6 Important Factors to Consider Before Outsourcing eLearning Development

Statista, in their previous year report, forecasted that the overall IT outsourcing industry which includes but is not limited to application outsourcing, administrative outsourcing, and cloud computing services, would account for a combined revenue of $351 billion in 2021. And it wouldn’t be surprising to see this figure climbing up in 2022 and beyond.

Outsourcing is the modern trend. Today, most organizations look to outsource development services to a custom software development company instead of depending on their in-house team for the same [Read our take on In-house vs Outsourcing]. There are plenty of reasons behind it. You receive high-quality professional services, and at the same time, save on the hiring and training expenses of the in-house team which can be a real drain on your budget. Put simply, you tend to get a better return on your investment.

Let’s now talk about outsourcing eLearning development. In fact, let’s first understand why you should even outsource it in the first place.

The eLearning industry is currently on the boom, the undeserving credit of which goes to the Covid-19 pandemic. Schools and colleges remain(ed) shut, and this led to a rise in adoption of the eLearning platforms. Learners (as well as trainers) have shifted to digital learning platforms and are relying on the same for streamlined learner-trainer communication.

Users are also looking for online eLearning platforms that deliver them personalized content. These eLearning platforms, therefore, must be developed in a way that makes learning personalized, fun and exciting, and also helps learners upskill themselves. Outsourcing eLearning services to someone who specializes in it lets you build a system that is feature-rich, learner and instructor-friendly, and caters to your exact requirements. However, outsourcing doesn’t always prove to be a great decision unless a few important factors are looked upon.

Things to Consider Before Outsourcing eLearning Services

Choosing the right eLearning development partner enables you to leverage their expertise and build a great product in a short period. But do consider the below-mentioned vital factors before you go ahead with one.

1. Confidentiality and Data Security

Confidentiality is an important factor not just in eLearning outsourcing but any kind of work that involves two or more parties working together on a project. Since you would be sharing some important information with a third-party vendor, it’s imperative that the information remains confidential. For that matter, you can ask the outsourcing partner to sign a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement, and ask the team members as well to be committed to maintaining the confidentiality of the information shared with them.

To ensure data security, check that the systems and the servers of the company are secure enough to keep the data safe and intact. Any data or file transfer that happens should also be encrypted.

2. Contract Signing

Before any business deal takes place between two parties, a contract is signed that caters to the interests of both parties. When drafting the contract, ensure that the metrics or contractual details are clearly defined regarding the success and failure of both parties. Any sort of activity that you feel can bring disagreement between you and the vendor should be mentioned in the terms and conditions of the contract. This helps avoid any discrepancies later.

Prepare a checklist as to how things are supposed to take place during the eLearning development process, and who would hold accountability if anything goes wrong or off track. For such scenarios, you can also define escalation processes and exit clauses to tackle the worst-case scenarios or close the deal when any agreed and important terms of a service contract are dishonored.

3. Check Out Their Expertise

Whenever you come across any eLearning development service provider, do check out their expertise in that domain. See how much knowledge and understanding they possess of the eLearning industry and how much aware they are of the latest trends in that industry. For your better understanding, review some of their previous projects thoroughly, and if needed, request for a demo of similar projects. Have a word with the team members who will be involved in the project to see their approach. You may also put forward your concerns if any.

4. Decide the Outsourcing Aspects

Outsourcing doesn’t mean that you have to outsource the entire project. eLearning development comprises of many elements, such as content research and curation, content creation, instructional design for storyboarding, and technical development. So, based on your requirements, you can outsource the mentioned elements. But be very clear about what you want to outsource from the very beginning, or it can disturb the smooth workflow.

5. Discuss Learning Objectives

Make sure that the learning objectives are clear to everyone involved in the project including the subject matter experts, content creators, and developers. Everyone should have an understanding of the vision and mission as to why the product is being built and what is expected out of it. This doesn’t only help build a relevant product but the learners who will be using the platform or the services would also get greatly benefited.

The learning objectives aren’t about the business goals but rather about the objectives that you want to achieve once the desired features or functionalities (for which you outsourced) are added to the eLearning platform. In other words, the objectives explain the expected outcomes from the learners or the platform (the defined KPIs) after the creation of the product or specific features.

6. Do Keep the Budget in Mind

Incorporating more interactive elements would surely enhance the quality of the eLearning platform and do the same to the learner experience, but this can also put more load on your budget. Therefore, it’s important that you are realistic about your budget and expectations from the beginning.

The same goes for the project timeline. You would have to exceed your budget if you want the project to be completed before an estimated time frame. But again, you need to be realistic about the timeline although your eLearning development partner would clear you upfront as to how much time it would take at least.

Conclusion

Picking an eLearning app development partner won’t be a big challenge. The challenge lies in finding the ‘right’ outsourcing partner who deeply understands your objectives, fits your budget and helps you build the desired product while keeping everything upfront. A lot of things, including the success of your project, would depend on the eLearning vendor you choose, so make sure you pick the right one. At the same time, do not forget to consider these factors before you finalize your eLearning app development partner.

At Dew, we have successfully developed and delivered multiple eLearning projects. Contact our expert eLearning developers to build yours.