PeopleFluent is pleased to announce the PeopleFluent Learning 22.07 update. PeopleFluent Learning 22.07 was released for general availability on 7 July, 2022. If you are a hosted (SaaS) customer, please contact your PeopleFluent Customer Success Manager to request a schedule for upgrading your sites.

This documentation describes the functionality changes in PeopleFluent Learning 22.07, including new and deprecated features. If you have any questions about the enhancements or the new features, please contact your PeopleFluent representative.

Resolved Issues

PeopleFluent Learning 22.07 includes a number of bug-fixes and you are encouraged to review them in the Resolved Issues Report.

Features and Enhancements

The features and enhancements described in this documentation apply to PeopleFluent Learning and will be available when the customer is upgraded to this version.

Because PeopleFluent Learning is configurable per customer, new features may affect each customer's individual implementation differently. For more information about any new feature, and how it can be used in specific implementations, contact your PeopleFluent representative.

This guide is not a tutorial, although some background explanation is provided for each of the key features to better appreciate how these might affect your organization.

The following new features are included in PeopleFluent Learning 22.07:

• •  
• Job profile enhancements
  • Assignment types
  • Auto-deassign job profiles
• Catalog integration with LinkedIn Learning for on-premises customers
• Integration with PeopleFluent Performance – alpha release
• New supported language: Hindi
• Rustici Engine:
  • Migration of registration data
  • Rustici Engine version update
• Security updates:
  • Cross-site request forgery
  • Third-party libraries
• Exam and question enhancements:
  • Exam CSV Data Loader via OPML scheduled tasks
  • Clone questions

Job Profile Assignment Types

Functionality

Assignment Types have been added to the LMS to label the relationship between a user and a job profile. 

Details

You can use Assignment Types in compliance reporting and when reviewing users' training progress through their learning path. For example, if a user is enrolled in courses required for a specific job profile, and they take extended leave before completing them, you can set the job profile's Assignment Type to Suspended. When administrators run reports or view the Learning Path, the designation can be interpreted appropriately.

To facilitate this new feature, the following additional changes have been made:

• A new Assignment Types page has been added to the Admin Area, in which you can configure job profile assignment types.
• A new report, R422 - Job Profile Assignments in CSV Data Loader Format, has been created to export job profile assignments in the format used by the Job Profile Assignment Data Loader.
• A new Job Profile Assignment Data Loader has been created to allow bulk assignment of Job Profiles to users, including the Assignment Type.
• The Job Profile Assignment Data Loader is also accessible via an API endpoint, similar to the User and Training History data loaders.
• Columns have been added to R116, R116NL, R117, and R131 standard reports, and to the Job Profile column selection in the Report Wizard (shown below).
• The Learning Path page for both learners and reviewers (viewing the CDC > Learning Path) now shows the Assignment Type. The Review page also shows Assignment Type.

Figure: Assigment Types Page

 Figure: Job Profile Type Column Selection in the Report Wizard

To specify assignment types for users' job profiles

1. Run the System Report R422 to export job profile assignments to a CSV file.
2. Edit the CSV file to add the required assignment types.
3. Import the updated CSV file in the Job Profile Assignment Data Loader.

Auto-Deassign Job Profiles

Functionality

A new System Configuration setting has been added to automatically deassign job profiles from users who no longer meet the criteria for the auto-assign targets.

Details

In PeopleFluent Learning 22.07 a new feature has been added to review users and automatically remove job profiles from those who no longer meet the criteria for the auto-assign targets. Previously, when a job profile was automatically assigned to a user who met the criteria, it had to be removed manually when it was no longer valid.

A new System Configuration option—Automatic De-Assign of Job Profiles—has been added to the User section of the System Configuration page to enable automatic deassignment. When enabled, job profiles are deassigned for any user who no longer meets the target criteria, regardless of the user’s status towards the learning and competencies assigned to the profile. However, any enrolled courses will remain on the learner’s transcript and any achieved competencies will remain achieved. This will not auto-withdraw courses or auto-remove competencies.

LinkedIn Learning Catalog Integration (On-premises)

Functionality

PeopleFluent Learning 22.07 extends the Web Catalog feature to enable LinkedIn Learning course information to be integrated with Catalogs in the LMS for on-premises customers. 

Details

The Web Catalogs page has been updated to enable LinkedIn Learning catalogs to be integrated with the LMS. The single +Add Web Catalog button is replaced with separate buttons for adding Skillsoft and LinkedIn Learning web catalogs. The new +Add LinkedIn Web Catalog button opens a version of the Add Web Catalog page with the required fields for retrieving course metadata from LinkedIn Learning via the API.

