4. Introductions
• Who Currently has an E-Learning program?
• Who is looking to start and E-Learning program?
• Who currently has an LMS?
• Who purchases 3rd party content (custom/OTS)?
• Who develops content internally?
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
5. The Forzani Group Ltd.
• The largest national sporting goods retailer in
Canada.
• Banners include Sportchek, Coast Mountain
Sports, Sport Mart, National Sports, Intersport,
Sports Experts, Atmosphere, RnR, Hockey
Experts, Pegasus, and Nevada Bobs.
• 263 corporate stores, 207 franchise stores
• Offices in Calgary, Laval, Markham, Mississauga
• 15,000 employees, 10,000 front line employees
with average retail turnover
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
6. The Forzani Group Ltd.
• Current training catalog contains about 80 ILT courses
and 15 CBT courses
• Sumtotal LMS and LCMS are hosted in house
• We do all our own course development
• Current course focus is product training for store staff
• We allow all staff to train from anywhere
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
7. Ryan Van Orman
• Been with FGL for over 7 years
• Been with the training department since E-
learning was launched in 2005
• Previously worked in the IT group
• Responsible for:
– Administer the LMS
– Consult with Category Trainers on course design
– Author all CBT courses (animation, flash, video,
audio)
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
8. FGL Training Challenges
• 10,000 field staff with high turnover
• Providing consistent training across the country
• Accurately recording current training results
• Recording employee certifications (OH&S,
WHMIS, Vendor)
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
9. LMS Terminology
• CBT – Computer Based Training
• SCOs – All the different objects that comprise a
CBT
• LMS –Records employee training results.
Manages ILT and CBT course scheduling and
registration. Maintains career pathing,
competencies, skills.
• LCMS – Stores, manages, and authors CBTs
• KMS/CMS/DMS – A system that maintains,
organizes and offers content
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
10. Selecting an LMS
• There are a couple ways to select an LMS
• First
– Dream up a million ways to use an LMS
– Write a big complicated RFP
– Select the fanciest LMS on the market
– Pay $100,000’s to purchase and implement
– Then try and figure out how to use it
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
11. Selecting an LMS
• Second
– Identify an Executive Sponsor
– Develop a strategy for your E-learning program
– Identify what solutions are available
– Cost benefit analysis
– Needs analysis
– RFP
– Vendor demonstrations (short list)
– Reference check clients with the same implemented
version
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
12. Executive Sponsor
• Needs to be active in the project as well as day
to day operations
• Provides a knowledgeable executive to deal with
issues that arise in production
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
13. E-learning Strategy
• A strategy if essential for a successful program
• Provides a clean “roadmap” of what the end
result needs to accomplish
• Doesn’t have to be incredibly detailed
• Things to consider
– What will the system be used for?
– What is the expected output from the system?
– Where will content come from?
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
14. Identify Possible Solutions
• Determine what solutions are available
• Where do you find potential solutions?
– Internet
– Research
– White Papers
– Fancy consultants
• Industry trade shows / conferences
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
15. Cost Benefit Analysis
• Going to E-learning doesn’t automatically save
money
• Determine what the soft cost benefits are:
– Reduced printing costs
– Reduced travel
– Higher compliance/saturation
– Higher retention
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
16. Needs Analysis
• Determine what you NEED
• Determine what you WANT
• Keep it simple
• Understand who your users are and their skills
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
17. RFP
• Now you would conduct your RFP
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
18. Vendor Demonstrations
• Short list your RFPs
• Develop a demo script for the vendor
• Create a checklist for your selection panel
• Have the vendor use your data
• Focus on seeing the results
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
19. Reference Check
• Check your vendor’s client references
• They should be implemented clients with current
versions
• What issues/concerns did they have during
implementation
• Do they continue to have any issues/concerns
• Ask about the quality and location of vendor
support
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
20. RFP
• Keep the RFP simple
• Direct questions
• Important to know what they can and can’t do
• Valuable negotiation tool
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
21. Usability
• Make sure the system can be used by your
learners
• Understand their skill level
• Ability to find and register for training
• Focus on number of clicks
• Understand the learner’s system requirements
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
22. Prescribed Learning
• Assigning courses based on attributes:
– Job Title
– Location
– Manager
– Start Date
• What happens when the curriculum changes
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
23. Certifications
• Courses that are required for compliance
• Do they expire?
– Every X days
– Every January 1st
• How does the learner / manager get notified?
– Email
– Report
• How is the certification audited?
– Just date and score
– Test results
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
24. Course Content
• What format of content will you be using
– Power Point
– Word
– Excel
– PDF
– 3rd party content
– Content created with other tools
• Does the LMS support it
• Can the LMS modify the individual SCOs
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
25. Content Versioning
• Does the LMS version the content regardless of
source?
• Understand how you need versioning to work
– Take it once and never again
– Remove previous version results
– Take every new version
– Record results of all versions
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
26. Billing
• Do you bill for your courses?
– Registration Fee
– Cancellation Fee
– Course Fee
• Do you operate in multiple currencies?
• Do you need automated or manual billing?
• Interface to your billing system
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
27. Reporting
• Understand what you need
• Make sure you see your requirements
• Watch out for easy to customize
• Ensure the right people see the right data
• SEE IT!
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
28. Interfaces
• What interfaces will you have?
– Payroll / HRIS
– Billing
– Corporate Data Warehouse
• Understand the latency of the interfaces
– What happens if a learner isn’t in the system but
needs to train
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
29. Branding / Multi-Language
• Determine your branding needs
– All pages are branded
• Will each brand require multiple languages
• Ensure language packs are complete
– Online help
– Error messages
– All pages
• Should be a client option, not requiring the
vendor
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
30. Pricing
• Determine costing for LMS and LCMS separate
• Determine maintenance costs
• Understand vendor pricing model (seat count)
• Understand the cost to maintaining historical
seats
• Don’t forget the implementation costs
(consultants, interfaces, testing)
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
31. Miscellaneous
• Understand your security needs
• Do you have privacy issues (FOIPP)
• Will you allow learners access from home
• How will you pay for training done at home
• Integrate LMS with your knowledge system, one
location for everything
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
32. Q&A
Ryan Van Orman
National Trainer, E-Learning
The Forzani Group
rvanorman@forzani.com
The Forzani Group Ltd 2007
