Start with the operating problem, not a feature list
An LMS procurement often begins with a spreadsheet containing hundreds of features. That feels rigorous, but it can hide the real question: what must become easier, safer or more measurable when the new platform is live?
Write down the decisions your team cannot make today, the manual work that absorbs time, and the moments where learners get stuck. Those are requirements. A feature is useful only when it changes one of them.
Make every vendor show the same scenarios
A polished demonstration proves that a vendor can demonstrate its product. It does not prove that your administrators can run your process. Give each shortlisted supplier the same realistic scenarios and the same data to work with.
- A new starter changes role and needs a different learning path
- A manager needs an auditable compliance report without administrator help
- A partner needs access to one catalogue but must not see another
- A completion must reach your CRM, HR system or BI platform
Price the whole operating model
Licence cost is only one line. Include implementation, migration, integrations, content remediation, administrator time, support, reporting tools and the cost of leaving. Ask what happens when learner numbers rise and what is charged separately.
The full guide continues with the requirements workshop, demo scorecard, commercial comparison, implementation risk and final decision checks.