Letter/Clarification

I have to admit I was disappointed that a magazine devoted to training would have an article fall prey to one of the most common training pitfalls–using lingo or abbreviations that are not universally understood. I refer to the Facts & Figures article "LCMS Adoption Trend" (January/February 2007 issue). I looked through the entire article to discover what this acronym meant. I did find that LMS meant "learning management system," which I already knew. I found the term SCORM listed as an "industry example." I have seen the term before, but don't recall what it means either. So I googled LCMS. Wow! I didn't realize there is an adoption trend of the "Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod." Or was it the adoption of "Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy" as an analytical technique? Finally, I saw the term LCMS listed in a Web site that looked training-related, and one click later I discovered LCMS meant Learning Content Management System! Aha, makes perfect sense.

As a Six Sigma and Lean practitioner, perhaps I am out of the training mainstream. However, one thing I have learned (painfully), is that operational definitions of terms are essential for common understanding.

Jesse Shearin
Director, Enterprise Excellence, PPG Industries, Inc.

From the editor: Training inadvertently ommitted the significance of the acronym LCMS (Learning Content Management System). We regret the error.