Learning Management Systems (LMS): LMS Buyer’s Guide

At Capterra we love helping organizations find the right business software. That’s why we’ve created this guide…to help you find the right learning management system (LMS). We know you want you to spend more time on education and less time with paperwork, so we’ve cut the fluff.

This software guide will answer your questions about learning management software and LMS solutions, such as:

What is a Learning Management System?
Why and when should you consider an LMS?
How do you buy the right LMS solution?
What should you expect to pay for a learning management system?
What are the basic and advanced features of a typical LMS?

We’ll give you tons of practical information so you have a solid understanding of how to select the right learning management system for your organization.

What is a Learning Management System?

A Learning Management System is a software application for the management of:

Learning activities: registration, enrollment, payment, e-learning, and event scheduling
Instructors and learners: administration, evaluation, and attendance tracking
Content and courses: content libraries, course catalogs, content integration and/or authoring, and search capabilities
Testing, certification, and compliance: documentation, standards tracking, and examinations
Training usage and satisfaction: analytics, feedback, and reporting

Learning management systems may also be used for external audiences in cases where education is used to support products and/or is sold. Many LMS solutions can also manage:

eCommerce and payment: B2C (business to consumer) and/or B2B (business to business) e-commerce, pricing structures, discount codes, and forms of payment
External content delivery: secure access, online, and on-demand

Not to be confused with…

These applications are similar to or often integrated with LMS:

Courseware / Learning Management Content Systems (LMCS) are:

Applications for the development, management, and delivery of learning content
May enable content importing from standard desktop tools
AKA Content Authoring Systems
Integrated with or imported into an LMS to deliver content

Testing Software is:

Online testing, quizzing, surveys, and certification exams
May be integrated into the LMS or LMCS

Training Software is:

A stand alone program that schedules, tracks, and reports student/employee training, often focused on a specific skill
Often called eLearning or Computer-Based Training (CBT)
Examples of the subject matter include: IT related skills (Excel training or HTML), language software, or sales training

Talent Management Software is:

An application for the recruitment, assessment, development, and management of talent (employees)
Often integrated with an LMS to further manage employee development

Typically, these applications are separate products but we’ve seen a trend lately where more and more functionality from these applications are being included in LMS or vice versa.

5 Pieces of the Puzzle - keeping the applications straight

LMS – management of the learning activities
Courseware / LCMS – creation and delivery of the content
Testing – online quizzes, tests, and exams
Training – e-learning software focused on specific skills
Talent Management – management of employee development paths

Selection Tip: As you define the type of software you need also decide if you want an integrated solution or if several stand-alone applications will work better for your organization.

Why Should You Consider a Learning Management System?

There are a lot of great reasons to buy an LMS…and a few bad ones. Make sure you can justify your reasons with business needs.

Good Reasons to Consider an LMS Solution

The best reasons for getting learning management software are the opportunities and challenges your organization is currently facing. Does your organization need to:

Deliver consistent content across multiple locations
Provide educational content and courses on demand
Centralize the administration of learning activities
Easily track and report formal learning activities
Enable learner self-service and professional development
Reduce formal training costs
Reduce new hire learning curves and training time
Implement automated certification through online courseware and integrated testing

If so, you’ve identified significant business needs for considering an LMS solution.

Bad Reasons to Consider an LMS Solution

If you’ve caught yourself saying any of the following, you may want to reconsider:

“We need to figure out our learning strategy. Let’s buy an LMS.”
“Everyone else has one and it works for Mega Corp., so it’ll work for us.”
“Wouldn’t it be cool if we could offer all our classes as virtual classes?”
“We need more reports to see if our people are learning.”

Potential limitations of an LMS

The LMS software may dictate the learning strategy and/or interaction – your current strategy or delivery may not work with all LMS
LMS solutions were originally designed as learning management tools, not as learning environments – many are admin/management-centric, not learner-centric
Many do not include capabilities to integrate informal and social learning, which represents 70+% of all learning
Not all LMS have integrated LMCS or interface with LMCS
If you intend to sell training to external customers, ensure that your LMS offers robust e-commerce

Remember, an LMS helps manage the learning activities and individuals involved. It is not your strategy or learning itself.

When Should You Consider a Learning Management System?

Even with a need, the timing may not be right to buy an LMS. Consider the following when determining if now is the time.

The typical organization using an LMS has one or more of the following:

More than 100 employees/users
Diverse learning activities and content
Multiple locations across a large distance
A formalized learning strategy in place
An established Training or Development Department
An entity that offers training to external customers

LMS may be right for you if you currently…

Offer and report certification training
Need to track and report an individual’s progress and completion
Handle hundreds of registrations per learning event
Need to know the status of courses (attendance, completion rates, and assessment)
Charge a fee for courses and have to be able to handle refunds and credits
Hire frequently and include formal training in new hire orientation that needs to be tracked
Provide certification testing for a fee

LMS may not be right for you if you…

Believe it will be your entire learning platform rather than just one piece
Do not track and report on learning professionals or learners
Create education intended to raise awareness or provide quick tutorials
Are moving away from formal, tracked learning in favor of informal, social collaboration

An LMS is a big investment and requires dedicated resources. As nice as it may seem to have one, make sure the time is right.

