Whatever you think of theAffordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), you must admit that the recent rollout ofthe website, healthcare.gov, has beenless than stellar. Hopefully, it will be fixed and we’ll learn what went wrongso it won’t happen again. But the damage is done, confidence is low, and theeffort needed to rebuild the reliability and reputation of the website willtake a long time, a lot of money, and more attention to infrastructure.
Infrastructure rules
We’ve been there too and we’vesuffered for it. The eLearning world is not immune to infrastructure failuresand their consequences. Some examples:
- A training group produced a video-intensiveeLearning course and the CEO told all 40,000 employees to take it within a week.The result was a complete collapse of the company’s network under the stress oftoo many simultaneous users and too much bandwidth demand.
- A retail business built an online course thatwas designed to download to everyone’s desktop overnight. Unfortunately, thecompany’s network was tasked to transmit data from millions of very small salestransactions every night at the same time. The result was a traffic jam worsethan the rush hour on the freeways of Los Angeles, New York, and Washington,DC, combined.
- A virtual classroom initiative at a majorcorporation got off to a very rocky start when it took more than an hour toconnect learners to the course because a lot of locations had differentplatforms, software, protocols, and restrictions regarding network access. Manyusers gave up.
Whether you are running ahealthcare website for millions or an eLearning course for just a few hundred,failure to pay attention to infrastructure, networking, and other technical issuescan result in disaster. eLearning professionals and their management should takenote.
Buildinga complete eLearning technology architecture
A complete eLearning technology architectureis not just the tools and programs you’ve purchased for your work, likeauthoring tools and learning management systems, because there are manyinfrastructure issues to consider as well. You must make sure you have all yourtechnology architecture bases covered. This includes, but is not limited tothese seven areas:
- Accessand connectivity. The first step in getting eLearning out to users is tomake sure they can actually get it! Dothey have reliable access to the network and to your programs when and wherethey need it, and with as little inconvenience as possible? Login problems, firewallissues, “page not found,” and other error messages don’t help build confidencewith your users.
- Capacity.Does your network have the capacity to efficiently deliver eLearningprograms, including rich-media content, to the workforce without degradingother mission-critical applications? If eLearning disrupts access to otherbusiness services, you’re in trouble.
- Load and performance.Can your network handle the expected demand generated by lots of learnerstrying to access the course at the same time? Stress testing for the largest anticipatedload on the network is essential; don’t overlook this.
- Bugs. Clearly,you want to purge any bugs that would cause your program to perform poorly orcrash. Thorough, methodical testing is key here; some bugs are harder to catchthan others.
- Platform compatibility.Does your eLearning program run on all user platforms? Granted, ubiquitousinternet and browser technologies have mitigated this issue somewhat, butmaking sure your content is available on desktops, laptops, tablets,smartphones, and other devices, running different operating systems, is still aconcern that you must address. Responsive design and decision-making related toFlash vs. HTML5, for example, are keys to success. With the B.Y.O.D. (bringyour own device) movement emerging, the challenge may become greater.
- Security.If you are dealing with proprietary or competitive information, you need tomake sure that your content does not get into the hands of those not authorizedto see it, and that those who are, can pass through system-security checkpointsto get access.
- Transactiontracking. Responding to learner input, administering evaluations, tracking andrecording results, confirming registrations, and generating transcripts aresome of the many types of transactions critical to a successful eLearningprogram. If you do not capture, report, archive, and organize thesetransactions accurately, end-user trust in the system will plummet. Think of itthis way: What if Amazon or eBay could not keep track of your purchases?
All of this comes on top of testing your program for usability(navigation, screen design, etc.), content accuracy, and learning effectiveness.Total technology preparedness requires that you:
- Put astrong emphasis on project management. eLearning is no different from anyother software development and delivery project; it’s complex, and can easilyget away from you. Test your infrastructure, and then test it again.
- Buildinfrastructure quality assurance and system testing into your plans. Adjustyour timelines and reset your milestones to make sure you have all of yourtechnical delivery ducks in a row.
- Partner closelywith IT. The days of training and eLearning groups running their owninfrastructure are over. IT owns the network, the platforms, and the access; weown the content. Neither can be successful without the full cooperation of theother. IT knows how to test software, platforms, and more, especially on thenetworks they manage. Listen to them.
- Lookforward. The question is not whether your network and infrastructurearchitecture was able to handle your lastprogram; it’s whether it can handle your nextprogram.
A CLO with extensive eLearningexperience once told me, “Content may be king, but infrastructure is God.” Trueenough. Too bad the folks in Washington, DC didn’t take this to heart withhealthcare.gov. Let’s not let this happen to us.
Learn more
Learnmore about eLearning infrastructure strategies, challenges, and opportunitiesat Ecosystem 2014, a special program co-located with The eLearning Guild’s Learning Solutions 2014 conference in Orlando, in March.
