Are you ready to make the switch to a new Learning Management System? Looking for ways to minimize the stress of the LMS implementation process? In this article, we‘ll share a few tips to consider during the migration from an old LMS to your shiny new platform.
1. Collect Everything You Have!
Assessing the list of resources can be beneficial for many reasons. You can decide what are the elements that must be transferred into the new system and what are those that could be archived. This can be very time consuming, but at the end you’ll have much better understanding of some the functionalities which might not be available in the new system. Assessing your assets also allows you to create a more realistic schedule, based on the complexity of your data migration. For instance, you might need to reformat certain interactive materials. I hope you don’t you flash based elearning anymore.
2. Create A Realistic Timeline!
During the migration organizations often face an issue with deadlines, because of that it is important to have not just a strict deadline for the end of the whole process, but to break down steps into small chunks. Have you ever heard of Agile? For instance, how long it will take to migrate the data or launching the LMS company-wide. Meet with your L&D team to identify which sub-tasks are involved and how much time they need to tackle them. Leave some room in the schedule for unexpected delays, and stress the importance of ongoing communication. If your L&D team sees a problem on the horizon, they should feel comfortable voicing their opinions and concerns.
3. Set Measurable Goals With Your Technical Team!
No timeline is complete without measurable goals and desired outcomes. You should create more immediate milestones, as well as overall goals for the LMS migration project. For example, the IT department must have the LMS system installed and remedy any glitches by the end of week one. Again, this is yet another reason why regular team meetings are essential. They give you the opportunity to set feasible goals and ensure that everyone is onboard. It’s also wise to create criteria in order to monitor your LMS migration progress. How will you assess each stage of the LMS migration project? And who will be in charge of the evaluation process?
4. Communicate with your team and with your stakeholders!
This might sound very obvious, but during the whole process you should make a steady flow of information. Transparency can be the key here! Everyone should know wat the others are doing and what are their responsibilities. Ask yourself, do we really need to have that call? Maybe using Trello or other PM tools can create visibility while reducing the need for extended calls.
5. Train The Trainers!
Your instructors, administrators, and managers are your system advocates. As such, they need to know the ins and outs of the new LMS. Schedule meetings with your L&D staff to give updates and answer pressing questions. Record the session for instructors who aren’t able to attend. There is a variety of video conferencing platforms that can accommodate larger groups. You can also opt for one-on-one meetings for smaller teams or to provide additional support. Always ask for input and make sure everyone is involved!
If it is not a custom developed LMS but a SaaS up-to-date support resources are available and usually the service providers do have training materials.
6. Contact a data privacy expert!
It’s always a good idea to consult a data privacy expert who can guide you what to do to comply with the current GDPR regulations if you are dealing with users from the EU. It can be an external freelancer, but it is always good to have an in-house specialist. During the consultation involve your technical team and your also your stakeholders as data privacy can be very complex and it is a bit more than just a click on the ‘Accept all the cookies‘ button!
7. Run a pilot!
It makes perfect sense to do a pilot roll-out first. Just imagine the chaos that the entire training department, the administrators, and the implementation team has to handle when you roll out the initiative without doing a pilot run first. Do a soft launch of your LMS implementation by having a single training class test it. It would always be better if the selected class has to go through the entire training process, so that you can get see how the LMS actually works in your company’s usual training scenarios from different perspective.
