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Why Combine Learning Plans and Certifications?

  • Oct 28, 2026 2:42 PM UTC
  • 3 replies
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jungerer
Novice III
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I just saw that the new certifications were combined with learning plans and I’d love to hear from the product manager of either, or both, as to what your intent is here.  

This seems like combining oil and water in terms of functionality.  Learning plans are collections of courses that you want the learner to take.  Certifications is an outcome of learning.  Given we have courses and learning plans in the LMS, why combine an outcome with one of the modalities?

There are some nice features once you get into the certification but it seems like it’s being set up as an alternate type of learning plan which does not make sense to me.  

Is anyone else confused about this new grouping?  Can someone from Docebo product help enlighten me on the thought process and overall strategy?

    3 replies

    Docebian

    Hi Jungerer,

    You’re right that a certification is an outcome and a learning plan is a way to organize learning. We don’t see them as the same thing, and your question points at a real design question.

    The nice features you mention are what customers and prospects have been asking us for, for years: a more capable way to manage the certification lifecycle, with flexible expiration and renewal rules, Power User delegation, better reporting and easier accessibility for learners. Enrollment, permissions, reporting and events are deeply tied to how our platform is built, and the learning plan framework is where that foundation lives. After weighing the options, building certification on it was the approach that gave customers the most value in a timeframe that mattered, and it also means certifications inherit further capabilities such as catalogs and ecommerce.

    Certification remains a distinct type, chosen at creation, with its own lifecycle, statuses and learner experience.

    This release is the first step: it lays the foundation for the new certification and retraining experience, not the end state. Over the coming months we plan to keep building on it, with enhancements such as renewing a certification with different content from the initial one, and extending support to external training. As always, timing and scope may evolve as we learn from our customers' feedback.

    Stay tuned: we have more improvements planned for certifications and retraining.

    Thanks

     

      Davefox
      Helper III
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      • Davefox
      • Helper III
      • Oct 30, 2026 2:52 PM UTC

      ​@jungerer 

      When I was part of the PDG, I also advocated to make them seperate screens even if they use the same logic and festures. I can see my SME’s confusing these or creating the wrong object. Also I want to be able to combine learning plans into certifications or require a certification to enroll in a learning plan. Trying to do this in one menu tree sfeels harder then it needs to be. 

      The difference between Science and Magic is proportional to their comprehension of technology and your skills in prestidigitation.
        jungerer
        Novice III
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        • jungerer
        • Author
        • Novice III
        • Oct 30, 2026 6:03 PM UTC

        ​@alessandro.riccelli  thank you for the response.  I do like some of the features it just seemed like certifications are being set up as a “type” of learning plan.  Some confusion was happening on our side.

        ​@Davefox yeah we’re putting up guardrails on this.  As it stands only 2 people in our company build either but when we’re scoping out new projects that include certifications, the new UX will cause confusion so we’ll have to dive deeper into them and keep relying on the legacy certifications for now.

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