The BASIS system doesn't just stop at the above databases, however. It's infused throughout the course and will help to challenge the ways you currently go about your day-to-day Notes development. For instance, do you think UI standards are not necessary? Just take the course to find out how necessary they really are.

Course logistics: how much and how to sign up
LifeCycle training isn't cheap at $1,200, but it's a pretty good value considering how much time and money it'd take you to gather this information all together in one place on your own, if that were even possible. You've also got to consider how much you've invested (or are going to invest) in all the TeamStudio products, (running $2,855 for the whole bundle last time I checked), and whether or not you want to make the most of that investment.

To sign up for the LifeCycle class, you can either call 800-632-9787 or sign up online at http://training.tacticatech.com/distanceLearning.nsf/documentation/lifecycle+course?opendocument.

According to the schedule, there are eight classes set for April and May alone. Take your pick of time zones, they are available in the Pacific, Central, or Eastern time zones.

You can find more information about the TeamStudio LifeCycle course, including a complete outline of the three-day course, at http://www.teamstudio.com/ivesv2/tsv2.nsf/0/CA24E3685F15B8C68525685F007C12BE.

Suggestions for future enhancements
No matter how good a class is, there's always room for improvement. Here are some things I'd like to see not only in the LifeCycle LearningSpace class but also in other LearningSpace classes.

Live or stored audio or video
I'd love it if there were some little mini-lessons you could see via RealPlayer or similar software. The whiteboard and chatting are nice, but for an audiophile like myself, I'd also like to able to hear the instructor's voice. Also, it would have been great to have part of the class broadcast live via Lotusphere Webcasts, even if it was only the instructor's one-man show. This addition of video and audio would help attract students that might be bored by just text and chatting online.

Archive the chat
I mentioned this above, but the ability to copy or archive the contents of the chat is something that I really, really want to see. I also think it would be an extra bonus to students if they could view either the raw chats from previous classes or highlights from the chats from previous classes.

Audible bells/alerts for transition times
This was one of the suggestions other students in the class had; there should be a bell or some other audible way for the instructor to let the students know that the exercise is done and they need to come back to the discussion.

Provide the Notes databases as well
The one thing I missed when taking this LearningSpace class as opposed to others is that the course materials were all online as opposed to being available in Notes databases. I missed being able to open up the course schedule database in Notes, for instance, and being able to select all of the documents and print them out. I got around this by just printing out the lessons from the Web, one at a time.