❓What Is an LMS… Really? And How Do LRS and LCMS Fit In?

I’ve noticed a surprising lack of consensus around this in the industry so I thought it might be useful to do deep dive and ask:

🕵️What is a Learning Management System (LMS)?

Is there an official checklist that a piece of software has to meet to earn that title? And what about a Learning Record Store (LRS)? Or a Learning Content Management System (LCMS)?

The answer? There isn’t actually a universal, enforceable definition that says, “This is an LMS!” Instead, the industry’s largely settled into a “call it what we want” model, where marketing often defines classification more than behavior. 🤷

But from a practical engineering and standards-based perspective, I think we can be a little more precise—especially because specs like AICC, SCORM, xAPI, and cmi5 clearly define the roles and responsibilities of LMSs compared to other components.

💡Here’s how I define an LMS at the functional level

If a piece of software does all three of the following, I consider it an LMS:

• Hosts eLearning content built to a standard (like AICC, SCORM, xAPI, or cmi5) and makes it accessible via a portal or interface
• Provides user/learner management (logins, assignments, access controls, etc.)
• Records user/learner data and makes that data available for analysis or reporting

Why those three?

Because every major eLearning specification includes a section titled “LMS Responsibilities”—and when you distill that down to a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), these are the pieces that remain consistent.

All other features—dashboards, UX bells and whistles, analytics layers—are useful but not required for a system to be an LMS by role. Many elements of an LMS are actually outside the scope of eLearning specifications!

🔍What About an LRS?

A Learning Record Store (LRS) is similar in some ways, but with a few key differences:

• It doesn’t need to host the content (though it can)
• It can treat events or content as "experiences" tracked through xAPI
• It identifies users, but doesn’t typically manage roles or course permissions
• It records structured learning data, but doesn’t always offer built-in analytics

In essence, LRSs are structured databases designed for learning data. Because of their database-like nature, they’re often paired with LMSs in what I’d call "LMS/LRS hybrids"—systems that handle frontend access and user roles while leveraging xAPI data for deeper analysis.

Fun fact: cmi5 itself is a kind of an LMS/LRS hybrid by design. It was created specifically to fill the gap left by xAPI’s lack of LMS-like mechanisms, such as content launching and attempt tracking.

📚And an LCMS?

An LCMS (Learning Content Management System) is the fusion of two worlds:

• A content authoring tool
• An LMS

While it’s not a spec-defined term, it’s useful for describing platforms that allow you to both create and deploy learning content in one place. These systems can really streamline workflows and help teams consolidate tools.

There are a few LCMSs out there on the market—and depending on your use case, some may even straddle the LRS category too!

🤔Is that all there is to it?

Maybe! But it's a huge world out there and the number of LMS and LRS platforms grows and shrinks almost daily. Each one brings its own nuances and minor differences, so I wouldn't be surprised if there's a type of system out there I haven't encountered yet!

Your turn: Which platform(s) do you use and how would you classify them—LMS, LRS, LCMS, or a hybrid?

Or, are there other criteria you’d add to the list when deciding what qualifies as an LMS? It's a big world out there, and I can't explore all of it alone, so I look forward to hearing others' thoughts and ideas!