When Kognisia is not the right choice: cases to know
Control of the code, selling courses to the public, very small numbers: where another solution serves you better, and where Kognisia is a good fit.
Read the articleA head of training opens her dashboard on Monday morning. Forty-two figures, six charts, three colours. She closes the tab, telling herself she will look later. This scene is common, and it is costly: the day a learner drops out, nobody saw it.
Indicator 1: progress
Progress tells you where each person stands against the path. Look at it on two levels: for the individual, and for the group module by module.
The second reading is the richer one. If eight learners out of ten stop at the same module, the problem is not with the learners. The module is too long, badly explained, or placed at the wrong moment.
The linked action. Compare actual progress with expected progress at a given date. A gap of more than a week triggers a personal message, short and without reproach: "I see you are at module 2, is anything holding you up?"
Indicator 2: assessment results
Scores on quizzes, assignments and case studies tell you whether the content was understood, not merely skimmed. Someone can click through to the end of a module without retaining a line. The score does not cheat.
Again, read on two levels. A poor individual result calls for a conversation. A question missed by most of the group calls for rewriting the question or the content that precedes it.
The linked action. Set a threshold, for example "fewer than half the answers correct". Below it, the learner receives a supplementary resource or an appointment. For the group, you correct the module.
Indicator 3: drop-out
This is the most important and the most neglected. A drop-out is spotted by a silence: no more logins, no more work submitted, no more messages. The earlier it is seen, the easier it is to recover the situation.
The linked action. Define what "dropping out" means for your course. For example: no activity for seven days. Then decide who follows up, through which channel and within what time. The platform's drop-out alerts are there for this: they save you from having to search.
The three indicators at a glance
| Indicator | The question it asks | Example threshold | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Progress | Where is the person? | One week behind | Personal message |
| Results | Have they understood? | Less than 50% success | Resource or appointment |
| Drop-out | Are they still there? | Seven days without activity | Follow-up by a human |
And time spent online?
It is tempting to track it, because it is easy to measure. Be careful. A quick person who already knows the subject will spend little time and do very well. Another will leave the page open while they cook dinner. Time spent can complete the picture, but it should never be the main criterion.
It also has a place in an evidence file: we discuss it in the article on proof of attendance in distance learning, where logins alone are mistake number one.
Where to see these three indicators in Kognisia
The progress tracking dashboard brings together progress by learner and by path, assessment results and drop-out alerts. Push notifications from the mobile app help to follow up a learner where they are. Everything is described on the progress tracking page.
If you are discovering the notion of a learning platform, begin with what is an LMS. And for the evidence side, see the evidence to keep for Qualiopi, the French quality certification for training providers.
And outside France?
The three indicators are an educational choice, and in France they also feed Qualiopi evidence. What changes from one country to another is the framework for tracking individual employees, with the GDPR as the European foundation. If you work in the UK, your reference is the UK GDPR, which the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 amends.
| Country | Equivalent or rule | Reference | Key point |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018: the platform supplier is generally a processor of the organisation or company. Data (Use and Access) Act 2025: new rules on automated decisions and on complaints handling | UK GDPR art. 28; Data Protection Act 2018; Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 | The contract with the supplier must refer to the UK GDPR. Individual progress reports are personal data. The ICO states (update of 19 June 2026) that all the data protection provisions of the 2025 Act are in force. Automatic scoring or path recommendation features may fall under the new rules on automated decisions: to be validated by a local adviser. We have not verified specific UK rules on monitoring employees: take advice before rolling out individual tracking. |
| European Union | GDPR: the platform publisher is generally a processor of the organisation or company | Regulation (EU) 2016/679, art. 28 | Processing contract compulsory, with a list of sub-processors. Individual progress reports are personal data |
| Germany | Works council (Betriebsrat) co-determination on devices monitoring behaviour or performance; processing of employee data | § 87 Abs. 1 Nr. 6 BetrVG; § 26 BDSG | Drop-out alerts and individual dashboards are the type of function targeted, on the usual reading, to be confirmed. A works agreement (purposes, retention periods, access to reports) is the prudent practice |
| Spain | Prior information of employee representatives on subsidised training; digital rights at work | Real Decreto 694/2017, art. 13; LOPDGDD (Organic Law 3/2018), art. 87 and 91 | Criteria of use and prior information of employees. The application of art. 87 to a company LMS is not explicit in the text: to be validated |
| Italy | Remote monitoring of employees: trade union agreement or authorisation from the Ispettorato nazionale del lavoro | Statuto dei lavoratori (Law 300/1970), art. 4 | Exception for work tools and time-recording tools, but adequate information on the use of data is always compulsory. Classification of an LMS to be validated |
These rules change, sometimes within a few months: have the framework that applies to your situation checked by a local adviser before acting.
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum number of indicators to track?
Three to begin with. Beyond that, you will spend more time reading than acting. Add a fourth only when you know precisely what decision it would trigger.
How often should I look at the dashboard?
Once a week is enough for most paths. For a short session of a few days, look every day. What matters is having a fixed appointment with yourself.
What about a learner who passes everything but almost never logs in?
Nothing in particular. If they pass the assessments and submit their work, they are progressing. Watch the results rather than the frequency of logins.
Should these indicators be shown to learners?
Yes, at least progress. Seeing where you stand is motivating, and it avoids surprises. Keep comparisons between people for cases where the group expects them, such as a playful leaderboard.
Summary
Progress, results, drop-out: three indicators, each linked to an action decided beforehand. The rest is comfort. Next step: take your current path and write down, for each of the three, the threshold and the person who follows up.
Sources
- Centre Inffo: open and distance training, first decree published in the Official Journal (2014), accessed on 13 October 2026.
- CNFCE: Qualiopi, what changes on 1 November 2026, accessed on 13 October 2026.
- Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), Official Journal text, accessed on 13 October 2026.
- BetrVG, § 87 (Germany, co-determination), accessed on 13 October 2026.
- BDSG, § 26 (Germany, employee data), accessed on 13 October 2026.
- Real Decreto 694/2017 (Spain), accessed on 13 October 2026.
- LOPDGDD, Organic Law 3/2018 (Spain), accessed on 13 October 2026.
- Normattiva, Statuto dei lavoratori, art. 4 (Italy), accessed on 13 October 2026.
- United Kingdom: UK GDPR, Article 28, accessed on 13 October 2026.
- United Kingdom: Data Protection Act 2018, accessed on 13 October 2026.
- United Kingdom: ICO, what the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 means for organisations, accessed on 13 October 2026.
The Kognisia team
Kognisia designs a SaaS learning platform, with a training catalogue and white label as options.
Kognisia designs a SaaS learning platform, with a training catalogue and white label as options.