Designing for cmi5: How to Build Learning That Lives
Beyond SCORM, beyond xAPI. cmi5 gives LxD professionals a new foundation for mobile, offline, immersive, and real-world learning. Here’s how to design for it.
Something is thrilling (and a little terrifying) about stepping into a bigger design space.
When SCORM defined digital learning two decades ago, it also defined the walls around it:
Launch the module.
Complete the quiz.
Log the score.
Close the browser.
It was neat. Predictable. Manageable.
However, as learning spilled across mobile apps, simulations, smart devices, and VR headsets, those neat walls began to crack.
Today, cmi5 invites Learning Experience Designers to step beyond them.
To build not just modules, but ecosystems.
The tools are here. The standards are ready.
The question now is: how do you design learning that lives up to cmi5’s promise?
Start by Thinking in Assignable Units
At the heart of cmi5 is a simple idea: learning experiences are modular.
Instead of one giant course crammed into a ZIP file, you design a series of Assignable Units (AUs). Each with a clear objective, a launch point, and its own success/completion criteria.
Each AU might be:
A mobile microlearning module
A VR simulation
A job aid app
A real-world task validated by observation
You’re not building bigger SCORM packages.
You’re building smarter pieces, stitched together into a larger journey.
It’s not about making learning longer.
It’s about making it more meaningful.
Design for Rich Data, Not Just Completion
One of the quiet revolutions inside cmi5 is that every AU can generate xAPI data, not just "completed" or "failed," but rich records of behavior:
"Learner revisited Scenario B three times before achieving success."
"Learner requested help resource during practice activity."
"Learner scored 70% on first attempt, 90% on second."
As a designer, you should think beyond "Did they finish?" and ask:
What do I want to know about how they learned?
Map key interactions. Identify decision points. Track resources used. Capture moments of reflection or struggle.
Every click, pause, or choice can tell a story.
And with cmi5, you finally have the language to listen.
Embrace Offline and Cross-Device Journeys
With SCORM, learners had to stay tethered to a browser.
With cmi5, they can learn on phones, tablets, smart glasses, or offline apps, and sync progress later.
This freedom demands a new kind of design thinking:
Build experiences that pause and resume seamlessly across devices.
Create micro-moments of learning that can occur during downtime, travel, or fieldwork.
Use cmi5’s bookmarking and session handling to track progress intelligently.
In a cmi5 world, learning doesn’t stop when the Wi-Fi signal drops.
It weaves into daily life. Fluid, persistent, real.
Follow the Rules (So Your Data Stays Beautiful)
One reason SCORM endured was that it enforced standards: every LMS knew how to read a SCORM course.
cmi5 brings the same discipline to xAPI’s open playground.
As a designer (or collaborating with your developers), you’ll want to:
Use cmi5’s required verbs (
launched,initialized,completed,passed,failed) properly.Follow the moveOn criteria to define success at the AU level.
Ensure each session has a unique ID and correct timestamps.
Keep optional xAPI data structured, so you can roll up analytics cleanly.
It’s not just about "sending xAPI."
It’s about sending it consistently, so every learning journey you design becomes clear, trackable, and actionable.
ADL’s cmi5 Best Practices and tools like CATAPULT are excellent companions here.
Test, Test, Test
Even the most beautiful design collapses if learners can't complete it.
Before launch:
Validate your cmi5 packages using conformance test suites.
Test on multiple LMSs if possible.
Check offline behavior and resume functionality.
Verify that learning records show up accurately in the LRS.
A cmi5 journey should feel invisible to the learner: smooth, seamless, natural.
The best-designed structures are the ones you barely notice as you move through them.
Designing for a Bigger World
Designing for cmi5 isn’t about adding new tech for tech’s sake.
It’s about recognizing that learning doesn't fit in pop-up windows anymore.
It lives:
In field reports.
In simulations.
In coaching conversations.
In micro-moments between meetings.
In reflections sparked late at night on a mobile app.
cmi5 gives you the scaffolding to design for this bigger, more human landscape. Where learning isn’t just completed.
It’s lived.
And the structures you build now will determine how well that learning endures tomorrow.