LCMSs vs Authoring Tools: Why Your Team Needs More Than Just Content Creation

Why Should You Invest In A Learning Content Management System For Your L&D Strategy?

When creating a Learning and Development strategy, most businesses don't think further than the initial development of the course. They focus on research teams, sophisticated authoring tools, and promotional efforts, forgetting that there's more to come. We are referring to the inevitable moment when you will have to update your courses in some way. Perhaps your company will undergo some kind of rebranding, or a new regulation will force you to update your training content. If your company only has one training course, making the change won't be a big deal. But what if you have multiple courses, or multiple versions of the same course for different audiences or locations? Then, the task of changing one simple detail can become Herculean. That's where the debate of Learning Content Management Systems or LCMSs vs authoring tools comes into play.

In this article, we will explore the performance of LCMSs compared to authoring tools in 5 crucial areas that define the success of L&D initiatives, highlighting why it may be essential for your organization to choose one over the other.

LCMS And Authoring Tools: What Are They?

What Is An LCMS?

A Learning Content Management System, or LCMS, is a cloud-based central hub for all of your learning content. While it may sound similar to a Learning Management System (LMS), they are different platforms. Specifically, LMSs deliver and track learning, with their primary focus being on managing learners and assessing their performance. On the other hand, an LCMS focuses solely on the learning content. It provides a centralized storage center where all versions and formats of learning materials "live," giving you access to the entire L&D ecosystem of your organization from a single platform.

What Are Authoring Tools?

Authoring tools are used by Instructional Designers and learning professionals to create eLearning lessons. They are available on your desktop or on the cloud, and can be used to create multiple types of learning formats, from quizzes, surveys, and drag-and-drop exercises to instructional videos, simulations, case scenarios, game-based activities, and even VR and AR environments. There is a very large variety of authoring tools in the market to cover different learning needs, audiences, industries, and technological requirements.

Authoring Doesn't Equal Managing

If you have an L&D team or department in your organization, you already have one or more authoring tools to create courses for your employees or clients. Understandably, you may be thinking, "Do I really need an LCMS? Doesn't the authoring tool cover all my needs?" The answer lies in what each tool can do. Specifically, authoring tools create content, while LCMSs manage it. It is not possible to replace a Learning Content Management tool with an authoring tool, as it lacks storage, management, updating, and centralized access features. On the contrary, most LCMSs include authoring features, at times advanced enough to replace course authoring software completely.

5 Ways In Which LCMS Differ From Traditional Authoring Tools

Collaboration And Workflow

Creating eLearning courses is not a solitary task. Multiple employees need to collaborate to research content, draft materials, test those drafts, and review final products. Even after the content creation process is complete, ongoing communication is necessary to implement changes, update content, etc.

With authoring tools, collaboration and workflow depend on the number and quality of external tools integrated into the authoring software. However, even if you have a well-curated collection, you still need to update and manage different platforms, which can fragment communication and cause production bottlenecks. On the other hand, LCMSs take co-authoring to a new level, allowing multiple professionals and experts to work simultaneously on the same platform. This enables team members to instantly view each other's work, facilitating smoother collaboration and accelerating workflow. Moreover, an LCMS eliminates version confusion, as it prevents the existence of multiple versions of the same course.

Content Reusability And Scalability

Any learning course you create is likely to be used more than once. Different departments may need to use parts of the training course, or you might want to expand an existing course to incorporate the latest advancements in the industry. In any case, reusing a course means reformatting it for every specific audience, which can involve long hours spent duplicating, translating, and reformatting content.

This has been, and still is, the reality when using traditional authoring tools. Reusing and repurposing courses is a difficult, predominantly manual, and repetitive process. Not to mention that authoring tools often can't keep up with the content management demands of a growing organization. In many cases, it can lead to inconsistencies and affect the quality and effectiveness of training initiatives. However, when you use an LCMS, reusing content becomes simple and largely automated. With its single-source functionality, you can create, edit, and review content once, then export it to any platform, audience, or format you need. Most importantly, the content will be automatically optimized to the selected format and medium.

Multi-Device And Accessibility Readiness

In this technology-driven era, training courses must be available on a variety of devices, from computers and laptops to tablets and smartphones. At the same time, accessibility has become a top priority for many businesses, which are striving to ensure that their online courses are inclusive for everyone.

While multi-device and accessibility readiness are essential for modern businesses creating training content, traditional authoring tools often struggle to keep pace. It might be quite challenging to update your content to comply with responsive design and accessibility standards, especially given how fast these requirements evolve. This task becomes even more complex when multiple versions of numerous training courses are involved, leaving you open to usability and compliance issues. LCMSs come with built-in responsive design features that address these challenges. They empower designers and instructors to edit content from a centralized hub, allowing adjustments to automatically cascade to all versions and audiences.

Reporting And Analytics

It is important to keep track of the performance of your training course as well as how learners are responding to it. This can be achieved through reporting and data analysis tools that are often integrated with the learning software you use.

While authoring tools can provide some understanding into the efficiency of your training course and various learner engagement metrics, the information they offer is limited compared to a Learning Content Management System. Using xAPI insights, an LCMS delves deeper into the training experience, exploring learner behavior and activities across multiple platforms and formats. This way, you gain a more comprehensive view of their learning journey and are able to make data-informed decisions and implement impactful changes.

Future Proofing

The final thing you need to keep in mind when choosing a tool or platform for your L&D strategy is how they are going to adapt to the rapid changes in the industry. As Artificial Intelligence (AI) gains more and more ground in the eLearning sector, adaptability is a feature you can't overlook.

Legacy authoring tools may have served you well for a number of years, but if you try to introduce AI-powered workflows or more technologically advanced delivery formats, you might find that they are not up to par. Integrations are much more complicated and clunky with traditional software, often leading to unsatisfactory results. On the other hand, LCMS platforms are much more versatile and adaptable. They easily integrate with AI-powered features, automation, and learning in the flow of work activities and support. As a result, they help future-proof your organization, ensuring you can make necessary adjustments as your company evolves technologically.

Ushering A New Era Of L&D With LCMSs

The new era of Learning and Development requires much more than simple content creation. Modern organizations that want to create quality content for their audience must learn how to manage their learning courses in a manner that is efficient and, most importantly, centralized. This way, they can ensure that their audience is always receiving 1consistent, high-quality content that reflects the brand image across all platforms and formats. Learning the differences between LCMSs vs authoring tools and making the transition from one tool to the other will help you achieve this goal and pave the way for a new era in your L&D strategy.

Useful Links

Are you interested in finding out more about how advanced LCMS platforms, such as dominKnow | ONE, have helped organizations achieve their learning goals? Read the following success stories:

How Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman & BAE Systems Support F-35 Training System with LCMS Efficiencies

How a Large Pharmaceutical Company Seized Control of Global Training with dominKnow | ONE?

Case Study: Society of Actuaries Cuts Content Review Time by 50%, Development by 25% with dominKnow

How Discover Bullet-Proofed Their Regulatory Practices With dominKnow | ONE

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