Data continues to be a hot topic in L&D. The options for collecting data continue to grow, along with the potential for finding new insights for learning design. But in conversations with L&D professionals about the need for better data, it’s become clear that good design is not only about designing for data, but also designing from data.

Significant learning occurs on the job, but how do you manage and track it? Despite a robust eLearning curriculum, on-the-job training of a geographically dispersed workforce was inconsistent and untamed. The existing LMS lacked the ability to track real-world learning activities, which were too extensive for a paper-based system. Empowering Performance forged a customizable, cutting-edge technology solution that could grow and evolve with the organization.

The corporate training industry is awakening to the need for significantly better reporting and improved accountability across all organizational divisions. The advanced data enabled by a new generation of training development tools will allow businesses to make smarter decisions and formulate competitive strategies based on highly credible and timely insights.

When it comes to accurately identifying skill strengths and gaps in a team, many organizations struggle. Typically these decisions are gut-driven rather than based in analytics, and as a result, they often aren’t as effective as they could be. While many organizations want these decisions to be more data-based, it’s not uncommon for them to not know how or where to pull the data needed to create the most successful teams possible.

More and more people are learning online, independently and at different times. However, in much of the knowledge transfer that occurs, the “learning” is still passed from person to person through social learning. But in L&D it’s not enough to simply bring people together, facilitate learning, and hope for the best. You’ll want to know whether this social learning is effective and how it impacts performance on the job.

Who cares how many people attended your training? No, really, who cares? If someone does, then it’s an important metric. However, your stakeholder is probably more interested in behavior change: How much did the employee apply what they learned to their job, and how has performance improved?

While marketing departments have become increasingly adept at measuring their contribution to financial performance, L&D departments have traditionally been slower at using measurement techniques to prove their worth. There are increasingly sophisticated ways to measure the business impact of learning, yet many L&D professionals are struggling to get started with measurement. What’s the value of measuring learning impact, and how do you rise to the challenge?

Is xAPI here to stay? This is the billion-dollar question. With any new technology, there’s a small set of early adopters who take the plunge while others wait in the wings. When you’re responsible for the learning and development of a large organization, it’s wise to wait and see if this is going to get traction or if it’s just a well-hyped flash in the pan.

Beyond measuring ROI and engagement, L&D should be considering the ongoing effect training has on business metrics. Understanding the financial impact of training is challenging. xAPI is a powerful enabler to help reach level 4. xAPI also triggers visualizations to manage learning impacts on business metrics. It can dynamically correlate learning to performance metrics, helping predict when business issues will occur and where coaching opportunities exist.

Mobile learning projects can be tremendously difficult to measure and track using SCORM. As a matter of fact, there is some data that cannot be captured at all. For organizations moving into multi-screen learning platforms, capturing important information about how the audience interacts with content is a critical missing piece.