Figure: Add Web Catalog Page for LinkedIn Learning

Web Catalogs configured for a LinkedIn Learning course trigger a daily background task, which:

• Downloads the course data from LinkedIn Learning via the API
• Transforms the data into the Course CSV Loader format
• Imports the CSV file

Courses are imported into a central LinkedIn Learning catalog, with each library identified in LinkedIn Learning becoming a sub-catalog.

Prior to 22.07, this was available to SaaS customers hosted by PeopleFluent, because it uses a hosted middleware application between the LMS and LinkedIn Learning (called PeopleFluent Content Connector or PFCC). To provide LinkedIn Learning integration on partner-hosted or on-premises customers, PeopleFluent Learning includes an API Gateway through which they can connect their LMS instance to the middleware application (called Gravitee on the PeopleFluent Platform).

To implement this, the following new parameters are required in the ekp.properties file:

• pf.api.token.client_id
  This can be obtained from PeopleFluent's platform team via a Customer Support ticket. 
• pf.api.token.client_secret
  This can be obtained from PeopleFluent's platform team via a Customer Support ticket. 
• pf.api.token.url
  This is one URL in the API Gateway necessary to obtain a token for the customer using the client_id and client_secret.
• pfcc.url
  This is a second URL in the API Gateway through which the actual request to LinkedIn Learning will be passed.

Known Issues 

Initially created in 22.03, there are a number of issues that have been raised internally and from customers. Unfortunately, these issues were not discovered in time to resolve them in 22.07.

These are the known issues with the integration:

• Not all courses get imported if there was an issue with the initial import. For example, if a language was not activated, a course with that language would not be imported. At this time, the only work around would be to download the necessary metadata from LinkedIn Learning.
• Prefix is not applied. In the configuration for the LinkedIn Learning Web Catalog, there is a place to designate a prefix. This is not applied correctly to the module ID.
• Courses are not launching correctly. This may be an account issue, rather than an actual defect; however, when importing a course and enrolling, the course returns a 404 error on the LinkedIn Learning server.
• Courses are not imported with the correct Run Time Environment. Courses are mislabeled as having no communication with the server, rather than using the SCORM/AICC option. This can be fixed by running an R246 report, modifying the Launch.RuntimeEnvironment column to “s”, and importing as a Course CSV Data Loader.
• Courses are defaulting to allow learners to mark as completed. The setting allowing learners to mark the course completed is misconfigured during import. This can be fixed by running an R246 report, modifying the ModuleAllowUserComplete column to “N”, and importing as a Course CSV Data Loader.
• Individual catalogs are not added to a parent catalog. The intention is to load all courses into a master 'LinkedIn Learning' catalog, to allow administrators to control who has access via the permission setting on the catalog. However, the import is creating new catalogs at the top level. The correct catalogs can be manually added and the courses moved using the Catalog Assignment CSV Loader, although new imports could re-create top-level catalogs if any are deleted.
• Courses in multiple libraries are assigned to a single, misnamed catalog. The intent was to allow LinkedIn Learning courses that are in more than one library on LinkedIn to be in more than one catalog on PFL, however the import is combining the library names into a single catalog. The correct catalogs can be manually added and the courses moved using the Catalog Assignment CSV Loader, although new imports could re-create top-level catalogs if any are deleted.

All of the issues listed above are scheduled to be fixed in the 22.11 release.

Integration with PeopleFluent Performance (Alpha Release)

Functionality

Selected courses from the PeopleFluent Learning can be synchronized with the Development Activities Catalog in PeopleFluent Performance.

Details

Some customers desire seamless access to learning resources as part of the flow of career planning, employee development, and performance management. If there are behavioral areas or skills on which an employee needs to work for personal development or readiness for career moves, the employee or manager can review the learning catalog and facilitate enrollment as part of an employee development plan.

Figure: Learning Courses Synchronized with an Employee's Learning & Development in PeopleFluent Performance

Content Discovery

To allow employees to discover training opportunities for their own development, as well as managers to discover training opportunities for their employees’ development, the Performance-Learning Connector will synchronize selected courses from PeopleFluent Learning with the Development Activities Catalog in PeopleFluent Performance.

Visibility into learning activities

As part of an employee performance evaluation, managers need insights into the investment the employee has made in engaging with learning activities in order to improve their skills and the value they bring to the organization.

