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Exploring a Pinnacle Series Integration

Applies To: 

  • Technical administrators
  • Learning Managers

Common Causes/Issues:

  • You would like to explore integrating with the Pinnacle Series platform.

 

Solution Overview:

Thank you for your interest in integrating with our platform. We're excited to explore the possibilities of working together. We want to clarify that while we do not currently offer pre-built integrations, we provide an open API that offers the flexibility for you to build custom integrations tailored to your specific needs.

Our open API is designed to provide developers with direct access to our platform's core functionality and data. This means you have the freedom to create integrations that are perfectly suited to your unique requirements, rather than relying on one-size-fits-all solutions.

By offering an open API, we empower you to harness the full potential of our platform, allowing you to connect it with other tools, systems, or services that are integral to your business operations. This level of customization ensures that your integration will align seamlessly with your goals and workflows.

 

What is an Integration?

A Pinnacle Series integration refers to the process of seamlessly connecting our platform with other applications, enabling the efficient exchange of data between systems. This connection can be achieved natively or through third-party integration platforms. While some organizations offer pre-built integrations, it's essential to note that, as of now, there are no pre-built integrations available for the Pinnacle Series platform.

 

Alternatives to Pre-built Integrations

When pre-built integrations are not available, several alternative approaches can be considered:

  1. Custom API Integration: Developing a custom integration using the Pinnacle Series API (Application Programming Interface) can provide flexibility. However, it may require a significant development effort, and factors such as resource availability and cost must be carefully considered.

  2. Middleware and Integration Platforms: Utilizing middleware or integration platforms like Zapier, Integromat, or Microsoft Power Automate (formerly known as Microsoft Flow) offers the advantage of connecting various applications and automating workflows without extensive coding.

  3. Data Import/Export: For less complex integrations, data can be periodically exported from one system and imported into another using standard file formats like CSV or Excel. This approach is suitable for occasional data transfers. Ensure that data exchanged between Pinnacle Series and other systems is appropriately mapped and transformed to match each system's requirements.

Why Integrations Matter

Integrations provide a myriad of benefits that can significantly impact your organization's efficiency and productivity:

  1. Reduced Human Errors: Integrations eliminate the need for manual data entry, reducing the risk of errors, especially when updating employee records or transferring data between systems.

  2. Enhanced Learning Experience: Integrating courses and training into platforms already used by employees saves time and effort. In-depth analysis of training results leads to more personalized and effective learning experiences.

  3. Improved Compliance: Integrations help organizations maintain compliance by providing timely reminders and enabling HR and managers to identify employees who have not completed required training.

In conclusion, integrating the Pinnacle Series with other essential applications in your tech stack is a strategic move to optimize your investment in employee learning and development. It reduces errors, enhances the learning experience, and ensures compliance, ultimately contributing to the success and growth of your organization.

Top 5 Considerations Before Integration

Before embarking on discussions about integrating with the Pinnacle Series, it's essential to consider the following factors:

  1. Strategic Goals and Objectives: Clearly define your integration objectives and ensure they align with your organization's strategic goals. Understand what you aim to achieve through integration and how it fits into your overall mission.

  2. Data Privacy and Security: Address data privacy and security concerns by defining what data will be shared and how it will be protected. Ensure compliance with relevant regulations.

  3. Cost and Resources: Assess the financial implications of integration, including upfront and ongoing costs. Evaluate whether you have the necessary IT resources and expertise to support the integration.

  4. Technical Compatibility: Verify the technical compatibility of your LMS and integration tools or APIs. Ensure that they are suitable for your specific integration needs.

  5. Use Cases and Requirements: Clearly define the use cases and integration requirements, specifying what data needs to be shared and in what direction. Understand the processes that will be automated through integration.

Use Cases for Integration

An integration opens up a world of possibilities to enhance your training and development efforts.

Here are some valuable use cases:

  1. Send Post-Onboarding Assessments: To assess the effectiveness of your onboarding program, integrate your Human Resources Information System (HRIS) with your LMS and business communications platform. This allows you to send quizzes to employees after a set period, evaluate their readiness, and share results with managers and the L&D team.

  2. Provide Learning Opportunities within your CRM or Another Platform: Empower customer-facing employees with easy access to training opportunities. By integrating your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or other internal platform with your LMS, you can assign, track, and access Pinnacle Series training content seamlessly.

  3. Leverage Business Intelligence (BI) Tools: Enhance your data analysis capabilities by integrating your LMS with a robust BI platform. This integration allows you to automatically transfer completed assessments to the BI tool, enabling in-depth analysis of training data and the creation of dashboards and reports for quicker results analysis.

