model is an XML-based structure used to
describe and retrieve information about a learning object. SCORM comes with features like
adaptability, interoperability, and resilience, and is high-yielding and functional.
With SCORM compliancy, you can create courses or modules and then deploy them across
the globe without having to re-construct the whole content. Using SCORM compliance
standards means stress-free content creation, measurement, and delivery.
SCORM compliance standard determines how online learning content should be boxed into
a transferable ZIP file. It allows you easy accessibility to content anytime, anywhere as well
as combines instructional components for several applications and uses.
2. Integration with external plug-ins
LMS users often experience obstruction due to things like the non-automatic process of
uploading new operators, looking through various apps and tools to maintain a sense of
consistency, and several login screens. Thus, it is important to have an LMS that combines
different external apps and tools which makes it versatile.
With such features, you can delete or add features in your next LMS based on your needs.
Moreover, it also gives the freedom to customize the apps using plugins. The ability to
combine tools like HRMS and CRM, online payment systems, video conferencing, online
content marketplaces, and content providers, provides a huge array of learning content as
well as removes the unnecessary barrier between the learners and their training.
3. In-built User experience/user interface
The imperative requirement for your next LMS is that it should be seamless and easy to set
up. The most efficient online learning programs cannot guarantee high employee
engagement unless their delivery method or LMS is accessible and user-friendly. An intuitive UI / UX in an LMS brings ease and comfort. With such experience, learners are highly engaged and course completion rates improve. The prime and in-built features make the LMS quite lightweight and simple to use. However, never get fooled by minimalist features. Managing an LMS could be a difficult and time-consuming task while it manages employees’ training.
4. Customized Reporting & Analytics
Today, very few LMSs come boxed with interesting and innovative features to deploy the
learning course in the most engrossing method. Your next LMS must have the ability to
create different kinds of data and present it in several comprehensible structures such as –
tables, pie charts, bar diagrams, and many more.
Customizing an LMS helps you create reports only on the analytics that you want. Besides,
you can also get the exact kind and number of reports on user analytics that you need such
as national and global team report statistics, individual performance reports, and periodically
and monthly training progress.
5. Extremely engaging
High learner engagement leads to a high course completion rate. You must ensure that your next LMS must be rich in interactive elements and engagement so that employees /users do not lose motivation and interest. However, there are several ways to keep a learner engaged such as built-in gamification tools, customized training methods, including social media components, and more.
Therefore, whenever you select your next LMS keep these features in mind. However, You
must have probably extended the list but the point is to choose a tool that gets along with
your online learning programs and provides customized user experiences.
