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From: Don on 30 Aug 2007 14:13
Are you using Agile methods? If so, do you model?
Does modeling work in an agile environment? Are models effective when
dealing with clients in an agile context?

As part of a research effort supported by the Agile Alliance's
Academic Research Program, we are investigating whether (and how well)
software development models work in agile environments. If you have
experience or would like to provide a point of view with respect to
modeling in any agile environment, we would like to hear from you. You
can complete the questions pertinent to you and/or provide your
opinion
on this topic at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=607293384759

Thank you in advance for you participation in this study,

Don Duffie
c/o Faculty of Business Administration
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John's, NL A1C 5S7 P.O. Box 4200 CANADA
don.duffie(a)gmail.com

From: MinorsCantDrink on 1 Sep 2007 21:58

Project (Business) Rules
The reference book How to Build a Business Rules Engine - "Extending
Application Functionality Through Metadata Engineering", explains where
databases and computer programming ideas have brought us, as an information
access society where strategic combinations of market related information
within the stream of national data make the difference between failure and
higher potentiality for young and old.

According to Chisholm, the concept behind business rules is that any
organization has logic that it uses to carry out its operational and
managerial tasks. The individual pieces of this logic are termed business
rules, and if they are properly designed it should be possible to implement
them within computerized applications.

This logic of the business rules is often traditionally found outside of the
instant application programming, and more likely within the program
documentation. And the business rules (documentation) is/are often missing,
or lost, or outdated p. xix Chisholm.

Often there is a disconnect between the verbal business cues for the
business procedures to follow as known by employees because they are related
to the business, and company practices (not well documented, or integrated
as busines logic) and moreover, the general business software purchased in
shrink wrapped software aisles at a ComputerLand big box outlet store is no
ready before it is calibrated to the company practices. So the issue is
making the shrink wrapped software application programming perform as our
company wants the business to run. The difference between the software for
a grocery store and for an auto parts store are more associated with the
framework in which they are used. They may both run the inventory and the
cash register, but policies on returned items for example, would need to be
specialized.

When large changes in the policies of an organization are to be implemented
then, it becomes clearer how much or how little information is known, about
how the procedures of the company actually work. It can become clear
whether the rules are distributed properly throughout software processes,
and correctly functioning within the project matrix. As mentioned, the
employees are often familiar or invent some ad hoc company policy. Business
rules are used to formalize organization practices, however.


Business Rules Engine
One way to see the idea of business rules, is that they serve the need to
approach the problem of a mutlfaceted logic needed to run an organization.
A business rules engine is a software component used to execute a business
rule written into it.

Organizations are engaged in more and more involved undertakings, and the
general environment around us is also changing increasingly. An
organization which does not succeed in management of the business rules
which drive their operation is one that is approaching a climactic failure.

Business rules engines can be used to effectively:
Implement changes in a policy or business rule. This increases
organizational agility
Manage diversity of operations, using a few sets of simple programming
requirements. New additions to a portfolio of operations are facilitated
for new opportunistic advantages which arise at rapid speed
Auditing of the firm can be achieved with the simplified level of assurance
regarding adherence to regulatory requirements
Compliance with engineering requirements, adapted to tests, and the
specifications


Above is from p. xxi Chisholm.

Building a Business Rules Engine
Ths book How to Build a Business Rules Engine - "Extending Application
Functionality Through Metadata Engineering", by Malcolm Chisholm, is writen
to show what is required to build a rules engine. It describes the
components that a business rules engine must have, and options for their
implementation.

In one sense the use of a business rules engine is an enhancement to the
design of many real world projects which a project manager might be in
contact with. Like business in general, using business rules is more of an
approach to an application not a monoloithic application.

The issue in Chisolm's book is the description of a business rules engine,
and the difficulties and advantages of this approach to meeting the changing
standards requirements, of a project, or changing a project into something
different, or duplicating the project with some minor improvements with an
effective approach. A software programmer would refer to these as issues of
reuseablilty or encapsulation, generally being the associated concepts of
object-oriented software design.

Data Stores
A business rules engine is essentially a metadata information resource,
therefore information resource professionals will find the Chisholm book
useful also, as the primary rules engine driver. Where does this relate in
detail to data storage? A reference book IP Storage Networking: Straight
to the Core by Gary Orenstein, publ. Addison Wesley 2003 may contain details
in Chapter 1 - Storage in a Wired World. Also, the practice of networking
is considered to be related to uses of file servers and meta data which is
part of the file properties.

File properties are used to describe the type of file and the author, and
the date modified.

