LCMS: Converging Content and Technology

Often confused with a learning management system, a learning content management system is an integral part of a full-featured talent management application. The benefits associated with an LCMS are not as well documented as the other aspects of talent management, such as succession planning and performance management systems. Therefore the LCMS is often overlooked or undervalued.

A traditional LMS is most effective when it also includes content authoring and publishing through an LCMS. Unlike an LCMS, an LMS is the overarching learning system that offers an array of tools to streamline administration, delivery and tracking of employee training for an organization. These learning tools often include instructor-led training administration, pre-integrated e-learning courses and compliance management. The primary function of the LCMS, on the other hand, is to give organizations the ability to create and publish custom e-learning content more efficiently.

Elements of an LCMS
The most comprehensive LCMS applications enable any organization to author, publish and rapidly deploy media-rich content. And with an increasing number of vendors offering simple-to-use authoring tools, comprehensive test building, and assessment tools and collaboration tools, organizations are easily able to design customized, SCORM-compliant courses without any IT background, programming knowledge or steep learning curves, making it the most cost-effective alternative to outsourcing these tasks.

The elements of a typical LCMS include an authoring application, a data repository, a delivery interface and administration tools. These components allow users to fully integrate with an existing LMS, making it easy to publish customized and pre-existing e-learning courses and to manage the administration, tracking and reporting of these courses.

Below are some of the tools that organizations should ensure are included in any LCMS that they are considering.