QUALITY ASSURANCE - LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Quality Assurance - Learning Management System

Quality Assurance - Learning Management System

Learning environment and training management tools are commonly referred to as the “learning management system,” or LMS. These components may be acquired from different partners or developed independently, but are all critical to creating an optimal online learning experience.

Individuals and companies use the term “Learning Management System” (LMS) to refer to any software solution that supports the delivery and management of learning. LMS may refer to any one or combination of modules-or sets of functionality. There are over a hundred LMS suppliers on the Web with a wide range of functionality. The only common element among these suppliers is that they offer software that supports learning.

While not a standard convention, it is useful to refer to the possible sets of LMS functionality as “modules.” Each of these modules offers a unique set of functionality. Just as in ERP, these modules may be fairly independent or tightly integrated with the other modules in the system.

Software Development Concepts

Basic quality -related system development concepts that are important to understand include the following:

1. Software is durable; it does not change with frequent use and does not decay. Therefore, just as good developers can make a lasting positive contribution to an organization with a quality software product, poor developers can unleash an unending curse with bad software.

2. The system development life cycle covers requirements, design, programming, testing, installation, and maintenance. Using a recognized development methodology allows employees to assimilate into the organization and contribute quickly. Software quality assurance is a full life-cycle activity, because each phase is dependent on the products that are delivered from the previous phase.

3. The cost of correcting an error increases with the span of time in the system development life cycle that the error goes undetected. The further along in the process an error is found, the more rework usually has to be done.

4. Distinctions should be made between the quality of the process used to create a product, the quality of the product itself, and the resources used in production and maintenance. Quality assurance is concerned with the quality of the process, and quality control is concerned with the quality of the product. Configuration management is concerned with conservation of resources.

Quality Assurance Plan

The foundation of quality assurance is process improvement. Every process experiences diminishing returns, even as incremental improvements are made. Eventually, the entire process needs to be re-evaluated, new technology or techniques need to be researched, and new economies of scale recognized. The magnitude of potential change can be so significant that only top management directive and commitment can make success a reality. Among the major concepts to be considered in developing the quality assurance plan are:

* Vision: Top management needs to be demanding and clear as to quality expectations, and define specific responsibilities to work toward establishing a continuous quality improvement cycle. The quality policy is best implemented when accompanied by quality objectives ...