Other notes can also be added to the file properties. The Microsoft Office
Suite software includes a very advanced file search feature which can be
customized. Any type(s) of identity code (IDNumber) written in text can be
attached to a file, for purposes of sorting and maintaining the data stores
contained within the Microsoft Office software suite for modification and
reuse of the data.

The file properties used with the Microsoft Office software suite are
metadata at the lower detail level.

A rules engine is somewhat involved with metatdata engineering - that is
using metadata to create or to drive components of computer applications.
This is a good issue to use for an establishment of design principles which
are more concrete.

The reference Access 2002 Bible by Cary Prague and Michael Irwin, Wiley
2001, and others noted above will be useful in that regard. The reference
book IP Storage Networking: Straight to the Core by Gary Orenstein, states
"Enterprise computing is now dominated by technologies created for the mass
market. .. Storage networking stands squarely in the path of
commoditization. ... IP's march into the storage domain - as both an enabler
of data fluidity and a byproduct of commoditization - is inevitable an
inexorable. A seemingly infinite number of IP tentacles now reach into
millions of households and businesses.

As we begin to network our computers, the byproduct of information becomes
uncontrolled, except by machines. Little of the information being produced
will be passed through human gatekeepers. Orders, inventory, customer
support, and corporate correspondence, to name a few typically flowed
through an organization only as quickly as a person could send or receive
it. Today the human gatekeepers no longer place artificial bottlenecks on
the flow of information.

Computers across and within today's organizations generate communications
and data at astronomical rates. Supply chain management, real-time
inventory tracking, automated monitoring systems of all types perpetually
send data that must be tracked and ultimately stored.

IT executives also ned to be aware of data protection issues and downtime
problems. Application efficiency, capacity efficiency, simplified training,
management and maintenance, deployment time for new applications, and
storage capacity lead to a good plan for an agile enterprise.

And behind a succcessful corporation lies a set of core competencies that
provide a competitive edge -Fed Ex has logistics; Wal-Mart, inventory
management; Dell, supplier management. Today, with information as a key
corporate asset, data storage management is as vital to business success as
other operations and departments." Above is from IP Storage Networking:
Straight to the Core by Gary Orenstein, Section 1.4 Chapter 1.

We have to look at technology as a vital part of the business planning.
Business units should exchange communication with technology development
units as part of the corporate culture. The expansion of viable buisiness
projects depends upon positive reactions to technology, and implementation
which are effective, as well as supported and used. Storage competency, or
storage agility is an essential part of a networked infrastructure, and
business continuation throughout the 24/7 business day.

In the model proposed in the book IP Storage Networking: Straight to the
Core by Gary Orenstein, applications are the common starting point for the
model. from there, all other mechanisms fall into the storage
domain -database management systems (DBMS), file systems (FS), and all of
the ways to connect to data storage disks. The connection to the physical
disk drive may be direct from the server or host, through a storage network,
or through a device such as a NAS head or NAS server. Each of these
areas -host, network, and device may perform the block aggregation functions
required to deliver blocks to the upper-layer file or record layer (storage
architecture).

The ultimate function of the SNIA shared storage model (fig 2-3 illustrates
storage device attachment) is the ability to map a variety of storage
architectures onto a single framework. An optimized view helps IT managers
plan and architect corporatewide solutions serving multiple departments,
enabling greater efficiency. There is also a consideration of data
aggregation which results in file sharing, after atomized transactions have
been collected throughout the network, processed and stored as volumes of
raw data.

BASIC STORAGE BUILDING BLOCKS
Operating System
File System
Volume Management
Storage Devices (Disks, LUNs)

Intelligent disk arrays, switching infrastructure, and network transports
have shattered the traditional blueprint for storage designs.

The implementations of a groupware software application can be written with
a variety of techniques and underlying goals. A good discussion of the
Lotus Notes groupware application (corporate) is included in The Essential
Client/Server Survival Guide 2nd Ed., by Robert Orfali, Dan Harkey, and Jeri
Edwards, publ. John Wiley and Sons 1996.

As for this text, IP Storage Networking: Straight to the Core by Gary
Orenstein, the overview provides the following:

Chapters 2 and 3 - background of storage hardware and software and uses with
IP networking. Also an overview of the software spectrum around data
storage management. Issues of storage administration.

Chapter 4 and 5 - storage system control points, data storage architectures,
intelligence across server platforms, disk subsystems, and within networking
fabrics (forests?). Strategies for storage deployment, for operational
agility, and updating the architecture. Cost-efficiency and profit
calculations.

Chapter 6 - considers the business continuity requirements for each
application i.e., classes of storage. Storage specific requirements for
various applications, and strategies for good performance and maintenance.

