Unfortunately, better software doesn't come automatically no matter what tools you use--and no, there is no @MakeItBetter function. In order to gain the benefits mentioned above, you are probably going to have to change the way that you do things to some degree. Most of that change will be related to process changes.

The core philosophy of LifeCycle is that all applications (or software development projects) have six distinct stages of development, and the course gives you an in-depth explanation of every one of the stages: Plan, Design, Build (or Construction), Test, Deploy, and Maintain.

There are also graphs showing these development stages sprinkled throughout the course, as you can see in Figure B.

FIGURE B

This screen shot of the LifeCycle classroom shows the graph of the six stages of application development. Click picture for a larger image.

The LifeCycle course then goes on to teach you, over the course of three days, how and which TeamStudio products and/or Tactica's BASIS for Lotus Notes can be used during each of these stages of development to help increase your development effectiveness and efficiency. For example, during the building stage, TeamStudio CIAO! can be used to help manage version control for Lotus Notes/Domino applications. It then goes on to explain, in detail, how this can be done, giving real-world examples and exercises along the way.

Is it Live or is it LearningSpace? It's both!
I'm not going to attempt to give a full explanation or review of LearningSpace here since there's a complete review of it in DominoPower's January 2000 issue called "Distance learning with LearningSpace," by David Mann, which can be found by visiting http://www.dominopower.com/issues/issue200001/learningspace001.html.

I will, however, give a brief description of the LearningSpace environment as well as my suggestions for making the most of the LearningSpace lessons. To review, LearningSpace has two components. The first is LearningSpace Forum. This is the Notes/Domino side that holds all the lessons and files which can be accessed at any time. The second is LearningSpace Live. This is the Java-based part of LearningSpace, built on top of Lotus SameTime technology that enables real-time learning. A combined implementation of LearningSpace Forum and LearningSpace Live is called LearningSpace Anytime.

You can see a screen shot of the Live component of LearningSpace in Figure C.

FIGURE C

Here is a sample of what LearningSpace Live looks like. Click picture for a larger image.

The Live component includes real-time chat; a whiteboard where presentations are viewed; a description of who is online and what their role is, whether it be instructor or student; application sharing, where the instructor can demonstrate software in action; and a feature called Follow Me that allows the instructor to open a URL onto all the students' desktops in their default browser.

Without the Live component, as is the case with other LearningSpace courses I've reviewed , it takes a lot of self-discipline to sit down and go through a course methodically when you're not sitting in a classroom and no one is forcing you to learn the material. The nice thing about the LifeCycle course, though, is that in addition to the static course content which is included in the Forum component, it uses the Live component of LearningSpace to deliver a more interactive experience. You actually do attend class at set times, and you can do so from the comfort of your home or office. The class consists of three days of instruction with two three-hour sessions per day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.