Cirrus is an aircraft manufacturer focused on luxury single engine personal aircraft. Their headquarters and manufacturing operation is based in Duluth, MN and customer headquarters in Knoxville, TN. They are known within the aerospace industry for their focus on innovation and safety. They pioneered the first certified single-engine civilian jet, the Cirrus Vision Jet, and also the CAPS system.
CAPS stands for Cirrus Airframe Parachute System, and is a parachute attached to the airframe and in case of a mid-flight emergency can be deployed to safely land the aircraft. Based on their solid track record for innovation, we were excited when they reached out to discuss developing a unique learning management system (LMS) for their clients.
FortyAU was initially asked to collaborate on how to best revamp and refactor their current Learning Management System. Previously, the LMS was used primarily by existing owners of Cirrus aircraft. However, the new goal was to reach a larger audience by targeting new customers and prospects. While the scope started small, the project quickly expanded into a site-wide re-skin and to improve the overall user experience.
After an initial review, it was apparent that the majority of the legacy codebase would need to be built from scratch. Logic usually found inside the API was actually being performed on the front-end and this caused a variety of problems as the API served two clients (web and iOS).
Significant changes to workflows for the instructor and student were also necessary to satisfy both business and development requirements. A beta launch is being targeted for early 2023, at their annual customer experience conference, CX North America.
What is a Learning Management System?
Learning management systems allow e-learning to be taken to another level. This software application typically automates the “administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, and delivery of educational courses, training programs, materials or learning and development programs”.
Picture your company having a control system that automates what you house, deliver, and track throughout your network. Learning management systems automates that for you. “Designed to identify training and learning gaps, using analytical data and reporting. LMSs are focused on online learning delivery but support a range of uses, acting as a platform for online content, including courses, both asynchronous based and synchronous based”.
TechTarget.com says “a learning management system (LMS) is a software application or web-based technology used to plan, implement and assess a specific learning process. It is used for eLearning practices and, in its most common form, consists of two elements: a server that performs the base functionality and a user interface that is operated by instructors, students and administrators.” LMS can be thought of as “a large repository that allows users to store and track information in one place.” Using this system can allow companies to track analytics for culture insight and a better understanding of performance.
Learning Management Services are designed to help business platforms “manage, distribute and track employee training. They are often used in corporate settings to deliver online courses and track employee progress.” Let’s take a look at some examples of learning management systems, why companies like Cirrus could benefit from adding an LMS for their clients, and what types of technologies can help build the appropriate LMS.
Some of the most recurring LMS features from any of the LMS vendors on the internet include personalized learning, tailored features and impeccable customer service. Higher education, a trailblazer in the LMS world, is no longer the leading user for these types of training. Compliance training, specially available on mobile devices, are becoming more and more requested. The product or service does not matter, LMS can adapt to whatever industry or training content the business needs, as long as it is focused on the customer journey and user friendly.
Cirrus states “each year, we raise the bar with continuous improvements like sophisticated avionics and luxurious interiors. And we continue to redefine safety through our unique flight training program, Cirrus Approach, along with a host of tools and services to help us deliver a world-class experience to our customers across the globe.” Cirrus found themselves searching for an LMS to capitalize on the most elite customer experience.
Allowing specific projects to be handed over to self-managed vendors while preserving the desired level of control over the web development project/projects. By capitalizing on outsourcing web development will allow a third party to overlook the start of new software projects.
While Cirrus is not our first client to request a new LMS, this project was a great opportunity for FortyAU to help innovate and bring our special blend of professional empathy and technical expertise to the table.
“The reason our clients keep coming back, and referring associates and colleagues to us is because they commend us on our collaborative and consultative approach. Getting ready to kick-off tenth year in business, we are excited to see what new projects come our way,” commented Andrew Kerr, CEO at FortyAU.
Do you have a project in mind but are unsure how to get started? Let’s connect and make it happen for you.