Scott Tompkins

eLearning Authoring

2 min read

eLearning Authoring

I built and evolved e-learning authoring platforms that became core business assets, enabling instructional designers and content teams to create courseware without developer involvement—and in one case, surviving three complete device generation transitions.

Context

At BP-Tech, e-learning content creation was a central part of the business. Enterprise clients needed tools that let non-developers—instructional designers, graphic designers, subject matter experts—produce interactive courseware efficiently. Off-the-shelf authoring tools existed for desktop browsers, but they couldn’t target the specific devices and constraints our clients required.

What Changed

Fidelity Investments: I maintained and evolved BP-Tech’s core Flash-based authoring platform through a major revamp from ActionScript 2 to ActionScript 3—essentially a rewrite given the differences between the two language versions. The platform was licensed to Fidelity Investments, where it became a regularly used tool in their Learning & Development department. This mattered for BP-Tech because it generated recurring licensing revenue—the tool wasn’t just a client deliverable, it was a business asset.

CVS Pharmacy: I built a custom authoring and playback system because no off-the-shelf tools could target BlackBerry Curve devices, which were what CVS store staff actually carried. What made this outcome notable was the architecture’s durability: I successfully evolved the platform across three device generations—BlackBerry Curve → store thin client/POS systems → iPad—without rebuilding. The content model and authoring workflow stayed stable while rendering and interaction patterns adapted to each new device. This extended the client’s investment across years rather than requiring a rebuild with each device transition.

New Balance: I architected an async content assembly pipeline that let photographers, product managers, and writers submit their work independently. The system assembled these contributions into LMS-ready courseware for quarterly sales training. The key change was eliminating sequential handoffs—contributors could work in parallel, and the pipeline handled assembly and packaging automatically, significantly reducing courseware production time.

Why It Matters

Each of these projects solved a specific client problem, but the through-line is building authoring tools flexible enough to outlast the specific technology constraints that prompted them. The CVS system is the clearest example: an architecture designed for BlackBerry Curves served the client through two more device generations because the content model was decoupled from the rendering target.