How Do You Buy the Right Learning Management System?

If the time is right, there are a few resources you’ll need and a few tips we’d like to share.

Resources

Capterra’s Software Selection Guide covers the whole process: defining your needs, identifying matching options, and selecting the right software.

LMS Software Directory contains over 200 solutions and several tools for evaluation:

Product Filtering enables you to specify your requirements and find products that match
Product Comparisons give you the ability to quickly compare up to four products at a time
Expert Advice Library gives you additional insight and help through the process

FREE Expert
Consultation

If you want even more help Email us or call us at 855.GO.SOFTWARE

LMS Selection Tips

The tips below are specific to LMS and supplement our Software Selection Guide.

Determine or clarify your holistic learning strategy. Consider the training needs of everyone in your organization in the context of high-level objectives. Your strategy should answer the following questions:

What types of education are needed?
Who is the audience(s) for each type?
What is the curriculum for each type and audience?
What is the delivery method/format for each type and audience?
What are the standards and requirements for the development of content?
How will success and impact be measured?

Develop detailed examples of how learning programs will be created, delivered, accessed, and used. Include tracking, testing, and reporting. Use the answers to the questions above to create all the possible combinations of types, audiences, curriculums, and delivery methods. These detailed examples help define your requirements as well as your user test cases.
Confirm that you need an LMS and not one of the similar products. After defining your learning strategy and examples, is an LMS still the best application?
Determine if a hosted solution is right for you. As more and more learning management systems are moving to the Internet, a hosted LMS may be cheaper and easier for you to deploy and maintain. This is especially true if you have several locations and lots of users, or if you need to integrate with other hosted applications.
Follow the steps in the Software Selection Guide.

What Should You Expect to Pay for a Learning Management System?

Your environment, desired features, and specific requirements determine how much you should expect to pay for an LMS. Several things need to be decided that also impact price:

Do you want to pay a recurring fee (monthly) or a one-time fee?
Do you want to pay a flat fee or per user?
Do you want the solution to be on-site and owned by you or hosted (SaaS or Cloud)?
Are there additional services, software, and/or hardware that will be needed?

The answers to the questions above will impact the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Calculating the TCO is the first step in accurately determining how much your solution will cost. It is also required in order for you to compare solutions head-to-head.

Based on software vendor supplied data, you can expect to find LMS solutions in the following ranges:

Monthly (recurring): less than $50 to potentially tens of thousands of dollars
One-time license: less than $500 to potentially tens of thousands of dollars

The ranges show the diversity and options that you have when looking for a solution. There are solutions to fit any budget. The sooner you begin defining your budget and discussing it with vendors, the more time you’ll save. Remember to use your budget to limit possible solutions rather than using it to select them.

What Features Should I Consider in a Learning Management System?

It’s possible to find thousands of “features” in an LMS but you should focus on the top 10 – 15% that your organization requires. Below are some of the typical features you will find.

Basic Features: common in most LMS

Administration tools
Blended learning – online/offline, virtual classes
Content management and delivery – catalog, access, and search
Content integration and interoperability
Course management and evaluation
Resource management (instructors, classrooms)
Learner self-service, tracking, and reporting
Assessment and testing management
Standard compliance: SCORM, AICC, 508 of the Rehab Act
Reporting and analytics

Advanced Features: not included in all LMS

Integration with informal/social learning/collaboration
LCMS/content creation capabilities; importing from desktop tools
Personalized learning plans and professional development
Ability to include/search user generated content
Ability to private-brand and configure the system to your look
Learning paths, tracks and pre-requisite enforcement
mLearning
Integrated eCommerce
Certification and licensure
Competency/skills management
Succession planning
Talent management

Ready for more?

If you have questions, call us at 1.855.GO.SOFTWARE (855-467-6389) for a FREE Expert Consultation.

As detailed as we believe this is, we know there is a lot more out there. If you have suggestions for how we can improve this guide, please let us know. We love feedback.

And if you liked our guide, please share it with co-workers and friends.

Learning Management System Software Programs

Featured Learning Management System Software

Inquisiq R3 10 reviews

Starting at just $99 per month, the Inquisiq R3 Learning Management System leverages all of the basics in a compact package that allows you to quickly load and deploy your content to employees or customers. It is a straightforward, robust solution with an easy-to-use interface that lets you easily upload and manage your SCORM-compliant content, organize catalogs, manage users and groups, generate reports, issue certificates and even collect course fees. Comes with Free 30 Day Trial. [Learn more]

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