About Enterprise Architecture (AboutEA.com) - An Information Technology Weblog

Three Ways BI and BPM Will Work Together

A quick review of ways that Business Intelligence and Business Process Management can integrate from The Intelligent Enterprise Blog | Three Ways BI and BPM Will Work Together

“The first and easiest is to have a plug-in for the BI system whereby you’re using it to analyze and report on process data,” says Frenkel, strategic business development manager at Pega. “Next, the BI system could not only report on process data but also tigger alerts and kick off exception-handling queues and subprocesses. Finally, BI could be used for decision support within a business process.”

followed by some words of wisdom,

"let BI be a utility that you apply wherever it’s needed. And don’t force process owners to become pseudo BI gurus with their own little data silos. We all need each other, so let’s integrate and align the technology and let the people get down to what they do best."

BEA Aqualogic BPM Gets Collaborative Around Processes

BEA integrates several of their collaboration-oriented tools around their BEA Aqualogic BPM suite (aka Fuego). Something I've been thinking about is using weblogs with their categorization and tagging functionality to link to business processes and process activities in a dynamic, process-oriented knowledge store. One part of the BEA announcement that seems to tie to that in particular says:

Process-enabled, enterprise knowledge. AquaLogic Interaction's Knowledge Directory is designed to provide seamless, structured access to information across unstructured and structured enterprise source systems, including Documentum, Microsoft SharePoint, FileNet, Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes, Windows and Novell File Systems and more. Links to items from these systems can be attached to business processes in support of the individual activities within the process.

I've been trying to find the right way to rebuild this blogs categories to match the APQC PCF process categories that the information pertains to. The idea would be to be able to have a dynamic link or search built from a process category, process, or activity in our business architecture in order to find the up-to-the-minute blog postings and knowledge that pertain to that process category. This looks like BEA is headed in that direction also.

Personal Podcasting (or Stick Your Voice On Their iPod)

I'm experimenting with Personal Podcasting, setting up a podcast stream especially for communication between two people, like a time-shifted message service. Really, I'm trying to find multple ways to climb into my kids new iPods as they move into the ear-bud, bluetooth-borg phase of growing up. I've set up RSS Podcast streams that I can post to on-line or via phone and they can subscribe to in iTunes. I'll post something, they'll sync, and then have the next set of directions. Maybe I'll find some cool jokes to post to their feeds.

I'm using http://Hipcast.com to host the podcasts (they allow on-line recording, uploading, and post by phone) and http://Feedburner.com to host the RSS feeds (to track usage at some point maybe, dunno).

And again, the current problem with syncing iPod 2GB Nanos with iTunes running in Win XP is driving me crazy!!

Scott Rosenberg Interviewed On Blogging, Blogs, and Software Development

Scott Rosenberg, October, 2006 :: Rebecca Blood: Bloggers On Blogging: A fantastic interview of a blogger I started following when he started a blogging community as editor at Salon using the same client / server blogging software, Radio Userland, I was using at the time and hoping to expand to my peer community at work. Scott and Salon were a bit more successful than me, but I was lucky to have been introduced to an insightful writer who held many of the same thoughts I did on politics and taught me a bit about the revolution happening to periodicals via the Internet. He talks about all of these in this interview and some about his upcoming book on the field of software development. I can't wait to read the book.

Feedburner - News Feed Subscription Management

Feedburner provides the service I'm currently using to manage subscriptions to my weblog updates. Feedburner provides my weblog readers with a way to easily subscribe to the updates in all the big news feed aggregators, like Bloglines, Newsgator, Rojo, NetNewsWire, and in their favorite personal 'My' Portals, like My Yahoo, My AOL, My MSN, etc. My weblog readers can also subscribe to get updates delivered by email if that's there preference, and Feedburner manages that too (with strong email address privacy protection). For me, Feedburner provides statistics on number of subscribers, what they may be reading and clicking to, and ways to make my feeds more usable to readers and more financially benefitting to me (eventually). I've added the Feedburner Blog, Burning Questions, to My Application Architecture so I can follow the happenings there and provide new features as they come out.

I've also retired Feedblitz which was an RSS Email Subscriptions tool I was using to the Application Archive. I will add Bloglet, another similar tool I've used in the past, when I swap it out for subscription management on this very blog. More on that to come soon.

My Application Architecture

My Application Architecture describes the software and system services I use to support the processes in my life, whether they are the ones I use in my career as a Business Process Architect and Internet Community Services Consultant or in my life as a citizen journalist (someone who wants to share what's going on with family, friends, community, and anyone who wants to listen!).

