Start with ordinary working scenarios
Feature lists are difficult to compare because similar labels can hide very different workflows. Ask each supplier to show how the system handles a late booking, a learner connected to an employer, an expiring qualification, missing evidence and a customer asking for an update.
Follow the learner across the system
Check whether CRM, course delivery, assessment, qualification records and communications share the same learner and organisation context. If each module behaves like a separate database, the team may continue copying information and rebuilding history.
- Can staff see the complete learner history?
- Do attendance and results update the right records?
- Can evidence be found from the qualification?
- Are renewal messages and replies visible to the team?
- Can reports open the records behind a total?
Test configuration and ownership
Understand what your team can configure without supplier development. Review permissions, qualification rules, templates, reminder timing and reporting. Confirm who owns implementation, data cleaning, support and future changes.
Judge the move as well as the product
A good system can still fail if migration is treated as a file upload. Agree which records move, how duplicates and missing fields are handled, how evidence is matched and how staff will verify the result. Use a trial with representative work rather than a polished demonstration alone.