SCORM and the LMS are the Achilles Heel of training. Tracking data has become synonymous with measurement. This week I got an email from a vendor promoting the tracking capabilities of the product. It made realize how often tracking data is used to misrepresent training success.

Many people think that metrics pulled out of an LMS indicate the success of training programs. They see tracking metrics as “performance measurement”. Tracking is not measurement and is no indication that learning took place, or that learning will transfer to job performance. Relying on tracking data shows our collective weakness in measuring training effectiveness.

Reliance on tracking data also means we aren’t asking the right questions about our training programs. How many times are you asked the following questions about training:

• How many learners completed the eLearning course?
• How many people attended training?

These are important stats, but they have little, if any, correlation to job…