Are you thinking about outsourcing the eLearning development for your business?

You may be charged hourly or a fixed price. If you are charged an hourly fee, it will depend on the duration of your project and the number of hours estimated to complete it. If you decide to go with a fixed price, you need to have a precise specification of the requirements and send them to different vendors so they can prepare their proposals.

Working with freelancers can cost less than working with an eLearning vendor. However, their level of expertise may not be as high as that of an eLearning agency's team members.

Benefits of outsourcing training development include:

Outsourcing training development has many benefits, such as reduced costs (you don't pay for employee benefits), decreased time-to-market (outsourcing companies have more experience in developing courses), and improved productivity (outsourcing companies specialize in this type of content).

In-house or outsource?

The in-house option for eLearning development means that you have a dedicated development team at your company. Your company would have to invest time and money into training the staff for this process. It would help to account for management time and employees' salaries. As a result, in-house development can be less expensive than getting an IT outsourcing company on board, especially if you already have an internal eLearning team.

Outsourcing has the advantage of being faster than in-house development because the vendor is specialized in what they do, and they are likely to work on many projects simultaneously. However, this comes with a price tag—and that price tag can be high depending on your needs. Outsourcing also has hidden cost factors like project managers or instructional design support. If you don't have the budget for these extra costs, then your outsourcing partners may not be able to provide a solution that meets your business needs or help you achieve your desired learning outcomes.

What does my project look like?

To get a sense of what type of project you're looking at, consider the following:

What is the scope of your project? How large is it? Does it involve multiple courses or streams of learning? If so, you'll need to factor in the time involved with creating a detailed timeline.

What kind of timeline are you looking at for development? Is this an already-established course that needs to be converted into eLearning and migrated to a learning management system (LMS)? Or does it need to be created from scratch, including instructional design work and multimedia content like video production, animation, or graphic design?

Does your project involve content that's ready to go, or does it need to be developed from scratch? If it's ready to go, how much development will be necessary before you begin piloting and rolling out the curriculum?

How much time do I have?

This is all about how much time you have available. Before starting eLearning software development, it's essential to think about how long it will take to develop that course. We often talk about the development process comprising three phases: Analysis, Design, and Development. These phases can be estimated in terms of time by considering the complexity and scope of your project.

While many other factors impact the timeline for a particular project (e.g., subject matter expertise, instructional design experience), the general logic holds: that more complex projects take longer than less complex ones; larger projects generally take longer than smaller ones. If you're on a deadline—perhaps you need a course developed to meet an upcoming launch date—you may want to consider outsourcing to meet your timeline efficiently and effectively.

What is my budget?

Your budget is the most crucial factor in your decision-making process. Projects can vary widely depending on your needs and expectations. Do you want to develop a single course or an entire curriculum? Are you looking for something robust or straightforward and complex? eLearning development companies will be able to provide quotes based on these factors while learning to build it yourself requires a long investment in time that may not be possible for your situation.

We'll explore some of the options available below, but first: let's talk about costs.

Is there flexibility in my budget and schedule?

You'll also want to consider your budget and timeline. Are these non-negotiable? Does it need to be delivered in a short time? These are good questions you should ask yourself before choosing.

For example, let's say you want to customize an existing course with your branding and some new content. Imagine you have a tight deadline because the approach needs to be delivered by next month. If that were the case, hiring an outside vendor might be the better option because they have a team of instructional designers and graphic artists who can turn around content faster than one person could (assuming there aren't any roadblocks).

What else is there once you've established your goals, timeframe, and budget for your eLearning project? The final thing to consider when deciding between building in-house or outsourcing is whether or not you have the human resources required for eLearning development.

Is there experience in my current staff to create this eLearning courseware?

Consider your current staff. Do you have employees with expertise in the required areas of content development? Is there experience in your existing team to create this eLearning courseware? Do you have project managers with the skills to manage an internal project of this magnitude? What about subject matter experts or instructional designers with the experience to create content for a learning platform that works best for you and your learners?

Finally, do you have all the tools necessary to complete it in-house? This includes eLearning authoring software and systems for editing audio and video. Are there people on board who know how to use these programs effectively so that it doesn't take too long to produce an acceptable level of courseware quality?

How much support will I need with the creation of my courseware?

A lot of course-development decisions boil down to a cost-benefit analysis. The decision often comes down to the following: Do you want to outsource the project, or do you want in-house development?

For example, if your company has dedicated people who can help with course development (marketing, content creation, learning design, etc.), it may make more sense to hire a service provider. Suppose you're looking for someone experienced with developing eLearning courses from start to finish and can help with everything from marketing materials to technical support. In that case, an in-house team can probably provide better results.

It is crucial that you first determine whether or not your company has eLearning experts on staff before deciding whether or not outsourcing is the best option for you. Many times it's worth finding out for sure before making any big eLearning course development decisions!

With these tips, you'll be better prepared to make that decision.

If your team has decided to develop an eLearning course, and you're wondering which is the best option to employ in-house or outsource the project, there are some things you'll need to consider.

First of all, ask yourself what your budget and timeline are. If you want a relatively small project completed within a short amount of time at a low cost, outsourcing is probably the way to go (you might even be able to find a freelancer for it). If it's a larger-scale project with more complex needs--involving graphics design, coding, etc.--that needs to be done within the next couple of weeks by people who already know how your company functions from the inside out, going in-house may be your best bet.

Second of all, ask yourself about training. Do you want someone who takes their training seriously? Or do you want someone who wants to get it over with? Both service providers have their uses; if you care about what kind of person tends to provide each type of service, don't hesitate to explore further.

Thirdly, evaluate any possible benefits or drawbacks (from outside sources) that could arise from choosing one. You may need someone onsite at specific points during development; if so, this will factor into which option is best for you.