Assume that you been assigned by your employer to suggest whether your company should buy or build a training platform from scratch. How would you state your case, for and against the decision that your company should make? Should you recommend buying an existing off-the-shelf software application or would you suggest that your company purchase existing software?

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 make a decision to purchase a learning management system, be sure that the features that you really need are already part of the system. You should not assume that the training platform will meet all your teaching and learning needs. As a matter of fact, it is not a good idea to assume that the training software;s data management and collection system is going to be automatic. Hence look to answer the following questions as you decide what is it that you want for your training needs:

Seek to answer the following questions: What user interface features are desired? What level of trouble shooting and debugging is needed during production and development? What levels of access will different users have? How will usability testing be approached? What database outputs are needed for training and records?

Given that each of the above questions will generate different responses for each organization or company, a team should be brought together to work on coming up with the best plan possible. This means that project management will be important here. Usability and testing should also occur throughout the process and should be piloted with a small group of learners and instructors on a smaller scale before the learning management system is launched throughout 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.

So, regardless of the option you or the company decides to go with, remember that you will likely incur additional costs in maintenance, updates, and user training. In the final event what it boils down to is the return on investment for the company. Even more important is the value added to the organization through the training and skill and knowledge advancement of the trainees (employees), instructors and learning management system team.