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August 23, 2006
Challange Your Assumptions
We all make assumptions; we use them to guide our thinking and the way in which we view the world. The problem arises when our assumptions start to limit our thinking and our ability to see a vision of something different. We don't have to look far to see where people missed the boat with their miserable assumptions.
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Posted by Todd at 11:11 PM
Meta-Techie?
Check out the current edition of Eweek for an article by Deborah Rothberg. Deborah provides some excellent advice for us on how to expand our impact and skills including thinking globally, having business sense, and becoming agile. My favorite is the designation of the meta-techie which is clearly encroaching on my domain.
A meta-techie is someone that has a strong technical base of skills coupled with the ability to explain to non-techies why technology is important.
Great advice, so welcome aboard the meta-train… Metadata Rules! It’s easy to make the complex sound complex, feel complex, and visually appear complex but meta-talent knows how to make the complex simple. The problem is that most of us and our shallow egos can not stand appearing simplistic. We assume that if we communicate something in simple terms that we will be perceived as less valuable. My favorite story about this was working for a very large paper company and getting a new boss who clearly had very little technical or business knowledge. After 4 weeks, he approached me with his smugness and said that anyone could do what you do. I agreed and replied. Yes, but no one could do it six months ago. He missed the point and I left within the next 30 days for another company.
Posted by Todd at 12:31 PM
August 16, 2006
Known by many names; the Repository
When people think of metadata and the supporting application, they commonly refer to it as the repository. However, there are really four different classes of repositories that can be cross referenced against the various information states. First, a knowledge store that only contains structured information is a registry. Nothing wrong with registries, the SOA world loves their Web Service Registry built on the UDDI standard. If you add unstructured information, then you have a repository. In the web service world, we might want to add UML diagrams, configuration instructions, SLA, etc. Both the registry and repository are considered passive knowledge stores until you add automation and business process. Automation like impact analysis, subscription services, automatic loading and metrics is really a repository application.
Is there a fourth level? What comes after an active repository with advanced automation? The answer is collaboration. Transforming your active repository into a collaborative environment is the ultimate solution for the world of metadata.
Posted by Todd at 7:23 PM
August 15, 2006
Technologys Cockroach, Metadata
Metadata is truly the cockroach of technology. Metadata has been around since the early 1970s where it described databases and systems. I still remember the IBM System VTOC (Visual Table of Contents) from the early 1980s. Metadata was highlighted during the late 1980s with the success of the data warehouse. Today, metadata is everywhere in Grid Computing and SOA environments. One IBM fellow (Bob Zurick) said this is the year of metadata. Funny how a technology that very few people think about seems to have the longest life. Anyone seen a Fortran program or Commodore 64 lately? 20 Years from now, we will still be utilizing metadata to manage our environments; hopefully, we will get much better at it.
Posted by Todd at 12:43 PM