Learning Management Systems: to Build or to Buy?

Suppose you have been asked to give your opinion on whether your institution or organization should purchase or build a learning management system (LMS). How would you anchor your argument for against either software? There are some specific factors involved in determining the case for whether to buy or use homegrown resources, because e-learning software must meet demanding requirements for performance, flexibility, and connectivity to be effective and efficient.

Homegrown software can be appealing because it is tailor-made to for your specific needs. But is it saving or costing you money and effort? To minimize this cost, you would need to identify and detail every feature that would be needed, as well as pinpoint who in the organization will need to have access to the resource. Be sure to outline data and reporting requirements during the implementation and product evaluation process during the development process. Also think about data quality. If you plan to offer e-learning courseware, you need to be sure that it tracks the data you need and in the manner that you want.

If you opt to buy, make sure that available features (custom-built or otherwise) are developed in advance. Don't assume that the system has built-in features that will suit your all needs. In fact, it is a tricky to assume that all the data you need will be collected by the system unless you investigate its options in-depth. Think about the following questions prior to building or buying the e-learning software:
* Which type of user interface is required?
* How much debugging/troubleshooting will be done on the production phase if building?
* Which access levels are available for different users?
* How will usability tests be conducted?
* Which database output formats are used?

Because each of these questions typically has a different answer for each organization, a team should work together to come up with an air-tight plan. Testing should also be conducted throughout the process and piloted on a small scale before being distributed to the entire organization.

Sometimes it turns out that homegrown products are more expensive either to build or maintain. There is also a possibility that the people who build the systems are no longer with the organization and the technical support is thus interrupted. Because of these issues, companies end up looking for off-the-shelf product, with standard support, training, and continuous upgrades and improvements that they can buy rather than build themselves.

The down side of off-the-shelf resources is that they do not always meet the organizational requirements. Technical support can be expensive, and may not able available when required. These includes updates, upgrades, and licensing requirements must that must be addressed even before the purchase takes place. Another option would be to purchase off-the-shelf software that is customizable and flexible if possible to meet the specific requirements. Many resources provide this option so be sure to research it.

Regardless of the option decided upon, it is important to keep in mind that there may be additional costs such as training, maintenance, upgrading. At the end of the day, the important thing to determine is the cost-benefit analysis, and of course the value added to the learners, instructors, and teaching and learning process.