Chapter 7 - operational agility using flexible data storage infrastructure,
to be flexible in periods of unpredicted information volumes. Application
to business models, i.e., ownership, financing, inventory systems,
forcasting and business strategies. Consideration of outsourcing of
storage, application deployment, and data storage as a part of corporate
asset managment. (a merger or divestiture of such assets must have a
solution).

Chapter 8 - initiating an application deployment i.e., cost of ownership,
and data storage deployment.

Chapter 9 - networking options, data storage architectures, security for
storage across networks.

Chapter 10 - long distance storage networking applications. Review of
specific applications acrss wide area networks, the latency of running these
applications (rollback), and migration of data so as to mitigate the
latencyand to enable storage data applications to run between virtually any
locations.

Chapter 11 - managing data storage "Managing the Storage Domain" considering
overall enterprise storage policies with a focus on data protection and
disaster recovery scenarios. Aspects which relate to management of growth,
or expansions.

In the reference IP Storage Networking: Straight to the Core by Gary
Orenstein, section 2.1.1 is titled STORAGE GUIDANCE: File Systems, Volumes,
and Blocks. The model in figure 2-2 provides an abstraction of how
applications address storage, allowing IT administrators to effectively plan
complete architectures. It includes increased information see above fig.
2-1 by calling out specific mechanisms that file systems and volume
management use to access storage devices. In the case of the SNIA model,
the volume management can be equated with block aggregation.

The SNIA shared storage model is:

Application

Database (DBMS) - File System (FS)
| |
Services Storage Aggregation


Services as used above are are application related structures which unify
the work in progress on the system. A common idea is a service such as a
financial service, medical records, shipping, mortgages, inventory,
insurance, accounting, web applications, call center, business strategy
application, which are used as a stovepipe extension out -from the system of
storage architecture (w/data stores).

Cooperation in Networks
A single transaction model is employed for each of these services,
regardless of the vendor or the user of an application. Services represent
a snap-together design of everyday tasks, which can be managed by
conglomerates. The architecture which underpins the service model is
designed for centralized power within the delivery of daily functional
transactions (government), within organizations.

The service model which is discussed above is described further within the
reference, Enterprise Application Integration: A Wiley Tech Brief by William
A. Ruth, Francis X. Maginnis, and William J. Brown publ. Robert Ipsen, John
Wiley and Sons 2001.

Yet this would be only the detailed view of a larger supra-design, a system
application which can isolate or privilege, advance the progress or scheme
new processes among local areas, or between distant points. It is in fact a
progress which is unified and based upon appearances (sociology). It defies
the superstitions and totalitarian messages of disconnected institutions and
principals. It offers persistent values and issues to pursue.

As the beginning of the essay referred to business rules they are again
discussed, in the light of what level they perform for us. I can give an
example of a simple business rule, for a department store. A woman may wish
to return a dress after she has worn it. The department store would enforce
its business rule which states that the dress can not be returned after it
has been worn.

Some higher level business rules may pertain to international war, conduct
on the open sea, conduct of business within the same nation i.e., industrial
sabotage or suppport of anti-business candidates in electoral races.

At some identifiable levels the people and their institutions are one, and
indivisible. The pledge of allegiance states that this nation is "one
nation, indivisible." Or in the scenes of distress, in the presence
pernition and hatred, and tyranny, as the institutions have broken down or
have been taken over by criminals who subject other people to pain for
nothing. There is nothing to resemble an institution in fundamental ways.
A rule must be enacted to prevent impoverishment, and to maintain the other
social rules in the presence of such chaos and out of control systems..

The result of a failure of the rules and the program, with the poverty
unjustified by it result with abuse of the people by broken programs and
unruly institutions feigning to serve and protect them.

In a world of common industrial manipulation of elections and institutions,
globalization effects everything, and everything effects everything else in
a matrix. Pollution, and other exports raise and lower the achievements of
people in many nations. Institutional pollution at the heart of climatic
decadence.


Active Directory
The Windows Server 2003 features an active directory system which finds
resources located on machines across the network. It remembers the settings
which a user has saved and allows the user to follow through with his
project from any machine connected to the network, with only his password.

The reference for this part is LearnKey.com video training for Windows
Server 2003 Active Directory Infrastructure Session 1. These notes are base
d on the introduction and overview of Active Directory Infrastructure.



AD Introduction

Active Directory is a networking technology, which seems to be a higher
level of something named Directory Service projects which can be integrated.
The result of the integration of the Directory Service projects becomes an
Active Directory environment.

This course will explore Windows Server 2003 implementation of Active
Directory.

Active Directory is a very powerful environment. As an environent, Active
Directory is scalable, secure, and offering many enhancements.

