What are the options for maintaining my Learners in Blue Ocean Brain (BOB)?

Clients with and without single sign-on (SSO) have multiple options for managing Learners in Blue Ocean Brain.

Learner Management options for Clients WITH SSO access:

Learner Management options for Clients WITHOUT SSO access:

SSO Just-in-Time Auto-Provisioning

This Learner Management option for Clients with SSO login access allows Learners with the company-specific SSO login link to auto-create their BOB account upon visiting the BOB site for the first time.

• Requirements for use:
  • Single sign-on must be set up
  • Management of groups by the Client’s IT team
  • Client IT involvement for setup and maintenance
• Pros:
  • Learners can be added to BOB without a POC providing a Learner list
  • Learner fields (*NOT NameID) are updated upon the Learner logging into BOB
• Cons:
  • Learner must click on the SSO-specific login link to create an account
  • Learners must be using a desktop or internet app (NOT mobile app) to auto-create an account
  • If Learners are terminated and the Client doesn’t provide the list of terminated employees to BOB, the data is not removed (this is a PII security issue)
  • If fields are updated on the Learner’s SSO account, the updates don’t pass to BOB until the Learner logs into BOB again
  • For license-based Clients, another method of Learner Management must be used to ensure the Client stays within the license limit

SCIM

This Learner Management option allows Clients with SSO login access configured to manage the BOB Learner list directly from the Client’s SSO profile. When Learners are added, removed, or updated in the BOB SSO profile or within Learner assignments, those changes are reflected within BOB, and Learners can be automatically added to BOB.

• Requirements for use:
  • Single sign-on must be set up
  • Management of groups by the Client’s IT team
  • SCIM must be available for the Client’s SSO provider
  • Client IT involvement for setup and maintenance
• Pros:
  • SCIM controls adding new Learners, updating current Learners, deactivating Learners, and reactivating Learners
  • SCIM allows for the management of Learners in-house without needing to contact BOB or send Learner files
• Cons:
  • Requires Client IT involvement for setup and maintenance of single sign-on accounts
  • BOB Team has limited ability to troubleshoot
  • If Email is used as the NameID, the Client will need to make the adjustment to the account manually within BOB

SFTP

This Learner Management option uses a Learner file, sent from the Client’s HRIS system or manually added by the Client, to the SFTP server. Once the file is placed in an SFTP server, BOB sets up automation to download the Learner listing and upload it to BOB.

• Requirements for use:
  • Client IT Involvement for setup
  • Manual or automated employee files sent regularly (as often as they want to send it)
  • Employee file must be the entire list of BOB users. When a new file is sent, the system adds any new Learners and deactivates any current Learners who are not included on the file
• Pros:
  • Once set up, further involvement from the Client’s IT team is rarely needed
  • BOB automation checks for new files hourly, with no limit on how often Clients send files
  • Files can be sent through automation by the Client
• Cons:
  • Requires Client IT involvement to set up and make changes to the file

Self-Import

Clients with the Learners Admin tab can upload employee files to BOB. Learners will receive a confirmation email containing the successes and errors of Learner records imported.

• Requirements for use:
  • .csv file including first name, last name, email address
  • Have Learner Admin access in BOB and instruction on procedures
• Pros:
  • No Client or BOB IT involvement
  • Uploads can be made at any time
• Cons:
  • Uploads are made manually, this process cannot be automated
  • Anyone with Learner Admin access can upload a Learner file

Auto-Provision by Domain

This Learner Management option enables Clients, who have specific business domains associated with the organization, to allow employees to set up BOB accounts through self-registration. After entering First Name, Last Name, and Email, the employee is prompted to create a password and confirm the receipt of a verification email to auto-create a BOB account.

• Requirements for use:
  • Learners must have a real business email address
  • Client must have a specific list of business email domains to be used
  • Client must be using regular sign-on
  • Each domain can only match to one group (e.g. @abc.com can only match to one group)
• Pros:
  • No Client or BOB IT involvement
  • Learners can be added to BOB without a POC providing an employee list
• Cons:
  • If Learners are terminated and the Client doesn’t provide the list of terminations to BOB, the data is not removed (and this is a PII security issue)
  • Learners must visit BOB and go through the process of auto-creating an account to access BOB and begin micro-lesson communications
  • For license-based Clients, another method of Learner Management must be used to ensure the Client stays within the license limit

Individual one-by-one updates

This Learner Management option allows POCs to add, update, or deactivate Learners one-by-one within the Learner Admin tab.

• Requirements for use:
  • N/A
• Pros:
  • No Client or BOB IT involvement
  • Learners can be added, updated, or deactivated at any time
• Cons
  • Manual and time-consuming process
  • No way to automate these additions