One way to keep up on the software and services I use is by following official (provided by the software / service provider) and un-official (provided by unofficial sources, such as service users like us) news feeds provided by these sources of information. I follow these and other news feeds using a service called Bloglines, and in particular, in a folder of news feeds called, appropriately, My Application Architecture (here's the latest news from the feeds in My Application Architecture).

I've started out following and describing My Application Architecture with services I use for tracking and sharing news feeds (Bloglines), post and share calendar events (Eventful), and post and share pictures (Flickr). As I find more sources for the applications I use, I'll add feeds to My Application Architecture and blog about them here.

Here's the current list of news feeds I'm following about My Application Architecture...

Video Chat and Sharing Between Windows and Macs

Understanding what you can do with your video camera and/or webcam, in the Internet age, opens up a lot of possibilities for fun and interesting communication between groups. Video chat takes Instant Messaging to the next level. Video and photo blogging and sharing via sites like http://YouTube.com and http://Flickr.com are all the rage, opening up individual visual ideas to social networks ranging from small and intimate (like families and friends...people we know) to large and roudy (browse http://Flickr.com/Groups or http://YouTube.com/channels...people we want to keep at arms length...hehe). Video editting sofware on Windows and Macs are making it easy to capture video, add titles, and publish away. But we don't want the fact that some of our friends have Macs and some have Windows ruin the communication-by-video fun, so we have to look for solutions that work with the systems and software our friends and family use...and hopefully we'll be able to tie in with the rest of the unwashed masses to be touched my us and our creations.

I recently pow-wowed on the (l)east coast with friends who hosted us in their beautiful new house with plentiful wi-fi and brand-spanking new Mac and Windows machines. I was carrying my own Windows XP laptop on this trip. Beeb's with the Mac (with video camera built in) never really seemed to bust it out downstairs, but was content to use the Win XP machine for keeping her AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) buddy list up, ready for instant-on contact with her network. She's soon heading to Italy for fashion training and I'm sure would like to keep up with those same contacts and her dear old aunt on the Ipswich Win XP. Wouldn't it be cool to add Video Chat to the mix, without too much disruption to her existing network...like asking them to get different software?

So I started with AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), since she was using that on the Win XP machine (and that's where her network of buddies gathered). It also helped that on the Mac side of this, she had the ability to use the iChat client which can utilize AOL's network (use the same account, see your buddy list) and has video chat capability built in. Further research showed that the AIM software for Windows XP supports video also...meeting that must-have requirement. From there it was pretty easy. AIM recoginized my JVC MiniDV video camera when I plugged it into the Win XPs 1394 / Fire-wire jack...instant video chat camera. iChat is totally integrated with my Mac's iSight camera, so the Mac side was no brainer. I also followed these great AIM setup instructions to check on my networks bandwidth to make sure I had could actually push video out of my cable (and receive it too)...which I did and most cable / DSL / broadband installations should). I did have to dial back the iSight video capture to 100Kpbs in order to not overload my networks bandwidth (iSight can capture really high resolution digital video...just like a video camera...but that's far too much information to be pushing over the Internet we've got available today). Then I tested by logging into different AIM accounts from my PC and Mac, initiated a video chat request from either of the machines, and there it was. Cross-platform video chat. And I think it could be as good between video chatters in different countries (like Italy and the Ipswich Country Club) as it was between my family room and the office. But we'll have to test that out next.

Side-bar: When I asked Consuela when she wasn't using her Mac...specifically iChat...for chat, she wasn't happy with the fact that iChat totally bumped her off the AOL network after she was inactive on the Mac for a certain amount of time. She wants to show as on-line, but Idle or Inactive, if I understand what she's trying to do. Well...I tested that out too...seems a shame to not get use out of iChat and the built-in camera because of something like that. When the same thing happened to me...on my windows machine, I showed as totally logging out on the Mac side after 15 minutes of inactivity. The problem seemed to be that on the Mac System Preferences / Energy Saving / Power Adapter (which I think means 'when you're plugged in') it was set to Go To Sleep after 15 minutes. There was a separate setting for 'Dim the Display' (or something like that) and it was set to 5 miunutes. Once I set the computer to Never got to sleep (but kept the display at 5 minutes to save the screen), I was never disconnected from the AOL Network...just showed as InActive or Away. Does that solve the problem Britti?

So, the next step is to set up some bi-coastal video chat tests between here and the 17th fairway. Oh...and find the cords to hook old-aunt's video camera to her new Dell and you gals can video chat the Italian days away.

Ideas, Questions, Outstanding, Random Thoughts:

Why doesn't Yahoo Messenger Windows recognize my JVC video camera, which shows up just fine on My Computer and AIM? Research for all my friends using Yahoo Msg cross-platform.

Video Chat Rooms: Being able to SEE (video / pics) everyone participating in an IM or a Chat. I'm sure there's something enabling you to change your profile picture quickly or something.

