How To Launch a New LMS

This past August, we published our eBook "Best Practices for Launching an LMS." So far, we have discussed the first step in the LMS launch process, Defining and Scoping, and the second step, Planning. Today's post will cover the third and final step, The Launch.When launching your new LMS, always keep your launch goals in mind. The launch goals are both your short-term and long-term goals that relate directly to launching the new LMS. When refining and elaborating your launch goals, it is helpful to consider the following questions:

What is the top priority of the launch/what is your main goal? Ex: Get training courses ready and live so people can start reviewing it and provide feedback, then work on changes throughout the year.

What is your stretch goal? In other words, what would you launch if you could do everything you wanted?

What is your minimum viable product (MVP)? In other words, what would you launch if you had to do the bare minimum to be successful?

Next, consider the integrations that you would like to merge with your LMS, such as Google Analytics, Single Sign On, and Salesforce.Figure out which metrics you will use to measure the success of your LMS launch. Will you gague success based on registraitons, completions, quiz scores, certifications, ect?Next, put yourself in the shoes of the user and map out the user experience. Use the following questions as a guide when planning out your desired user experience and designing their learning path:

• How do they log in?
• How will they know where/how to log in?

• What is a user’s experience registering/purchasing a course?
• Do you have course workflows (sequences/prerequisites)?
• Do users know what to do when they’re done with a course?

Communication and marketing is the key to reaching your goals pertaining to course participation. Communicate with your users more effectively by considering the following points:WHO: Define the audienceWHY: Define the purpose of the messageWHAT: Write the contentWHEN: Decide on a send date based on the launch dateWHERE/HOW: Tell them how to access trainingFinally, test your user experience end-to-end before launching. After your content is live, measure success based on your previously set metrics and in relation to your launch goals. Make changes as needed depending on the results of your evaluation.

The major takeaways here are a heavy emphasis on planning and attention to detail, which will allow you to accomplish your goals efficiently.