CivieBlog

I’ll have more coming on this topic, but today someone asked me how to approach is going through an LMS selection because the general feeling was that the existing LMS was too hard for users to use. 

In this case, it’s customer training around products that the company sells.  They are doing a combination of virtual classroom training (via WebEx) and self-paced eLearning.  They currently use Moodle as an LMS with some customizations.  However, the resource who did the customizations is no longer with the company.  And the person who asked the question tells me:

My managers have asked me to find alternatives to Moodle that are more user friendly and that are easier to update and manage.

I’ve discussed many times about dissatisfaction with LMS:

• LMS Satisfaction Features and Barriers 
• LMS Dissatisfaction on the Rise

and even a bit about the disconnect between an LMS and what things most users want / need:

• Do You WANT an LMS? Does a Learner WANT an LMS?

When I look at how I define the process for selecting an LMS, a lot of it comes down to the ability to support differentiating use cases.  That doesn’t necessarily help when it comes to selecting an LMS that will be easy for the user.  So, I’m left wondering:

• What are examples of specific requirements that can be used during LMS selection to ensure that the result is easy to use?
• Have you found that any LMS is particularly easier to use and been able to make a selection based on that?
• What advice would you have for helping this individual find alternatives to Moodle?