Miche-

I don't believe the complexity is affecting the end users (the learners) as much as its affecting the trainers, admins etc. who are trying to use the system to provide learning.
With our current LMS (which shall remain nameless, but is one of the larger more popular one's out there)there are a number of steps that I must take in order to post a class. Many of the steps are redundant and could be accomplished on one page instead of multiple pages. However, if even one step is not completed correctly users will not be able to see the content.
It is the same for reporting, there are too many choices when it comes to reporting. I know they are really there to provide me with as many options as possible, but instead the choices over complicate things and it is difficult to get just the report you really want.
I know this is still a little vague, but like any system, the more complex it gets, the fewer the experts who can actually use it properly. That's really our biggest problem right now.

Miche, as suggested already, people buy LMS systems with all the bells and whistles but end up using not more than 20-30% of entire functionality (more true for administrative side of things).

My suggestion would be that you should absolutely insist on getting demos of LMS's under your consideration and try running few cycles of launching classes/wbt's to get first hand experience of ease of use of the system, and to understand what features you want and dont want. You can also ask the vendor to provide few demo learner licenses and get feedback from select set of end-users to find out their reaction.

Another problem one generally faces is with running SCORM/AICC courses. Your LMS vendor, as well as tools/vendors that you use to generate/procure content would tell you that their systems/courses are standard compliant, but during implementation they may have problems interfacing with each other. Thus, during demo stage itself run couple of your courses on the LMS to ensure they can talk to each other without any problem.

Interestingly in LMS/e-learning implementation, LMS selection itself - once crossed seems like a relatively smaller challenge. Getting different BU heads on-board, understanding their skill-gaps and learning requirements (if not already available/documented), getting users interested in the implementation via various communication channels, and ensuring effective uptake of the system are some of the areas where people face quite a struggle. My suggestion would be to start thinking about these areas early, on, and your LMS partner should also be able to assist you in the above tasks by bringing along their experience with other implementations.

Best,
Manish Gupta
G-Cube Solutions

wat are the functionalities tat ppl tend to use in the LMS(as u said 20-30%)and wat is tat they don use. can you be more specific with the issue. it would be great if you could quote a prior experience, if any.

An LMS often suffers from the same two problems that a lot of database or enterprise programs have. First, they don't come with any content. You need to have enough programs arrange in the right way to get any value from an LMS. Imagine getting a big new 5 drawer file cabinet and all you have is three small file folders.

Second, programs like this are designed to change or improve the way people work. You're asking people to look at training in a new way. This is actually a harder change they you might think. Most LMS programs don't come with a good change strategy.

Finally, most LMS programs are based on curriculum approach. They work best in a school setting were you're putting on and schedulding a lot of classes. If you have a lot of on-the-job training or other non-classroom or elearning based, you might have a difficult time getting them into an LMS.

Look at something like MS Word. Something like 19% of Word users only ever use 10% of the features available in it. Likewise, a LMS vendor can list and offer a slew of bells and whistles but if all you really need is reliable content access, good user integration, and basic reporting... why pay for what you won't use?

All that said, I think that being able to pull valuable metrics is the biggest pain point I've had with LMS systems in general.