Active Directory is founded upon many industry standards. Active Directory
is then, an Industry Standards based directory service.

Protocol - only TCP/IP is a supported transport protocol.

As the way to insert and modify, and query the directory service - Active
Directory uses ITU X.500 Directory Access Protocol (DAP)/Lightweight DAP
(LDAP).

Authentication mechanisms designed around Internet standards - Kerberos
authentication

Digital Certificates - X.509 digital certificates augment authentication
processes

Methodology to resolve names servers and clients use it to find resources
within our networks. - Domain Name System (DNS).

Active Directory is designed to provide interoperability between different
computer platforms. Kerberos realms allows us to communicate and cross
authenticate between different computer platforms.

Active Directory impleneted on Windows Server 2003 also provides Active
Directory Services Interface (ADSI) which allows us to have a programmatic
shell that we can write into other directory services.


This LearnKey Active Directory disk 1 course is intended for preparation for
Microsoft exam 70-294. This is also a core exam requirements pertaining to
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) on Windows 2003.

Course requirements, intended audience must have completed the LearnKey
Windows 2000 network infrastructure implementation/equivalent skills, and
CompTia Network+ or equivalent, or an ability to administer in a Windows
2003 operating system environment.

Objectives for Windows 20003 network infrastructure:
Master Active Directory (AD) foundational concepts
Plan and implement an AD infrastructure
Manage and maintain an AD infrastructure in this directory service
Plan and implement users, computers, and groups within AD
Determine correct placement of services and servers (domain controllers)
across an enterprise organization. Determine if we are going to benefit
from wide area placement of domain controllers off site.
Plan and implement Group Policy objects (GPOs) in AD - must be effective to
enhance user experience and maintain security of data. Windows 2003
includes tools which assist with Group Policy planning.
Deploy manage and maintain GPOs within AD


We have to study ways to manage our users, with new command line tools

The requirements of Master Active Directory (AD) foundational concepts is a
lengthy process of definition of terms to be used so that we can understand
Active Directory and the terms correlated with it.


"Don" <Don.Duffie(a)gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1188497620.613044.327630(a)r23g2000prd.googlegroups.com...
> Are you using Agile methods? If so, do you model?
> Does modeling work in an agile environment? Are models effective when
> dealing with clients in an agile context?
>
> As part of a research effort supported by the Agile Alliance's
> Academic Research Program, we are investigating whether (and how well)
> software development models work in agile environments. If you have
> experience or would like to provide a point of view with respect to
> modeling in any agile environment, we would like to hear from you. You
> can complete the questions pertinent to you and/or provide your
> opinion
> on this topic at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=607293384759
>
> Thank you in advance for you participation in this study,
>
> Don Duffie
> c/o Faculty of Business Administration
> Memorial University of Newfoundland
> St. John's, NL A1C 5S7 P.O. Box 4200 CANADA
> don.duffie(a)gmail.com
>


From: MinorsCantDrink on 1 Sep 2007 22:21
In the notes above, a reference to operational agility refers to data
integration, and to encapsulation of processes in a way that they share at
certain levels of data. On the other hand, the Chisolm book points to the
concept of reference data. This is unstored yet pertains to the project
evironment at the higher level. You have the problem of conversion of
units, or business design rules, where he calls these metadata. The
convergence of systems is an application known by governments, and
conglomerates which exist at a level below government. My application is
part of services package i.e., financial, medical records, business
decisions, insurance, research, etc. We are living in a concentration camp,
in winona minnesota u.s.a. where the institutions are polluted by liars, and
they degrade our personages to gain control of the city and what sources
that offers them. The result shows us that where data quality is improved
we are less available as the victims of political crimes in the name of the
State. Study us in the night, all right ... I saw the greatest minds of my
generation destroyed ...

"Don" <Don.Duffie(a)gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1188497620.613044.327630(a)r23g2000prd.googlegroups.com...
> Are you using Agile methods? If so, do you model?
> Does modeling work in an agile environment? Are models effective when
> dealing with clients in an agile context?
>
> As part of a research effort supported by the Agile Alliance's
> Academic Research Program, we are investigating whether (and how well)
> software development models work in agile environments. If you have
> experience or would like to provide a point of view with respect to
> modeling in any agile environment, we would like to hear from you. You
> can complete the questions pertinent to you and/or provide your
> opinion
> on this topic at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=607293384759
>
> Thank you in advance for you participation in this study,
>
> Don Duffie
> c/o Faculty of Business Administration
> Memorial University of Newfoundland
> St. John's, NL A1C 5S7 P.O. Box 4200 CANADA
> don.duffie(a)gmail.com
>


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