25% Discont on my book for limited period
My publishers, John Wiley & Sons, are very kindly offering a special discount on my book,
Information Architecture with XML - A Managment Strategy to coincide with the launch and promotion of this site. To order the book with 25% off its list price,
click here for orders in Europe or
click here for orders in North America. In either case, quote the discount code "DGX" when you check-out. Happy reading!
About the book
The eXtensible Markup Language - XML - is probably the most powerful and flexible information standard since the launch of the World Wide Web. This standard (together with the family of standards built around it) should play a central role in the underlying "information architecture" necessary for any professional and stable information system and as such constitutes an important and valuable business asset.
Despite this, however, these standards are being introduced into many enterprises by the back door, with little management overview or input. My book underlines the dangers of such an approach, of what I call XML by Stealth (hence the web site's name...). I therefore propose an alternative: a management-driven strategy that makes the most of what the standards have to offer.
By emphasising business strategy, I demonstrate how an organisation can build and manage an 'XML Framework' that encourages a coherent and planned introduction of technologies built on these key data standards. This in turn encourages high levels of interoperability, not only between data and text but also between application processes, business logic and entire information systems. The book looks at:
- why information management is important
- what XML has to offer the business manager
- how to build an XML Framework
- specific areas where intelligent use of XML will pay dividends
- how to design for high-level, semantic interoperability between systems
Who should read the book?
Although very detailed, the book is not written from a technical perspective at all. I deliberately set out to write for those many people who have a sense of the importance of information technologies, but are concerned to keep a management lead. The book is indispensible if you are:
- Project sponsors. If you are relying on sub-contracting development work, to a specialist team or beyond the enterprise, it will be important to know what issues you must keep in hand, what you can safely delegate and how, and what upstream issues need addressing before even launching into any project.
- Middle-managers and business analysts. If you are to avoid the disastrous problems of proprietary formats, lack of inter-operability and wasted resources that have plagued too many IT developments in the past, it is not sufficient to believe that 'doing it in XML' is necessarily going to make the situation any better. It is vital to see the 'big picture' of what the 'XML family' of standards can offer, and ensure cross-service co-operation, strategic planning and well argued business cases. Initial investment in developing XML-centred systems might seem alarmingly high, for no obvious initial return. A clear understanding therefore of its immense power will also help in value analysis, showing favourable cost/benefit rations and short returns on investment.
- IT Managers. Developers adore being let loose on a new programming language and IT environment. XML is different. If not properly thought through, you are likely to be left explaining why all these different XML projects don't and possibly can't work together, despite all the hype. You will need to understand when and how to bring senior management on board and push decisions on to them regarding XML which are not technology problems, but firmly in their realm.
- Senior management. You are likely to be sold on the idea of reduced IT costs, improved inter-operability, faster Returns on Investment (RoI) and applications development cycles, but can the claims made for XML all be true? What are the right questions to ask, and of whom?
