| Suppose you have been asked to give your opinion on | | | | - How will usability tests be conducted? |
| whether your institution or organization should purchase | | | | - Which database output formats are used? |
| or build a learning management system (LMS). How | | | | Because each of these questions typically has a |
| would you anchor your argument for against either | | | | different answer for each organization, a team should |
| software? There are some specific factors involved in | | | | work together to come up with an air-tight plan. |
| determining the case for whether to buy or use | | | | Testing should also be conducted throughout the |
| homegrown resources, because e-learning software | | | | process and piloted on a small scale before being |
| must meet demanding requirements for performance, | | | | distributed to the entire organization. |
| flexibility, and connectivity to be effective and efficient. | | | | Sometimes it turns out that homegrown products are |
| Homegrown software can be appealing because it is | | | | more expensive either to build or maintain. There is |
| tailor-made to for your specific needs. But is it saving | | | | also a possibility that the people who build the systems |
| or costing you money and effort? To minimize this | | | | are no longer with the organization and the technical |
| cost, you would need to identify and detail every | | | | support is thus interrupted. Because of these issues, |
| feature that would be needed, as well as pinpoint who | | | | companies end up looking for off-the-shelf product, |
| in the organization will need to have access to the | | | | with standard support, training, and continuous |
| resource. Be sure to outline data and reporting | | | | upgrades and improvements that they can buy rather |
| requirements during the implementation and product | | | | than build themselves. |
| evaluation process during the development process. | | | | The down side of off-the-shelf resources is that they |
| Also think about data quality. If you plan to offer | | | | do not always meet the organizational requirements. |
| e-learning courseware, you need to be sure that it | | | | Technical support can be expensive, and may not able |
| tracks the data you need and in the manner that you | | | | available when required. These includes updates, |
| want. | | | | upgrades, and licensing requirements must that must |
| If you opt to buy, make sure that available features | | | | be addressed even before the purchase takes place. |
| (custom-built or otherwise) are developed in advance. | | | | Another option would be to purchase off-the-shelf |
| Don't assume that the system has built-in features that | | | | software that is customizable and flexible if possible to |
| will suit your all needs. In fact, it is a tricky to assume | | | | meet the specific requirements. Many resources |
| that all the data you need will be collected by the | | | | provide this option so be sure to research it. |
| system unless you investigate its options in-depth. | | | | Regardless of the option decided upon, it is important |
| Think about the following questions prior to building or | | | | to keep in mind that there may be additional costs |
| buying the e-learning software: | | | | such as training, maintenance, upgrading. At the end of |
| - Which type of user interface is required? | | | | the day, the important thing to determine is the |
| - How much debugging/troubleshooting will be done on | | | | cost-benefit analysis, and of course the value added to |
| the production phase if building? | | | | the learners, instructors, and teaching and learning |
| - Which access levels are available for different | | | | process. |
| users? | | | | |