Alpha Release

This is part of an Alpha release to allow interested customers to test it out. This is only available to SaaS customers who use the PeopleFluent iPaaS Platform to handle seamless navigation between Learning and Performance. A microservice outside of both products will process updates on a daily basis. Based on feedback from any alpha customers, the feature will be more formally integrated.

Please contact your PeopleFluent Customer Success Manager for information on implementing this integration.

New Supported Language: Hindi

Functionality

PeopleFluent Learning 22.07 and later support Hindi in the user interface.

Figure: Hindi Enabled in PeopleFluent Learning

Details

To enable Hindi in the user interface, add hi_IN to the list of system languages in the ekp.properties file and restart the site. 

For customers hosted by PeopleFluent, this change can be made by submitting a request in Zendesk.

Migration of Rustici Engine Metadata

Functionality

When migrating a course to the Rustici Engine player, learners' registration data, including suspend data, is migrated.

Details

From PeopleFluent Learning 21.04 administrators have been able to migrate courseware from the native LMS player to Rustici Engine. However, learners with a status of In Process for a course would have to start the course again. In PeopleFluent Learning 22.07 registration metadata (including suspend data) is also migrated, so participants can pick up where they left off.

Rustici Engine Upgrade

Functionality

Hosted and on-premises customers must upgrade Rustici Engine to version 2021.1.

Details

With the release of Rustici Engine 2021.1 late last year, PeopleFluent and customers hosting the LMS will need to upgrade to version 2021.1 of Rustici Engine. PeopleFluent has already done some basic testing against 2021, and older versions of PeopleFluent will continue to work. This means customers do not have to upgrade both PeopleFluent Learning and Engine. However, PeopleFluent Learning 22.07 will include a minor change to take advantage of changes in Rustici Engine: currently, the player files to operate it need to be set up so PeopleFluent can download them if necessary. Starting with 22.07, this process will no longer be needed as Rustici Engine provides an API to download the necessary files.

With the Rustici Engine upgrade, a JSON file named playerConfigurationUrl.json has to be created manually and added to the /<ekp>/player/ folder. The file contents are as follows:

Security Updates

Functionality

A number of minor security updates have been added based on internal investigations. These fall in two areas:

• Cross-Site request forgery
• Updated third-party libraries

Details

Cross-Site Request Forgery

Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) is an attack that forces an end user to execute unwanted actions on a web application in which they’re currently authenticated. With a little help of social engineering, such as creating a form outside of PeopleFluent Learning that looks legitimate, an attacker may trick users into submitting information against their will. To prevent this, anywhere a user submits information into the application will include a token created by PeopleFluent Learning to ensure the submission is coming from within the application itself.

Updated Third-party Libraries

The Lucene Queryparser and Apache Velocity, which are open source, third-party libraries, will be updated to latest releases to address minor code vulnerabilities. Lucene Queryparser is an interpreter that parses a query string into query objects. Apache Velocity is is a template engine that is used to generate the internal login files (*.WM files).

Exam CSV Data Loader via OPML Scheduled Tasks

Functionality

It is now possible to import exams data in a CSV-formatted file via OPML scheduled tasks.

Details

You can import an exam, its exam sections, and the questions for those sections. The Background Task Console uses an Outline Processor Markup Language (OPML) file to schedule the exam file imports. This XML formatted file contains the task definitions for importing the CSV files. You need three <outline> definitions in the OPML file and three separate CSV files of data to import: one each for the main exam, its sections and its questions. The CSV files can be placed on the server (via SFTP, for example) in a method similar to how most customers automate the user data feeds.

To import an exam, its exam sections, and the questions for those sections, you have to create three Background Console tasks to import three CSV files populated with the corresponding data. You can then run the tasks immediately or at any time.

Figure: Adding a New Background Task for Importing Exam Section Questions

For more information about the Background Task Console, see the PeopleFluent Learning online help, or PeopleFluent Learning System Administration Guide.

Clone Questions

Functionality

Questions can now be cloned in the Questions page and Question Editor.

Details

Cloning a question will clone all of the data about a question except for the approval information. Only the current version of a question will be cloned, none of the archived versions will be copied. A new Clone button has been added to the toolbar at the top of the Question Editor, and a Clone option has been added to the action menu (gear icon) for each question on the Questions page.

Figure: Updated Question Editor Toolbar

Figure: Questions List Action Menu with Clone Option