IM vs Chat: Finally getting the difference between the two. I've been wanting to, but haven't yet, opened chat rooms where multiple listeners to http://TNJT.com can communicate about the show together. I've got my username posted on the website, but that's for making one-to-one contact...you see it, you click it, and I talk to you. But what I want is to open a chat room and then be able to let others join it...probably by have some sort of URL I can put on a webpage that then launches their chat software. I digress. So...Are AOL Chat Rooms URL addressable?

URLs for AOL, Yahoo Msgr Chat Rooms? When I open a new chat room at the start of each radio show, for instance, I want to be able to broadcast / post something on the weblog with a URL link which launches folks into that chat room. I guess if they added THENEWJAZZTHING to their contact / buddy list, they would see I was on-line and could ask for the new chat room. The key is linking people into the chat rooms while the show is going on.

The Doctor Prescribes Sound Technology

Linux for Suits - The Sound of Linux | Linux Journal: Open-source technology used to power wireless, Internet-connected sound throughout the house...how cool is this! Now I just need a grand or so to pump up the (home) volume!

Ether - Pre-paid Services by Phone or Email

TechCrunch » Super-Stealth Ether to Launch Tonight: Supplier's of services that can be provided via phone conversation or email list themselves and their fees, which are then paid up front by customers who are then connected with the supplier. I'm still trying to figure out how this benefits the customer, who usually get some sort of service benefit, like an estimate of service cost, before they have to pony-up any moola. For the supplier, it seems to provide some sort of billing mechanism and service listing. But unless you can offer the "I know I can fix your computer problem" service, why would someone pay in advance. I'm probably sounding very un-business-like on this post, but it's version 1 of my exploration of this.

BTW...I'm thinking of ways to provide IT and others services in a more flexible (and school-schedule-like) model.

3Bubbles Integrating Real-Time Chat and Blogs (or Other Websites I Imagine)

http://3Bubbles.com is testing out an easy tool for joining in-progress conversations that can be embedded into any website template...here's a test of copying some text from a conversation I got into where I asked some questions about the tool...

VinceOutlawHello chatters...just followed the link from scripting news...
RobertDHello Vince
j.where the focus is consumers talking to themselves
VinceOutlawHi Robert...any links for more information on this...Dave didn't leave much info...
Drewj: we're open to all possibilities
Drewvince: www.3bubbles.com
RobertDDrew... how many people have registered to receive more information via e-mail? Any statistics yet?
VinceOutlawThanks Drew...there now in another tab...checking the home page...wish I could just post from there...
j.best of luck guys
Drewrobert we had 1500 as of yesterday evening 
j.I will keep an eye on it.
RobertDNice :)
Drewprobably a lot more now
Drewhaven't checked
j.What is the over/under on getting acquired by Blogger or TypePad?
j.3 months?
RobertDYeah, I put my e-mail addy in about an hour ago... So at least 1501 now
j.:)
VinceOutlawIs there some sort of widget I can embed on a blog page to have the conversation scrolling...like this one is on the 3bubbles home page?
Drewyup
Drewit's an iframe
RobertDOh nice, I didn't even notice it's up on the 3Bubbles site
Drewhttp://dittes.info/blog/ example of one way to implement
Drewyeah we have the site up now
VinceOutlawIs there a page that gives myself, a copy/paste king, some easy instructions to do that?
RobertDNice, where do I send my check as an investment? LOL
Drewdittes got into our registration system before he was supposed to 
Drewvince yes
Drewbut it's not public yet
Drewwould love to have it
Drew:D
VinceOutlawIt's a pretty excellent tool so far...how did Scripting get the URL to a particular conversation?
sriIs it possible to make the links clickable?
Drewhe took it off of techcrunch's site
Drewsri: which links are you talking about?
VinceOutlawah...can I put links in...like http://AboutEA.com...testing my own question...
VinceOutlawhttp://AboutEA.com
Drewnot supported yet
VinceOutlawtwo strikes for VO...
RobertDHas this been /.ed yet?
Drewnot to my knowledge
RobertDOr Farked?
Drewwe had a little digg presence
Drewlike 7 diggs
RobertDNice :)
Drewthat was this past weekend before we were live though

I just copied that in and stuck it in a 'pre' tag for easy-ness. It would be cool to be able more easily post parts of the conversation into a blog to sort of archive it...save the knowledge (or whimsy) generated from the conversation...maybe the cool dudes who did this are already onto that...I'm sure there are a lot more interesting requests that this knowledge worker's. Thanks for letting me try it out...I want one for my blog!

OK...I had to try it...I just borrowed the code from http://dittes.info/blog/ to embed a conversation in a webpage...here's the one I was just in...

