Plain meaningA tool used to create learning content, such as eLearning modules, videos, job aids, assessments, simulations, or interactive practice.
Where it shows upThe team is deciding how to build an asset and needs to match the tool to the learning job, maintenance need, accessibility need, and publishing path.
What to inspectLook for output format, accessibility support, review workflow, LMS compatibility, update burden, translation needs, and who can maintain the asset later.
Try first Choose the simplest tool that can support the task, review standard, and maintenance need.
Office or Workspace Compare tool options in a simple table with columns for output, owner, review, accessibility, LMS fit, and maintenance.
AI-assisted Ask AI to draft tool-selection questions, then test the actual tool behavior before making a platform decision.
Plain meaningA platform used to assign, host, track, report on, and manage learning activity. Most teams call it an LMS.
Where it shows upThe team needs to manage required training, onboarding paths, content access, completion records, reports, or learner assignments.
What to inspectLook for audience rules, reporting needs, catalog structure, permissions, integrations, content formats, admin ownership, and maintenance burden.
Try first Before changing the platform, write the decision the LMS needs to support.
Office or Workspace Use a decision log or requirements table to separate platform needs from nice-to-have features.
AI-assisted Ask AI to turn messy LMS requests into governance, reporting, content, permission, and integration questions.
Plain meaningThe tools and platforms used to create, deliver, manage, track, support, and improve learning work.
Where it shows upThe team is choosing or fixing tools such as an LMS, LXP, authoring tool, content library, survey tool, knowledge base, AI tool, or reporting system.
What to inspectLook for the job the tool needs to do, admin burden, integrations, data quality, accessibility, governance, reporting, and maintenance.
Try first Write the workflow the tool needs to support before comparing features.
Office or Workspace Use a requirements table with must-have, nice-to-have, owner, risk, and evidence columns.
AI-assisted Ask AI to turn a list of tool complaints into workflow, governance, data, and reporting requirements.
Plain meaningA learning experience platform. In plain terms, it is usually a platform focused on discovery, recommendations, playlists, and learner experience.
Where it shows upThe team wants people to find learning more easily, browse content, follow skill paths, or get recommendations.
What to inspectLook for content quality, search needs, taxonomy, data quality, integrations, governance, and whether people need discovery or required assignment.
Try first Decide whether the problem is discovery, assignment, reporting, content quality, or governance before comparing platforms.
Office or Workspace Create a comparison table for LMS needs, LXP needs, content needs, and reporting needs.
AI-assisted Ask AI to sort platform requirements into assignment, discovery, reporting, content, integration, and governance categories.
Plain meaningA common eLearning package format that lets a course launch in an LMS and report basic data such as completion, score, and time. The versions most L&D teams hear about are SCORM 1.2 and SCORM 2004.
Where it shows upThe team needs an authoring tool course to run inside an LMS and send tracking data back.
What to inspectLook for which SCORM version the LMS supports, which version the authoring tool publishes, what the LMS can track, whether the package works on mobile, and whether completion data is enough for the decision.
Try first Ask what data you actually need before assuming a SCORM package solves the reporting problem. SCORM is common, but it is usually basic.
Office or Workspace Keep a simple test checklist for launch, completion, score, resume behavior, and mobile behavior.
AI-assisted Ask AI to draft a SCORM test checklist for your LMS, but test the package yourself in the real platform.
Plain meaningA next-generation learning data standard that can capture learning and performance activity beyond simple LMS completion. It is powerful, but many learning systems still do not support it cleanly across the whole workflow.
Where it shows upThe team wants to track practice, simulations, tools, systems, or experiences that do not fit neatly into ordinary LMS completion tracking.
What to inspectLook for what activity matters, whether the LMS, LRS, authoring tool, and reporting tools support xAPI, where the data will go, who owns the data, and whether simpler evidence would be enough.
Try first Write the decision the data needs to support before choosing xAPI. If the platform support is weak, a simpler measurement plan may be more useful.
Office or Workspace Map the activity, source, owner, and decision in a simple table before involving technical teams.
AI-assisted Ask AI to translate the measurement goal into plain-language activity statements, then review them with the learning tech owner.
