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Gaining Information Technology (IT) Support
It is virtually impossible to implement a successful e-learning strategy without the support, cooperation, and even enthusiasm of the Information Technology department. Without a robust and well-tested technology backbone to support e-learning content and learning management systems, e-learning initiatives would surely fail. An organization can have the most progressive e-learning strategy, the highest quality e-learning design and development strategy, and the most advanced content, but without an effective deployment mechanism, and an effective technology architecture on which to build the various e-learning components, users and management alike will never reap the benefits of the full e-learning solution.
The organizations most successful in rolling out major e-learning initiatives are those in which the CLO, the Chief Information Officer (CIO), and/or the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) have fostered a true partnership between their organizations, and leveraged the strengths of each to build a truly integrated e-learning initiative.
"Build alliances with internal information technology groups.E-learning is a learning initiative, and thus, should be managed by learning professionals. However, as a technology-enabled learning solution, e-learning also requires the involvement of technical resources to be successful.*
*See Chapter 14: McDonald's Corporation
Making the IT partnership work requires an extensive amount of collaboration and cooperation on the part of all functional groups. It is important to:
Have clearly define roles and responsibilities
Over the course of any given e-learning project, all groups will fulfill various roles and responsibilities. These roles and responsibilities should be clearly identified and defined from the outset of the project, and agreed upon by these functions prior to project inception. For example, functional requirements are the purview of the Learning team; technical requirements may be better specified by the IT team. Both sets of requirements, however, should be reviewed and approved by all teams, such that they create an integrated whole. If vendor negotiation/integration is within the scope of the e-learning project, the team needs to identify who will negotiate with the vendor; what the ongoing vendor integration/ communication responsibilities will be, and who will assume those responsibilities. Clear identification of roles and responsibilities will help to mitigate confusion in the development process and will avoid any level of assignment of fault if deliverables and milestones are not achieved in adherence with project plan requirements.
Establish a mutual level of respect
Over the course of a typical e-learning project, there will be an ebb and flow in team activities, leadership, and decision-making required by each of the teams—Learning and Information Technology. At any given point in the project, based on the scope and the nature of the activities and tasks underway, one group or the other may have a more appropriate skill set or range of capabilities to take the lead and to push that phase through. It is critical to the overall success of the project that the two groups have a high level of mutual respect and that each seamlessly defers to the other at the appropriate time, without turf battles to establish jurisdiction.
Establish clear standards
Standards and compliance requirements will be an important facet of any e-learning project. The need to establish standards and guidelines is, of course, highly dependent on the scope of the specific project. Some examples might include: AICC/SCORM standards required for content acquisition; minimum configuration required for content acquisition; standard user configuration to which vendor capabilities must comply; and testing standards/levels of compliance for sign-off on any given project phase. (See Chapters 4 and 6 for more information on AICC and SCORM.)
Dedicate specific IT resources to learning projects
Prioritization of information technology resources for learning projects can sometimes be a barrier to success. Typically, many IT departments are overwhelmed with the portfolio of development needs and priorities in their queue. The priority of learning projects may not be clearly understood by IT resources. The learning curve for the IT resources randomly assigned to learning projects can be very steep, wasting valuable time, thereby unnecessarily extending project timelines and milestone dates. An individual, or cadre of individuals, from IT dedicated to the learning function initiatives is a huge advantage for those organizations progressive enough to dedicate these resources. As additional e-learning initiatives are added to the development stream, IT professionals can quickly grasp the impact of those additional projects on their current architecture; interpret those requirements into an IT framework; and can continue to work with the learning team to ensure that there are no roadblocks in building the e-learning infrastructure in a rational and progressive approach. Once the relationships between learning-dedicated IT resources and the learning team have been built, teamwork and partnership become much easier to achieve.
"The role of the training director has shifted to include skills of an IT director. Training directors now must be knowledgeable about implementing learning technology within their organization."*
* See Chapter 12: BMW
Ensure regular communication at all levels
In addition to informal team communications, a formal communication policy and related schedule should be established. Project status calls and meetings should be conducted between the two teams on a regular basis, preferably weekly or biweekly for high priority projects. Identification of issues and resolution dates for those issues should be an integral part of each session. Those issues which cannot be resolved by the working teams should be elevated to a CIO/CLO level, with communications at that level to take place on an as-needed basis, but preferably at least on a monthly basis.
