From the Director’s Desk Learn to Do Better By Dave Micciche Organizations of all sizes use software applications that are interoperable for many reasons—reduced consulting and support costs, increased productivity, faster time to market—all of which lead to a better bottom line. Why then, don’t organizations use the same logic when evaluating learning products? Most companies use a standalone Learning Management System (LMS). These types of hosted training courses are intended to keep their users up-to-date. But, how can this be possible when it’s clear that software developers are iterating weekly, if not daily? Traditional learning and training products don’t stand a chance in the world of subscription software and constant updates. When you run into a roadblock, why should you have to open a browser tab, then log in, then click on a course, then search for a topic, then watch a video, then go back into the application, and then FINALLY get back to being productive? Of course, that’s assuming that your legacy LMS has content for the latest version of your software. News flash: Learning Management Systems are the new flip phone. Sure, they still work if you don’t mind scrolling through your address book to find the number you’re looking for, but I much prefer the intuitive ease of “Hey Siri” or “OK Google” myself. Your learning technology should provide the answer right inside of the application, in real time, without requiring you to even ask the question. Software and learning should be seamlessly interwoven. Users should see new learning content as it is published and be able to apply new skills and use new features instantly. How about access to workflows, best practices, project-based images, spreadsheets and more, right inside the software application? Yes, please! Companies should have the ability to see where and when their users most often need help— and be able to deliver it, on the spot. Relying on internal helpdesk and external vendor support teams is not only reactive, it assumes that they have the most up-to-date content and knowledge, and that’s generally not the case. Why? Because they can’t keep up with the frequent changes either. Software is changing to meet the demands of faster and more dynamic design processes that leverage increasing interoperability between applications, yet most of today’s learning products are static, standalone course libraries designed for A to Z training. Nobody has the time or budget for traditional training. 21st century software users need a solution that gives them exactly what they need, right when they need it.