How to Develop a Learning Management System?

This is a guest post by Sophia Taylor of Syndicode.

The COVID19 pandemic has left an indelible mark on the world with a burst of virtual activities. This is reflected in the learning space as there is a big rise in the demand for Learning Management Systems. 

Learning Management Systems development is not limited to Edutech. LMS for training companies is important because it is one of the best ways for delivering training virtually. LMS platforms should be created by a quality team that knows the importance of quality assurance. 

Who needs an LMS platform? 

Here are some of the ways an LMS platform can be used.

New Employee Onboarding

New entrants into a business will need to learn some intricate things about their roles and responsibilities. This onboarding training can be well handled when you create an LMS platform as a business.

Customer Training

Customer retention is often increased with appropriate customer training on product usage and handling. This can be done via LMS.

Partners and Affiliates Training

The success of your partnership and affiliate program depends on the quality of training they have. Custom LMS development makes this easy and effective.

Training for Suppliers

Extending your product reach through suppliers can be made richer when you train them well. You can have them go through an eCommerce course or other training that will improve their business.

Continuous Employee Training 

Training on the job is necessary for the continuous improvement of employees. Create LMS dedicated to employee certifications and specific training like sales, customer relationship management, IT, business and management, and more.

Ways to create an LMS from scratch

Now that you know what you need LMS for, how do you create an LMS from scratch?

1. Validate Your Idea

The first step is not to gather a team and start building an LMS platform. LMS development must start with validation of the idea. You need to start by subjecting the idea to a feasibility study. There are important questions that must be answered to test the idea and ascertain that it is worth the resources to be invested. 

This step will help create the right focus for the project and assure of its need. To validate your LMS idea, you should ask yourself questions like: 

• What problem will be solved by the LMS platform?
• Why do I need an LMS platform?
• What is the budget for the LMS development?
• Who will be involved as the LMS developers?
• Who are my competitors and what are they doing?

2. LMS project plan

The planning stage is pivotal to the success of the project. Don't create an LMS without a carefully thought-out plan for the project. The LMS project plan is a detailed map of how the platform will be made. It entails all the expected functionalities, operations, and requirements. The project plan must enumerate all the tasks that are involved, the expertise and resources needed. Invest in the right project management training to get the skills your team needs to manage a project of this size.

Careful documentation of the plan will act as a guide for the LMS developers. Adequate monitoring will be possible based on the details of the project plan. In the same vein, it will be easy to gather the right team and resources since the plan has been laid out well enough.

3. Select the Best LMS Design & Web Development Partner

Moving forward, the next stage is development. Custom LMS development must be done with the best LMS design and development partner. You should not have gone through detailed planning preceded by rigorous validation to now fail at the development stage. You must take the time to select the most appropriate development company to partner with.

Ensure you select a company that is trustworthy and transparent. There must be open communication throughout the development timeline. The expertise and experience of the LMS developer must also be evident, you don't want a novice handling such a big project. It is also important to have the best pricing that is suitable for your budget.

4. User testing

User testing is a vital step in an LMS development.  It is good that this step comes up early enough as it directs the improvements that need to go into the final development. User testing can be done at an early stage for the LMS after developing a minimum viable product (MVP) for it. The MVP is a simple template that can be used to attract early users.

The user testing allows for understanding what works and does not on the platform. This will also inform the LMS developer on what interface best suits the users. Important pieces of information gathered at this stage will help in improving the LMS performance. 

5. Start your LMS development

Now is the time to turn the idea into reality. This stage must be monitored carefully to make sure that all the details are incorporated into the product. Custom LMS development can begin with revising the requirements, and functionalities through documentation. 

The documentation is then used to form the LMS architecture. The development team can then proceed to write the codes for the platform. Different parts of the project like the front end and back end are handled by specific members of the team.

6. Get results and conduct an analysis

Now that you have developed your LMS platform, you need to get results and conduct analyses. The user testing stage has helped to create user-friendly LMS, but it doesn't stop there. When the LMS has been deployed, you must collect data for future improvement. The current performance will lead to analysis and decisions on what to do better in the future.

Conclusion

Technology has made training easier than it used to be with a learning management system. Developing an LMS can sound rigorous, but it is simpler when the steps are known. 

About the author

Sophia Taylor is a PR manager and professional writer at Syndicode company. Syndicode is a full-cycle custom software development company. Sophia writes about online marketplace development, on demand app development, nft marketplace development etc.