BranchTrack

What BranchTrack is

BranchTrack is a no-code authoring tool and delivery platform for branching scenario simulations, the kind of training where a learner faces a realistic situation, picks a course of action and sees what happens next. It is aimed at L&D teams: instructional designers, subject matter experts, training facilitators and the managers who own a training budget. The pricing page pitches it to everyone "From freelancers to enterprise clients", and the site's copyright line runs from 2013. Simulations are built in the browser, then delivered on BranchTrack's own platform, inside an LMS, embedded in an existing e-learning course, on a phone, in a classroom or in a live Zoom or Teams session.

How a BranchTrack simulation works

The company's 3C Framework page explains the method behind the product. A simulation is built from three parts: a challenge, a choice and a consequence. The challenge is a realistic situation rather than a test question; the page's examples include a customer asking about a competing product, a patient complaining of chest pain, and a client asking for a favor that may break company policy. Choices answer "What do you do now?" and can be right, wrong or anywhere between. The consequence is the important part: "a consequence only shows the outcome of a learner's choice. It does not tell whether the outcome is good, bad, useful, harmful, or anything else." Feedback that labels a choice correct or incorrect, the page argues, takes away from realism.

Because many paths lead from the opening challenge to different outcomes, a simulation can be replayed and end differently each time. The company recommends mixing classic e-learning with simulations: the course lays the theory, and the sim lets learners practice it. A quote on the integration page from Hedwig Schlötjes-Belle, an e-learning designer, sums up the idea: "It lets learners experience the consequences of their mistakes instead of spelling it out."

Building simulations

Authoring happens in the browser, and the site says the scenario design tool "requires no technical skills or prior experience." Authors work with a built-in library of characters and locations, upload their own assets, attach files, images and video, and add voice-overs. Projects can be shared across a team with access control, and subject matter experts can review projects and leave feedback that authors act on straight away. An AI Co-pilot is listed for generating visuals, automatic narration and translation. For localization, authors can export and import translation files for professional translation workflows or use AI to translate. The site also claims "WCAG 2.0 accessibility" for simulations and a fully responsive learner experience that adapts to phones and tablets.

Delivering simulations

The platform is built to slot into tools an L&D team already uses.

• In an LMS. Simulations export to SCORM and xAPI and "work just like any other e-learning course", reporting completion and scores to the LMS. BranchTrack's own dashboard adds decision-point data for every learner or cohort.
• Inside other authoring tools. The integration page says scenarios work inside Articulate Storyline, Rise, Adobe Captivate, Gomo, Lectora and most other tools, replacing a quiz with a scenario.
• In the classroom. A facilitator replaces a traditional roleplay with a digital sim, and a Live Scoreboard shows real-time results so the trainer can lead a discussion based on the decisions learners actually made.
• In live online sessions. Facilitators share a scenario in Zoom, Teams or Webex chat, learners play it in real time, and progress and scores appear on a shared live scoreboard.
• On mobile. The company advertises "a fully mobile, hassle-free experience for learning on the go" and suggests short simulations learners can complete anywhere.

Classes is BranchTrack's own delivery platform, priced per learner. It bundles simulations, courses and documents (including PDFs, videos and Storyline courses) and distributes them to learners in the cloud, with live leaderboards, points, badges and real-time analytics. Offline tasks can be included, and the company describes Classes as "a comprehensive substitute for an LMS". The homepage says teams can "Train 100 or 1,000,000 online" without leaving the platform.

Analytics

Data is the other half of the product. The Insights module records every learner decision, and the data-driven approach page describes using it to spot common mistakes, measure decision quality, see how long learners take to master a skill and adjust difficulty. Facilitators can give personalized feedback from the same data, and managers can compare results across locations and departments.

Pricing

The pricing page lists four plans.

• Free, labeled "Forever": 1 simulation with unlimited scenario depth and reviewers, the character and location library, custom assets, files, images and video, voice-overs, SCORM/xAPI export, publishing for mobile and embedding in Storyline and other tools.
• Professional: 10 simulations and priority response, from $83 a month, marked "Annual only".
• Team: 50 simulations, from $299 a month, described as "From SMEs to IDs to PMs".
• Enterprise: quoted on contact, for organizations that want to "Integrate. Secure. Manage." experiential learning at scale.

The page groups the advanced features (Classes as a pay-per-learner platform, Insights analytics, team collaboration, license management and password policies) and the support tiers (training videos, community support, guaranteed response and an SLA) separately from the plans, so the comparison table does not make clear which paid plan includes each one. Requesting a demo or creating a free account are both offered on the page.

Use cases and customers

The site names retail, financial services, healthcare, consulting and software as industries, and compliance, sales, negotiations, customer support and leadership as skills it trains. It points to a case study on how PwC moved its classroom training to digital simulations, a mobile learning case study, and a case study on adding play sessions to an online class. The pricing page says BranchTrack is "Loved by Fortune 500 and SMBs alike".

Who it suits

BranchTrack suits instructional designers who already build courses in Storyline, Rise or Captivate and want to replace multiple-choice checks with decision practice, and L&D teams who need scenario data in their LMS through SCORM or xAPI. Facilitators running classroom or webinar training get the most from the live scoreboard, which turns a roleplay into a shared exercise. The free plan lets a single designer build and publish one complete simulation before paying, and the Professional plan covers a freelancer or small team producing a handful.

It suits buyers less well when the training need is simulated software screens or 3D environments: the product is built around branching conversations and decisions with characters. Teams that want to price a large rollout on Classes will need to talk to the company, because the per-learner rates are not on the page.