    • From a reporting standpoint, you can utilize the following API v1 calls:
    All User Progress Current Enrollments Completed Courses Learning Path Progress Top Searches

    A listing of all user enrollment data for a tenant from the organization’s inception to the current date.​

     

    Listing of currently active enrollments for all users in your organization. ​

    You can also enter date criteria for specific timeframes. ​

    ​

     

    Will return the list of completed courses for all users in your organization.  ​

    You can also enter date criteria for specific timeframes. ​

    ​

     

    Listing of learning path progress for all users.​

    You can also enter date criteria for specific timeframes. ​

    ​

     

    A list of search terms and the number of times that each unique search term was searched for.​

    You can also enter date criteria for specific timeframes. ​

    ​

     

     

    Usage Reports

    This is a Usage Report that will return a listing of unique user sign-ins to the Pinnacle Series application.​

    ​

    Statistics by date of the number of users that have signed into the Pinnacle Series application during the last 7 days​

    ​

    The date range used is based on the current date of when you ran this report.  The start date is the current date less than 7 days and the end date is the current date.  ​

    ​

    Results are returned in ascending order by the sign-in date. ​

     

  4. Automate Training Reminders: Ensure timely completion of mandatory training by integrating your LMS with business communications platforms and email service providers. Design workflows that trigger reminders for employees who haven't completed training, improving compliance.

  5. Talent Management System Integration: Align your LMS with talent management systems to streamline talent development, succession planning, and career pathing based on training data.

  6. Performance Management System Integration: Integrate with performance management systems to align training initiatives with individual performance goals and evaluations.

  7. API Integration: Explore custom API integrations to connect your LMS with specialized applications tailored to your organization's unique requirements.

Typical Data Points for Discussion

In the context of integrations, it's vital to contemplate the following data elements and articulate your preferences for data exchange timing and methodology. It's important to note that the listed discussion points do not signify or confirm existing API capabilities. Instead, they are intended to provide clarity regarding the specific data you wish to access, as well as the location and timing of that access. Once these details are clarified, our team will assess the feasibility of the necessary data exchange using our API at the present time.

User Data:

  • User IDs
  • Usernames and Emails
  • User Roles
  • User Profiles
  • Enrollment Status
  • User Progress

Course and Content Data:

  • Course IDs
  • Course Names and Descriptions
  • Course Tool Links
  • Course Completion Status
  • Quiz Scores and Assessment Scores

Learning Analytics:

  • Quiz and Assessment Scores
  • Learning Objectives
  • Time Spent Learning
  • Participation Metrics

Compliance and Certification:

  • Compliance Status
  • Certification Data

User Engagement Data:

  • Login and Activity Logs
  • Communication History

Custom Fields:

  • Custom User Attributes
  • Custom Job Role Attributes

Learning Path Data:

  • Learning Path Progress

Assessment and Feedback:

  • Survey and Evaluation Responses

Course Interaction Data:

  • Video Views
  • Track downloads of course materials
  • Analyze user navigation patterns within courses
  • Tracking duplicate views of course items
  • Analyze workflow navigation patterns

External Integration Data:

  • Data from external applications or systems integrated with the LMS, such as CRM data, HR data, or performance management data

Badges and Achievements:

  • Award badges or achievements to learners for completing courses or meeting specific milestones

User Feedback:

  • Gather user comments, suggestions, or complaints related to the LMS or course content

Scheduled Reports:

  • Automatically send scheduled reports and analytics data to external systems or stakeholders

Previous Integrations Explored by Our CSM Team

    • Our Customer Success Management (CSM) and Customer Support Team has explored integrations with several platforms, including LearnAmp, SkillJar, Workday, and SuccessFactors.
    • We successfully implemented an automated integration with Intellum/Blueprint (https://www.intellum.com/solutions) which included :
      • Visualizing learning history
      • Search capabilities within Intellum and provide links and descriptions to our content.
    • There has also been a successful integration with Vista (Vista Overview - PDS (pdssoftware.com) where an organization successfully scripted (in-house):
      • The ability to administer users to the Admin Portal
      • Place users in groups
      • Assign a custom attribute to all users using our open API Calls.

By considering these key factors and exploring valuable use cases, you can make informed decisions about LMS integration, ensuring that it aligns with your organization's goals and enhances your learning and development initiatives.


Suggested Next Step

Pinnacle Series API guidance
API Technical Guide - v1 Authorization and Reporting Guidance and Enhancements

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