OAGi Development Methodology Page is on Website

We have recently put up a webpage on the OAGi website that summarizes our OAGi Development Methodology and I am taking this occasion to re-introduce it to our many members and users.

The Open Applications Group has had a development Methodology since I was hired in 1996.  This was one of the first things I built as the new CTO of OAGi.

As we have been using this for the development of our standards for many years, it has been refined and updated many times in the spirit of continuous improvement.

The purpose of the OAGi Development Methodology is to provide a documented step-by-step, repeatable, and open process for building OAGi open standards.

The OAGi standards development methodology includes four major phases each consisting of multiple activities and deliverables. This is an executive summary of those activities and deliverables. 

Please refer to the full documentation on the OAGi website Full Document.

The methodology is based on a commitment to timely delivery, quality and incorporation of all the available best practices and is subject to change and adjustments as newer and more relevant methods and process become available.

The four major phases of the Methodology consist of:

·         Definition – establish and approve a Working Group

·         Construction – creation of the deliverables

·         Review and Approval – internal approvals and incorporation of public input

·         Publication – packaging, deliver general available release and announce

OAGIS 9.5 Release Candidate 1 is now available for Public Review

I am very pleased to announce that OAGIS 9.5 Release Candidate One is now available for Public Review!

This Public Review will be available through Friday, April 1, 2011.  After that time we will take the Release Candidate off the web site, review all feedback, and make the changes deemed necessary by our member driven quality assurance team.

We expect the final updates and preparations will be completed on or around the end of April and we plan to release the final version of OAGIS Release 9.5 the first week of May, 2011.

This release contains the logistics work from the High Tech Council, the Order to Cash, Procure to Pay work from the Metals Council, the Warranty Claim from the Partner Council, and enhancements to the Production Order to enable it to also serve as a Work Order.

The New Nouns include:

1.    Warranty Claim

2.    Commercial Invoice

3.    Shippers Letter of Instruction

4.    Hazardous Material Shipment Document

5.    Shippers Export Declaration

In addition, we have revised all of the Scenarios and added many new ones to support the new functionality added. 

We would like to say a special thank you to the community for working so hard to help get this release of OAGIS ready to ship.

We are encouraging everyone to download and review this Release Candidate and to give us your feedback. You can learn more and download this Public Review on our website here.

One last thing, please support the work - Give back to the community.  If you are not a member of OAGi, but you use OAGIS, please consider giving back by joining the Open Applications Group. 

You can learn more about membership by writing to us at membership@oagi.org or visit our website and learn our value proposition.  

Updating our Scenarios

We had a terrific meeting yesterday concerning our implementation of Context Processing for OAGIS Release 10.  We are updating the Scenarios with the intention of using them as one of our major context drivers in OAGIS Release 10.  As a result we are adding a good bit more polish and rigor to them.

We are hoping to get them to a point that we can include them in the upcoming OAGIS Release 9.5 before we include them in OAGIS Release 10.

Cloud Computing as our Theme at last week's OAGi Meeting

Last week's meeting had our best attendance since this recession began.  Perhaps it was because we had keynotes from Microsoft and Oracle on their visions for Cloud Computing, as well as a presentation of OAGi's Cloud Computing initiative.

We also had a terrific case study that Cisco presented on their deployment of a web service that enables them to broaden the markets they serve as well as several other case studies and Council reports.

You can download the presentations for free on our website here.

OAGIS Enterprise Standards for Cloud Computing

The OAGi community started a cloud computing initiative a last month.   The community was concerned that cloud computing, like many new technologies, suffers from a lack of standards.

Where standards efforts are occurring, the focus is on technical standards, not data standards.  A well known technical expert, David Linthicum, recently wrote an article about the danger of creating silos in the cloud as we have with other technologies, unless we address the standards issue as a technology community.

The good news for data standards is that in a recent survey, 11% of respondents said they were already using OAGIS in the cloud!

In order to ensure that the OAGIS data standard fully enables our community to leverage cloud computing, we have initiated technical research.   Our early work has identified some changes to the OAGIS architecture that will improve the support for cloud computing and lay the groundwork for further evolution as cloud computing evolves.

Some of this work could appear in OAGIS as early as Release 9.5, which is scheduled for release in the spring of 2010.

We will be talking about this more at our upcoming Plenary session on December 1 in Redwood City, California, near San Francisco.  For more details on that meeting you can go here.  All are welcome to attend.

Terrific High Tech Council Meeting yesterday

We had a terrific High Tech Council call yesterday.  It was chaired by our Council Chair, Jean-Claude Monney of Microsoft.

The Council discussed their plans for a face to face meeting on December 2 near San Francisco.  That is the day after the OAGi Plenary session at the same location.

More information on that meeting can be found here.

Chemical Council Third Webinar a Success

The Chemical Industry Council held their third webinar in their planned series of three webinars yesterday, October 26.  Jim Wilson, the OAGi Chemical Industry Chief Architect described what is new in the Chem eStandards Relase 5.1.1.

The highlights included  a number of emerging agriculture-industry requirements for the following sectors: 

- European horticulture
- Feed
- Animal Health
- Seed 

Additionally, a new message was defined: Supply Forecast.

Jim also demonstrated a terrific new tool called the OAGi Chem eStandards Browser.  The browser enables any user to easily view the content of the standard, browse the Data Dictionary, see where context is used and generate Excel versions of the Schemas among other things.

This new OAGi Chem eStandards Browser is free to members only on the Chem eSTandards 5.1 download page here and will soon be available to non-members for a small fee.

You can learn more about the benefits of joining our community here.