ICF is a global advisory and technology services provider with a specialized eLearning development team. With veterans like Mike Raines and Shawn McCulley on the team, who bring 17 and 15 years of experience respectively, ICF develops critical training modules, including public-facing courses for agencies like the CDC. The group uses a range of authoring tools to meet rigorous federal standards and complex technical requirements.

For over a decade, the ICF team has navigated the evolving landscape of eLearning authoring tools, shifting between platforms to meet modern standards. Some tools in their stack present significant limitations for high-stakes, technical development, including:

• The compliance gamble: In earlier experiences with other platforms, the team faced risks where agencies nearly rejected final products due to hidden accessibility gaps.
• The black box problem: Most eLearning tools compile code in a way that hides the backend, making it nearly impossible to troubleshoot or add highly specific functionality.
• Rigid delivery requirements: Certain clients mandate specific platforms or forbid cloud-based tools, requiring a robust desktop solution that can function without a constant internet connection.

Lectora—our award-winning eLearning authoring tool—provides the ICF team with the transparency and flexibility needed to meet federal mandates and creative requirements that other tools cannot handle.

"Under the hood" access

Because Lectora exports clean, readable HTML pages, the team can easily debug errors and provide clients with a transparent, maintainable product—a capability described as a "lifesaver".

Guaranteed 508 compliance

For projects with high accessibility stakes, Lectora remains the team’s primary choice. Its predictable code structure ensures that accessibility needs are met at the foundational level, eliminating compliance-related debates.

Flexible tracking & distribution

When a project requires tracking without a traditional learning management system (LMS), the team leverages Lectora’s flexibility to embed custom Google Analytics code to monitor course views and completions.

Desktop-first reliability
The team prioritizes the locally installed desktop version of Lectora to ensure consistent access and performance, regardless of internet stability.

By maintaining Lectora in its development arsenal, ICF ensures the successful delivery of even the most demanding federal and public-sector projects. Key outcomes include: 

• Bulletproof delivery: By using Lectora, ICF avoids the risk of non-acceptance by federal agencies, ensuring that projects like this publicly available CDC course meet every requirement on the first try.
• Superior troubleshooting: The visibility of the HTML backend allows developers to identify and fix errors much faster than in "closed box" environments where the code is hidden.
• Public health impact: The platform successfully powered a publicly available CDC course [https://www.cdc.gov/overdose-prevention/hcp/trainings/nurse-role-in-pain-management.html], proving its ability to handle high-traffic, public-facing content effectively.
• Client autonomy: Because Lectora exports readable HTML, clients can make minor text updates themselves when necessary, rather than having to re-export an entire proprietary project file.