Outsourcing eLearning development

I like working with eLearning vendors as a rule.

There's a certain amount of flexibility it allows that is otherwise non-existent when you have a small and over stretched internal team and a finite budget. Good vendor relationships are invaluable, but shallow, transactional or reactive relationships can be detrimental for all parties.

Recently I've come across some issues related to poor historical vendor / client relationships that are resulting in issues months and even years later, and I want to share some examples:

• Complex and unsustainable solutions that could and should have been simple and sustainable
• Source files or code not being handed over (because it wasn't stated in the contract up-front!)
• Bespoke tools being used for content for no apparent reason, then significant cost charged for periodic changes and updates
• No consultation or questioning of the client's requirement, rather just doing as directed or what was done last time. Easy money, but nowhere near as good as they could have done

Look at my LinkedIn history and you'll see that I have worked on both sides of the fence in this industry - I've been the vendor and the customer.

As a customer, I prefer to work with vendors with whom I can build a trusting relationship. I have been known to over share just to make sure the vendor knows where I am coming from. If I am going to work with them, I want it to be a situation where we all look good.

Similarly, as a vendor, I'm not afraid to tell a customer if their ideas are going to come back and bite them. I've been around long enough to have seen it happen enough from both sides.

I could share specific examples, but I don't want to demonise anyone, as "it takes two to tango" and the situations I have observed or been a part of could vary with different actors in the mix.

Here's a few things I do, based on previous good and bad experiences to try to start on a steady footing with a vendor (or client):

• As a client, I tell the vendor the bad stuff and the good stuff about the situation they are walking into. If I have a bad LMS, I tell them and even show them. If we can't do accessible or mobile, I put it on the table up front.
• As a client, I tell the vendor that I don't just need them to build in a common tool set, I also need it to be constructed in a sustainable way. Over engineering in Storyline or Captivate can be as bad as using a bespoke tool.
• As a client, I tell the vendor why we're not working with the previous or incumbent vendor, if there was one.
• As a vendor or service provider, I say no (at least at first) to the still all-too-common "can you turn his slide deck into eLearning?", or "can we just video the face to face session and put it on the LMS?"

I feel that I have some pretty good relationships with vendors and internal clients right now. I'm looking forward to kicking off some interesting projects that will make me and my vendors look good.

When we're done, I'll be calling them up from the next place I work because this is how our little industry should work.

Completely unrelated: Tree climbing goats of Morocco

Many of the pictures we see of these goats are apparently the result of a tourist trap. Whilst goats have been observed in certain trees in parts of Morocco, they only started to appear in tourist areas when some savvy goat herders realised people would pay to see them. This started the questionable practice of forcing goats up trees and charging for photos near and around the more tourist friendly parts of Morocco.

https://theculturetrip.com/africa/morocco/articles/the-story-behind-bizarre-tree-climbing-goats-of-morocco/