RE: [regrep] ebXML Registry and Content Management (was Re: [regrep] Meeting agenda and reminder for ebXML Registry telecon December 18th, 2003)

["Zachary Alexander" <zack2003@ebtdesign.com>]

Duane,

If the ebXML Architecture team is reconstituted, count me in. I know
what it's like to start an architecture development effort when the
standard group that owns the spec doesn't either create a reference
architecture description or doesn't maintain it. I have used
Architecture Analysis to maintain transparency in the decision making
process which leads to better governance in the IT Acquisition process.
I've killed a lot of expensive and/or bad projects after doing the
architecture analysis.  

As an industry, we are getting killed because of cost over runs due to
poor planning and undifferentiated me-to-products. Anecdote: Poor up
front planning can routinely result in 40-80% cost over runs.


Zachary Alexander
The IT Investment Architect 
ebTDesign LLC, (703) 283-4325
http://www.ebTDesign.com
http://www.p2peconomy.com
http://www.itinvestmentvehicle.com


 

-----Original Message-----
From: Duane Nickull [mailto:dnickull@adobe.com] 
Sent: Friday, December 19, 2003 6:27 PM
To: Breininger, Kathryn R
Cc: Farrukh Najmi; Collins, Jeff; ebXML Regrep (ebXML Regrep)
Subject: Re: [regrep] ebXML Registry and Content Management (was Re:
[regrep] Meeting agenda and reminder for ebXML Registry telecon December
18th, 2003)

To add to Kathryn's email, I must also express the architectural 
viewpoint from ebXML.

The ebXML Technical Architecture team had a responsibility to map the 
user requirements to an architecture that could be implemented using 
several components.  The Service Oriented architecture uses the ebXML 
Registry as one of its' components to facilitate a set of functional 
requirements described in normative sections of the ebXML TA v 1.04. 
 ebXML Registry currently meets all of those functional requirements 
plus has started adding in functionality that is needed, yet was never 
specified within the TA 1.04.  This is a byproduct of two items:

1. The ebXML Technical Architecture v 1.0 is out of date and needs to be

revised and be reconciled with advances made by all ebXML groups and 
also needs to include certain web service standards (WSDL and SOAP as 
well as optionally UDDI - the latter being a point for discussion).

2. Advances in implementors requirements that are not part of the ebXML 
Requirements document v 1.06.  As time changes, so do the requirements 
of users.  The ebXMl Requirements document could be updated too.

To rectify this, I am proposing a new ebXML Technical Architecture team 
be established and a new revision of the architecture be written.  I 
would also like to suggest that a revision to the ebXML Requirements 
document be done to update that documents.

I would also like to see the following for ebXML as a whole:

1. Coordinated meetings between all ebXML and relevant WS branded TC's
2. Tighter control over versioning of the specifications and a 
architecture/versioning scheme that can be implemented.  (I am thinking 
that if everyone aims at making version 3.0 the gold / real copy, we can

achieve this based on lessons learned).
3. Integration of Web services standards formally within ebXML (Registry

already has WSDL and SOAP, ebXML MS has SOAP but we can also use UDDI 
optionally to facilitate dynamic discovery of other web service within 
an ebXML architecture instance.)
4. Implementation profiles and an implementation guide published 
(perhaps by IIC?).
5. Inclusion of UBL as a start payload format for ebXML.  One thing that

many implementors found annoying was the lack of a specific payload. 
 While we cannot constrain ebXMl to use only UBL, it may be good to have

it as a starting point.
6. Someone to set up and maintain a production registry as a Registry 
Zero, to start the federation.
7. World peace
(The latter one I personally added since I am already asking for so much

and I figured it was best to ask for everything in one go)

I'm sure this will invoke some other opinions.  I wouldn't mind moving 
this thread to the ebXML Dev list under the title "ebXML Future"

Duane Nickull
Breininger, Kathryn R wrote:

