Production of collaborative technical deliverables, best practices, specifications etc. is only useful to the industry if they become ubiquitously adopted. And adoption can only happen when the specifications are produced in a manner that allows them to be rapidly understood and implemented. This means that TM Forum deliverables must:

• Be easy to read and understand, in recognition of the fact that many of our community do not speak English as a first language
• Give clear guidance on how to use and implement the material. This includes providing worked examples and case studies as well as “how to” guides to allow members quickly find the content that is most useful to them.

Experience shows that deliverables are most widely adopted when they are underpinned by a number of other supporting products and services, such as:

• Training on how to use and implement the deliverables
• Personal certification of expertise, to grow employees and consultants knowledge related to the deliverables, thereby reducing misunderstandings and implementation risk
• Support within an open community environment where experts can offer guidance to people trying to use the material
• Certification and Auditing whereby products and services can be validated against deliverables, also reducing implementation risk
• A suite of case study material, describing how other organizations have used the material

For key initiatives identified by the Board of Directors in the Strategic Plan, an Initiative Director is appointed. The Initiative Director works to achieve all the activities required in order for the outputs of the initiative to be successfully adopted by the industry. These activities include:

• Definition of a strong Value Proposition for the Initiative, documented in the form of a Prospectus. The production of the value proposition will require (amongst other things):
  • Obtaining senior-level commitment from Forum members to clearly define end-user requirements for the Initiative.
  • Obtain senior level commitment from Forum members to contribute resources to participate in appropriate aspects of the initiative.
• Leveraging the go-to market channels of the Forum (including Events, Publications, Webinars, the Forum Website), Research etc. to maximize adoption of Forum work.
• Co-ordination of all the support products and services (such as those listed above) that will be required in order to achieve market success.