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advanced specialization courses: NGOSS Interfaces and NGOSS SOA. The TMF also teaches a few side courses not directly NGOSS associated, such as introductions to NGN, SLA, and SDF.

A byproduct of the TMF course development is the creation of a series of books on NGOSS. These are being created by the "master teachers" based on the testing of material over many classes. First, NGOSS Distilled by Martian Creaner and John Reilly adds extensive depth to the NGOSS Distilled courses. John Reilly's two collaborative books sponsored by Progress: Getting Started with the SID and Application Integration Using the SID extend their respective courses. Currently, we understand, John Reilly and Mike Kelly are developing a book based on the eTOM Implementer's Workshop. These should be read and used in conjunction with the training courses. All are available via the TMF, but frequently, they are distributed with the teaching of the TMF courses.

One caution... One nagging complaint the TMF often gets is the about the time required to learn the NGOSS skill sets where companies must commit "time-limited," valuable employees for long courses. In response, the TMF has tried to meet this concern with a series of "concatenated courses." These were taught at the last TMF Management World. I do not recommend the concatenated versions (one half day instead of a full day for the Distilled courses and one day instead of two for the intermediate courses.) While it is possible to recover the course material missed by time constraints by fully studying the books, it is not possible to recover the loss of the "training exercises." These suffer most in the concatenation; applying and practicing these fresh skills is important for final results inside their home corporations.

Finally, the legacy of the new TMF NGOSS "university" is not just contained in the courses. The teachers are independent consultants and have become the worlds leading SMEs on NGOSS. Along with the team leads - tied up in the TMF member companies - these teaching consultants represent the true repository of TMF NGOSS knowledge and experience. NGOSS is the documents produced and approved by the TMF. But NGOSS is also the practice of modernization of OSS and BSS inside the telecom ecosystem companies. NGOSS is not a theory; it is a practice of transformation.

Taking an external course with mixed company students adds a cross-fertilization of ideas and experience that enriches the learning of the traveling students. But in