Individual Development Plans (IDP) in Brusnika.LMS
Maria Ivanova
Analyst
Integrations mentioned in this article
An Individual Development Plan (IDP) in Brusnika.LMS is a plan for an employee's development over a defined period. It can specify which competencies should be developed, the target level, the courses, activities and tasks involved, and the deadlines.
An IDP can involve the employee, their manager and a mentor. It can be created manually or generated automatically based on a test or course failure, a 360-degree assessment, or the requirements of a career track.
An IDP connects development goals with specific activities such as learning, events, tasks and competency development. The employee works through the plan while the manager and mentor can support the development process.
What can you do with IDPs in Brusnika.LMS?
IDPs can be used to:
- create an individual development plan for one or several employees;
- specify the employee, manager and mentor;
- define development goals;
- select an assessment scale;
- set a plan deadline;
- add competencies with current and target levels;
- plan competency development as a whole or by individual indicators;
- add development activities;
- include courses from the catalog;
- add events;
- create a separate checklist-based task plan;
- add comments, links and additional details to activities;
- attach documents;
- add custom text fields, including read-only fields;
- save an IDP as a draft or publish it immediately;
- create tasks in Bitrix24 based on the IDP;
- track plan progress;
- discuss the plan in comments;
- export plans and IDP reports to Excel;
- generate IDPs automatically from defined learning and assessment results;
- connect IDPs with competencies, courses, events, tests, 360-degree assessments, career tracks and learning trajectories.
How IDPs work
Creating an IDP is organized as a four-step wizard.
1. Participants
The first step defines:
- the employee or several employees;
- the manager;
- the mentor.
When an IDP is created for several employees, a separate plan is created for each employee.
An IDP can be created by a moderator or HR. Moderators with the View or Author level work only with IDPs for their own team.
If the corresponding permission is enabled, an employee can also create an IDP for themselves.
2. Plan details
The plan can include:
- name;
- development goals;
- assessment scale;
- deadline;
- additional text fields;
- read-only fields;
- attached documents;
- the task creation mode for Bitrix24.
3. Development plan
The main part of the IDP defines what the employee needs to develop and complete.
Competencies
Competencies can be added with:
- current level;
- target level.
Competency development can be planned through a general activity or through individual competency indicators.
This allows an IDP to define not only the competency itself, but also the development direction from the current level to the target level.
Development activities
An IDP can include:
- a course from the catalog;
- an event;
- a separate task or checklist.
An activity can have a deadline. Development activities can also include a comment with a link or additional details.
Courses
A course can be selected directly when creating the IDP.
The employee can then open the course directly from the plan. The course progress is returned to the IDP and reflected in the status of the related activity.
The course status in the IDP is based on course completion. Unlike tasks, a course status cannot be changed manually.
Tasks
An IDP can contain a separate checklist-based task plan.
When Bitrix24 task integration is used, tasks can be created in the portal after the plan is published:
- one task for each activity;
- or one consolidated task for the entire IDP.
Before publication, Brusnika.LMS shows how many tasks will be created.
Saving changes to an already published plan updates the corresponding Bitrix24 tasks.
4. Review and publication
At the final step, the plan can be:
- saved as a draft;
- saved and published.
A draft allows the plan to be prepared before it becomes available to the employee and other participants.
After publication, the employee receives a notification. When the relevant Bitrix24 task mode is enabled, corresponding tasks are also created in the portal.
Managing individual development plans
Active IDPs are displayed in a plan list with progress and deadlines.
A plan can be:
- published;
- unpublished;
- exported to Excel;
- deleted;
- discussed through comments.
Comments allow participants to discuss the plan in its own context.
Automatic IDP creation
IDPs in Brusnika.LMS do not have to be created manually.
After a failed test or course
A test or course can have the “Generate IDP on failure” setting enabled, with competencies selected for the resulting plan.
If the employee fails the relevant test or course, the system automatically creates an IDP based on those competencies.
Based on a 360-degree assessment
The results of a 360-degree assessment include the “Assign IDP” action.
This provides a direct transition from competency assessment to development planning.
Based on career-track requirements
An IDP can be generated from the requirements of a career track.
The “Generate IDP from career track” action is available to the employee and the manager.
A career track can therefore be connected to a concrete individual development plan.
Employee workspace
Employees access IDPs through Learning → IDP.
The section contains two tabs:
- IDP;
- Trajectories.
Users can filter and search plans by:
- their role in the plan;
- employee surname;
- plan name.
A user can participate in an IDP as:
- learner;
- mentor;
- manager.
Each plan shows its status and progress percentage.
The main plan statuses are:
- not started;
- in progress;
- completed.