>I would like to insert a brief clarification here.  In a couple of the
>recent e-mails in this string there have been references to ebXML
>Registry specs as Content Management Standards.  As I stated in our
>telecon yesterday, I believe our intention (ebXML Registry TC) is that
>the ebXML Registry specs and standards support and enable content
>management, not that the ebXML Registry specs become the definitive
>Content Management System standards.  Generally speaking, a Content
>Management System includes authoring, check-in/check-out, workflow,
>versioning, etc.  An ebXML Registry has broader application in its
>enabling of ebusiness, federation features, classification support,
>interoperation with other OASIS and ebXML standards, and additional
>services, most of which can compliment a CMS.  
>
>We need to bear in mind our charter
>http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/regrep/charter.php and how
>functionality we add affects our interoperability as well as the
>requirements for core components, BP, CPPA, etc.  There are areas of
>overlap it is true: an ebXML Registry manages metadata about the
>registered objects, and a CMS manages metadata as well.  However, an
>ebXML Registry has a larger and slightly different scope and as such it
>can support and enable content management, but is not a standard
>developed specifically for CMS.
>
>Kathryn
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Farrukh Najmi [mailto:Farrukh.Najmi@Sun.COM] 
>Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2003 12:34 PM
>To: Collins, Jeff
>Cc: ebXML Regrep (ebXML Regrep)
>Subject: [regrep] ebXML Registry and Content Management (was Re:
>[regrep] Meeting agenda and reminder for ebXML Registry telecon
December
>18th, 2003)
>
>
>Collins, Jeff wrote:
>
>  
>
>>Ok, so i guess i'll follow up with a few more questions:
>>
>>- What industry vendors have agreed to support this spec so far?
>>
>>    
>>
>I assume by "support" you mean implementors of the ebXML registry (as 
>opposed to users of ebXML registry)?
>Until recently I used to say that ebXML Registry spec is weak on vendor

>adoption and strong on end-user adoption.
>This changed last month when Adobe acquired Yellow Dragon Software to 
>leverage their ebXML Registry within their eForms products. Peter,
Duane
>
>and Matt represent Adobe on our TC and can give more details.
>
>Sun has an implementation in open source (see my signature).
>
>In addition there are several other implementations listed on our TC
>page:
>
>http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/tc_home.php?wg_abbrev=regrep
>
>Finally, there are those that we keep discovering. At XML 2003 I 
>discovered that the
>Australian company MSI ( http://www.msi.com.au ) had an ebXMl Registry 
>implementation.
>
>But where we are doing even better is in actual end-user adoption and 
>deployment. Again see the first link in my signature for a small
>example.
>
>  
>
>>- Has there been any consideration of Portal Server integration use 
>>cases with the CM API?
>>
>>    
>>
>As you know Portals and CM have a close relationship with portals being

>the front end and ECM systems being the backend.
>
>Naturally, I see a close relationship between WSRP as a portal standard

>and ebXML Registry as CM standard.
>Recognizing that, we have recently formed a liaison with WSRP TC where 
>Joe Chiusano and I work in the Publish/Bind/Discover SC under Alan
Kropp
>
>of Vignette. Based on initial discussion we feel that ebXMl Registry 
>brings a strong value to WSRP and portals.
>
>  
>
>>- What would a CM vendor use ebXML for today if it doesn't support 
>>versioning as defined by the CM products on the market today?  Would
it
>>    
>>
>
>  
>
>>be read only?
>>
>>    
>>
>ebXML Registry supports tracking of versions today. It allows for 
>implementation specific extensions to support the missing check 
>in/checkout type functions. Until we support full versioning this
aspect
>
>of CM would not be interoperable. Some interop is better than none in 
>the interim.
>
>  
>
>>- How does ebXML interoperate with WebDAV?
>>
>>    
>>
>ebXML Registry defines an abstract API in UML and then defines
normative
>
>bindings to SOAP, HTML and ebXML Messaging. a binding to WebDav has not

>been defined yet. If we see a demand for it we could consider it.
>
>  
>
>>Overall, are there plans for reference ECM applications?
>>
>>    
>>
>The reference application is the one that was defined in the ebXML 
>Architecture as an eBusiness artifacts registry for CPP/A, BPSS and CC.

>Another reference application is Web Service publish/discovery. These 
>applications are deployed at Sun and other places. I would love to see
a
>
>WSRP publish/bind/discover use case as a reference application.
>
>The killer application for ebXML Registry in my opinion is eForms.
>
>  
>
>>Plans for application support or integration from Portal Vendors or 
>>Apache in something like Cocoon?
>>
>>    
>>
>The freebXML Registry project under freebxml.org is where a grassroots 
>group of vendor and user companies are working together on ebXML
>Registry.
>
>  
>
>>How would a vendor achieve benefit from committing resources to this 
>>specification?
>> 
>>
>>    
>>
>Like any other standards work, a vendor should only get involved if
they
>
>feel the standard is important to their future. By getting involved
they
>
>make sure that their customer/product needs are met within the standard

>and that they are not stuck with a lot of baggage that they do not wish

>to implement in their products.
>
>  
>

-- 
Senior Standards Strategist
Adobe Systems, Inc.
http://www.adobe.com




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