Feed2Podcast Gives Voice To Your Feed

Feed2Podcast converts the text of each individual entry in an RSS feed into a audio file or podcast. It then turns around and produces another RSS 2.0 podcast-enabled newsfeed with each podcast attached so folks wishing to 'hear' your feed (your weblog) can subscribe to that feed and have the audio automatically downloaded to their portable device. The also produce easy code to paste into your weblog to make it easy for folks to listen and subscribe. Way cool!!!

And more than cool, what an easy way to provide a podcast for a news release feed or two (one with just headlines and one feed with full text)...um....

UPDATE: If you want to add more than one on your account, you are then directed to PayPal for a cost of $12.00 US. Interesting...

For a test, here's what what automatically generated from the feed of my The New Jazz Thing - The Tunes playlist weblog:

Listen using this URL: http://www.feed2podcast.com/player/podcast_player.php?url=http://www.feed2podcast.com/podcast/44450680.xml

RSS 2.0 podcast-enabled newsfeed: http://www.feed2podcast.com/podcast/44450680.xml

and Listen and Subscribe Buttons:

Thanks to Dave and CoolzOr Super RSS Tools for the linkage.

Frappr (not Frapper) - Friend Mapper and More

Frappr (friend mapper) is more like place mapper (plappr) or event mapper (eppr) or experience mapper (exper-appr), this Web 2.0-informed mash-up service featuring Google Maps and inspired value-add by what looks like the folks who did "Hot or Not" long ago (they've continued that legacy of drop-dead easy UI to vote / map / contribute here) as lots of possibilities.

Put your pin in the map: name, zip code, shout-out (contribution, post, comment). It's that easy to add knowledge and experience, time and location ID's, and put into a very usable UI, both visually with all Google Map functions like Map, Satellite, Hybrid and I thought I saw RSS buttons around, indicating that new additions to the map would be available blog-like ready for reading in My RSS Reader / Yahoo / AOL / MSN, etc.

Putting 'Add To ...' Links On Your Weblog Pages

One of the most exciting developments in the world of personal, configurable portals...those My Yahoo, My AOL, and even RSS Aggregators like Bloglines or Newsgator Online services...is the ability to really personalize the news and information on them by choosing ANY RSS FEED and putting it on your page. You no longer are limited to channels of content from sources the portal wants you to look at, but you can troll the websites and weblogs all across the web, find those little white-on-orange RSS buttons, right-click to copy the URL/short-cut, and paste it into the 'Add Content' or similar form on your portal...voila, you have subscribed to that content and it begins to show in your portal.

Historical note, when Netscape and Dave Winer were coming up with RSS 5 years ago or more, this is what Netscape did with it with their My Netscape portal...it has taken all of the other 'My' pages this long to open up their business models to let us customers have what we want.

For those of us sharing our knowledge, experience, and whimsy on the web, one way to make it easier for potential readers / community members to see our stuff (official terminology) on their particular 'My..' page is to add easy subscription buttons...usually looking like 'Add to My ...'...to our websites and weblogs. Until someone builds a service that takes one RSS feed URL and produces all of the 'Add to My...' buttons for us, here is a list of all the relevant places on the web where you can 'Create 'Add To My...' Button' for the various portals and RSS readers.

Yahoo: Get Your Content Syndicated on My Yahoo Example, AboutEA:

AOL: Put a My AOL Button On Your Site Example, AboutEA:

Bloglines: Subscription Links. Example, AboutEA:

Newsgator Online: Add The Button. Example, AboutEA:

Tech Memeorandum: Collective Voice of Consumer Information Technology

tech.memeorandum is an aggregator of blog posts and links covering the latest in what I'm calling Consumer Information Technology (or Consumer IT): Informaiton technology in the hands of the masses, or at least the emerging masses, interested in comsuming information (via search engine results, read-blogs, RSS readers, listened-podcasts) and communicating information (via written-blogs, produced-podcasts, RSS syndication). I haven't quite gotten on the Memeorandom bandwagon yet, as I haven't added it to my RSS reading list, but it's good for a tech read when the whim hits (and it's political side is a good skim also).

I specifically differentiate Consumer IT from Corporate IT, in that it seems like a lot of the blogging world covered by Memeorandum is still very focused on the act of producing and consuming of information for and about blogging and related issues (pinging, blog search, podcasting) as opposed to the analysis of technology and process used to run businesses (ERP systems, governance, business process, enterprise architecture). This may just be because the blogging (and it's offshoots) means of knowledge sharing and knowledge finding is still in it's infancy.

But there are signs of this beginning to change as even Memeorandum was covering BlogWrite for CEOs' Debbie Weil covering McDonald's blogging COOs and Posted by outlawv at 05:47 AM | Comments (0)