Plain meaningA modern eLearning launch and tracking specification that combines parts of LMS course launch with xAPI-style activity data.
Where it shows upA team needs more structured launch and tracking than older eLearning packages can provide, but still needs LMS-like assignment and launch behavior.
What to inspectLook for LMS support, authoring tool support, reporting needs, test effort, and whether the team can maintain the setup.
Try first Confirm whether your LMS and authoring tool actually support cmi5 before planning around it.
Office or Workspace Use a platform testing checklist with support, launch, tracking, reporting, and admin ownership columns.
AI-assisted Ask AI to draft plain-language questions for the LMS vendor or admin team, then verify the answers in product documentation or testing.
Plain meaningA system that stores xAPI learning activity records so they can be reported on or connected with other data.
Where it shows upA team wants learning activity data beyond what the LMS normally stores.
What to inspectLook for xAPI support, data ownership, reporting needs, privacy rules, integrations, and who will maintain the store.
Try first Confirm the decision the data needs to support before adding another tracking system.
Office or Workspace Map source, activity, owner, data destination, report need, and maintenance owner in a simple table.
AI-assisted Ask AI to draft questions for the LMS, LRS, or analytics owner, then verify answers in documentation and testing.
Plain meaningLearning Tools Interoperability, a standard that helps learning platforms connect to external tools with a more consistent launch and data exchange pattern.
Where it shows upThe team wants an LMS or learning platform to launch an outside tool without creating a completely separate learner experience.
What to inspectLook for tool support, LMS support, learner launch path, data shared, privacy review, support owner, and reporting limits.
Try first Ask what learner problem the integration solves before treating LTI as the solution.
Office or Workspace Use a decision log to capture tool, owner, data shared, launch path, support model, and reporting limits.
AI-assisted Ask AI to draft a plain-language vendor question list, then confirm every technical answer with the platform owner.
Plain meaningSingle sign-on, a way for people to access a learning system using their workplace identity instead of another separate login.
Where it shows upLearners need easier access, admins need cleaner identity management, or a platform is being implemented or migrated.
What to inspectLook for user source, groups, roles, permissions, login behavior, exceptions, and who owns identity changes.
Try first Write the learner access path and the admin ownership path before implementation begins.
Office or Workspace Track SSO decisions in a shared implementation checklist with owner, status, risk, and test user columns.
AI-assisted Ask AI to create a non-technical SSO testing checklist, then validate it with IT or the platform owner.
Plain meaningA human resources information system that usually holds employee, role, manager, location, and organization data.
Where it shows upLearning assignments, audiences, reports, onboarding, or role paths depend on employee data.
What to inspectLook for which fields feed learning systems, how often they update, who owns corrections, and what happens when data is missing or wrong.
Try first List the HRIS fields your learning workflow depends on and who owns each field.
Office or Workspace Use a simple data dictionary in Sheets, Excel, or Lists to track field name, source, owner, use, and risk.
AI-assisted Ask AI to draft questions about audience rules and data dependencies, then confirm with HRIS, IT, or people operations owners.
Plain meaningA way for systems to exchange data or trigger actions. For L&D teams, APIs usually matter when tools need to share users, assignments, completions, content, or reports.
Where it shows upA team wants systems to connect automatically instead of exporting and importing files by hand.
What to inspectLook for the data source, destination, owner, field mapping, security review, error handling, and maintenance owner.
Try first Name the exact data that needs to move before asking for an integration.
Office or Workspace Use a data mapping table with source field, destination field, owner, refresh timing, and error notes.
AI-assisted Ask AI to turn a plain-language workflow into integration questions for IT, then verify the technical answer with the platform team.
Plain meaningA shared reference that explains what fields mean, where they come from, who owns them, and how they should be used.
Where it shows upReports do not match, teams define fields differently, or platform data is hard to trust.
What to inspectLook for field names, definitions, source system, owner, update timing, allowed values, and known limits.
Try first Define five fields that show up in repeated reports or LMS decisions.
Office or Workspace Use Excel, Sheets, Lists, or SharePoint to maintain field name, meaning, source, owner, and use notes.
AI-assisted Ask AI to draft plain-language field definitions from existing report notes, then have the data owner validate them.