IDP card
The plan card displays:
- the user's role;
- attached files;
- competencies;
- target competency levels;
- assessment scale;
- development events;
- comments.
Activities have their own statuses:
- new;
- in progress;
- completed.
A task activity's status can be returned to an earlier state.
The employee can open a related course directly from the IDP. Course progress is then reflected back in the plan.
A counter of unstarted plans is also displayed on the menu tile.
IDP permissions and settings
The Application Settings → IDP Settings section contains a permissions matrix.
It determines who can:
- create IDPs;
- edit plans;
- view plans;
- change statuses.
Permissions can be configured for:
- moderators;
- employees;
- mentors.
There is also a “Deadlines for manager and mentor” option.
When enabled, managers and mentors can change the date of a specific activity directly in the IDP card.
Settings can be reset to recommended values.
The assessment scales and competencies used by IDPs are managed through Competency Management.
IDP reporting and analytics
Brusnika.LMS includes an IDP Report.
The report can provide information about:
- plan statuses;
- task statuses within plans;
- average progress;
- progress dynamics;
- employees;
- competencies;
- activities;
- detailed plan elements.
The report can be exported to Excel.
The 360 Assessment Overview also shows how many assessed employees have an IDP.
The IDP report is not generated in the context of an external LMS.
How IDPs connect to other Brusnika.LMS features
IDPs connect assessment, competencies, learning and practical employee development.
They are connected with:
- competencies and assessment scales — define development areas and competency levels;
- courses — can be included as development activities;
- events — can be used as development activities;
- tests — can trigger automatic IDP creation after a failure;
- 360-degree assessment — can be used to assign an IDP from assessment results;
- career tracks — can be used to generate an IDP from career requirements;
- trajectories — available as another tab in the employee workspace;
- gamification — completing an IDP can award points;
- notifications — used, among other things, when a plan is published;
- Bitrix24 — can be used to create tasks based on an IDP.
This creates a development sequence such as:
assessment → development area → IDP → learning and practice → completion → progress tracking.
IDP use cases
Creating an IDP after an assessment
HR identifies a development area, creates an IDP, selects a competency and target level, adds a course and sets a deadline.
After publication, the employee receives a notification and, with the relevant Bitrix24 settings, tasks are created in the portal.
Working through an IDP
The employee opens Learning → IDP, selects the plan and tracks progress.
They complete a course included in the plan, work through tasks and communicate with their mentor through comments.
Automatic IDP after an unsuccessful result
An employee fails a final test for which “Generate IDP on failure” is enabled.
If competencies have been defined for the test, Brusnika.LMS automatically creates an IDP based on them.
IDP based on a career track
Career-track requirements can be used as the basis for an individual development plan.
The employee or manager starts “Generate IDP from career track”, after which the development requirements are reflected in the plan.
Limitations and important conditions
The following rules apply to IDPs:
- the course status in a plan is determined by course completion;
- course status cannot be changed manually;
- task statuses can be changed manually;
- managers and mentors can change deadlines for individual activities only when “Deadlines for manager and mentor” is enabled;
- moderators with the View or Author level can only view and create IDPs for their own team;
- the IDP report is not generated in the context of an external LMS.
Frequently asked questions
What is an IDP in Brusnika.LMS?
An IDP is an Individual Development Plan for an employee over a defined period. It can contain competencies, target levels, courses, events, tasks and deadlines.
Who can create an IDP?
An IDP can be created by a moderator or HR. Moderators with the View or Author level work only with their own team. With the relevant permission, an employee can create an IDP for themselves.
Can a course be added to an IDP?
Yes. A course from the catalog can be added to an IDP. The employee can open the course directly from the plan, and course progress is reflected in the IDP.
Can tasks be added to an IDP?
Yes. An IDP can include a separate checklist-based task plan. When working with Bitrix24, tasks can also be created in the portal when the plan is published.
Can IDPs be generated automatically?
Yes. An IDP can be generated automatically after a failed test or course when “Generate IDP on failure” is enabled and competencies have been selected.
Can an IDP be assigned after a 360-degree assessment?
Yes. The 360-degree assessment results include an “Assign IDP” action.
Can an IDP be created from a career track?
Yes. An IDP can be generated from career-track requirements. This option is available to the employee and manager.
Can a manager change an IDP deadline?
A manager can change the deadline of a specific activity when “Deadlines for manager and mentor” is enabled in the IDP settings.
Does Brusnika.LMS provide IDP reporting?
Yes. The IDP Report includes plan and task statuses, average progress, dynamics, employees, competencies and activities. It can be exported to Excel.
Can IDPs be used in Bitrix24?
Yes, when the corresponding Bitrix24 integration is used. When an IDP is published, tasks can be created in the portal either separately for activities or as one consolidated task for the entire plan.