Project planning as a success factor
Whether it's the introduction of a (new) platform or the rollout of a single theme - in many cases, the set time targets are not met. There are many reasons for this - almost all delays have in common misjudgements in project planning. A careful risk analysis that takes into account all possible stumbling blocks is essential for realistic planning.
Misjudgement no. 1: Project management costs are massively underestimated
The effort and requirements for project management, coordination and reporting are greatly underestimated in many e-learning projects. As a result, there is a lack of resources and/or expertise in project management and important points or stakeholders are addressed too late or not at all.
E-learning projects are often not top priority projects. For internal resources (e.g. IT support), we are in competition with other, possibly higher-prioritised tasks for the departments and people involved. Here too, the early involvement of (internal) suppliers is crucial.
Just as important is the motivation of the project management: is e-learning just one of many projects that still has to run somehow? Practical experience shows that project management that operates as a driver with a strong self-interest is essential for the success of the project and compensates for weaknesses. Project management that only "manages" the project, on the other hand, often does not lead to the desired results, especially if a careful risk analysis has not been carried out before the project begins and risk management plays a subordinate role in the project.
Misconception no. 2: Technical integration is 'somehow feasible'
Interfaces to HR or other systems require thorough and early planning, even with existing standard interfaces. What data is required, for example, to be able to automatically assign qualifications to individuals, organisations or target groups? Which technology can be used to realise a SingleSignOn? Where does which master data come from and where does which historical data go?
Different departments on the customer side and/or external service providers are often involved in answering these questions. There may also be implementation costs or costs for testing and acceptance. As the IT departments in many companies are heavily overloaded, it is best to request the relevant resources before or at the latest at the start of the project.
Legacy data migration is just as big an issue in many cases. Do you want training data from the last few years in the system so that users can see their complete learning history? Not really a problem, because the data is already there. Somewhere at least: in legacy systems, in Excel lists or even in people's heads. In most cases, considerable effort is required to obtain complete and consistent data that can be imported cleanly into the new system.
Misconception no. 3: Content is created on the side and without didactic expertise
Do you want different departments to produce a large amount of content in a short space of time? Despite artificial intelligence on all fronts and in almost all tools, this is usually a major challenge. At least when quality and learning success have been identified as success factors for the project.
But even if the standards are low, the output often falls massively short of expectations. This is because in many cases the task of content production is underestimated: "our subject matter experts are didactically adept due to face-to-face training", ... "the knowledge is there - you basically just have to enrich a PPT...".
In fact, the transfer of training courses into a digital learning format is often a real challenge for face-to-face trainers too. New skills and methods first have to be learnt and then applied correctly. Specialist experts without relevant prior pedagogical knowledge have an even longer way to go.
In some cases, the results are nevertheless surprisingly good - however, this is usually due to the individual efforts and talents of the people entrusted with the task and can therefore hardly be planned or reproduced.
If e-learning content is to be produced in-house, an honest inventory of existing skills and resources is essential - taking into account the self-assessment of the people involved. In order to achieve good results, a division of labour is usually required (one and the same person is rarely a good author, teacher, designer and proofreader). In any case, define one person as the so-called quality gate. Even if your content comes from different sources, you can still ensure a certain consistency and minimum quality.
So kann Projektbegleitung und Unterstützung für Ihre Produktionsteams durch X-CELL aussehen.Misconception no. 4: International rollouts don't take longer
Rolling out a topic or system in 8 countries, for example, takes time. At least if the IT and process conditions are not the same everywhere. Often the IT infrastructure is not the same worldwide, i.e. there are different HR and CRM systems, for example. The issue of interfaces and data flow must therefore be considered and dealt with on a country-by-country basis.
And then there is the often underestimated issue of translations/localisations. Depending on the organisational structure, larger time buffers must be planned for content approval processes, as well as communication processes and measures in the countries.
Even if AI is now doing a lot for us, the quality of translations (depending on the language) is often still inadequate. It is essential that the translation is checked by an external service provider or, better still, by an internal person with the relevant native language. In some cases, however, it is not only necessary to translate but also to localise, i.e. the training courses contain different content depending on the region (e.g. different contact persons, different processes or a different product portfolio). Consider in good time whether this also applies to your project.
Almost always - if the nature of the project allows it - a step-by-step roll-out is advantageous. This means that not all countries involved start at the same time, but one after the other.
On the one hand, not all training participants have to wait for the weakest or slowest link in the chain, and on the other hand, lessons learnt from previous rollouts can be taken into account for subsequent countries.