Building Corporate Portals with XML

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: Good description of Data Warehousing techniques, etc but NOREAL HELP for XML Portal builders. I may be a little critical since Irun a PS organization that does this but really, there isn't much meat here around anything new. The title is only a clever marketing ploy and the writers admit as much in the intro. Pass it on by unless you need to understand DataWarehousing in General and are trying to sneak it by your manager as an "XML book".

Better for Data Warehousers is the Data Warehouse Life Cycle Toolkit by Kimball.

Rating:
Summary: From the Foreword by John Zachman: This is a GREAT Book!!!
Review: I love this book, not just for its technical explanations nor for the rigor of the methodological permutations, but because hiding between its covers is a gem ... the clearest explanation I have ever seen for navigating an Enterprise into the dangerous straits of the sea changes of the Information Age.

"Building Corporate Portals" has as lucid a discussion of the process of identifying the Enterprise mission and goals and so on and transforming them into rigorous models that are fundamental to engineering a modern Enterprise as I have seen. If you read no more, this discussion alone would justify the price of the book.

"Building Corporate Portals" not only describes the process of building models that are needed to deploy a Corporate Portal, but it also succinctly defines the next wave of technological change and provides samples of how you might reengineer the Enterprise to capitalize on the new technologies. In fact, this is as concise a description of the next wave of technology and the Enterprise reconceptualization as I have seen.

This is a GREAT book!! Hiding inside the covers lies some real gems about how to steer your Enterprise into a profitable / viable experience in the Information Age. How long do you think you have? I would suggest, not as long as you need!!!

John A. Zachman

Rating:
Summary: Very pleasently surprised
Review: I picked this book up expecting to acquire a working knowledge of how XML is used in the building of corporate portals. I anticipated wading through a myriad of coding examples and references to this ERP and to that language. I thought I would find a logical road map of how to use my company's metadata and XML to open new arenas in the realm of e-commerce. I was anticipating an academic treatise. I was pleasantly surprised when I found that the title of the book was somewhat misleading. The book is actually a text constructed to educate the reader on the design, development and functionality of corporate portals. If you are looking for a book that you will be able to refer to as a guide to acquire a better understanding of corporate portals, I would highly suggest this book. It is both educational and enjoyable to read. But, if you are searching for a book to function as a technical journal that focuses only on metadata and XML, you should look elsewhere

Rating:
Summary: Book from the 1980's?
Review: I'd recommend that everyone read through all of the reviews presented below and notice the common link: they wanted a book to explain XML, which this book only gives as an overview. They would have been better off with any one of a thousand books on XML available.

This book is about portal design, and uses an example that is simple in concept, yet meaty in production. It also teaches about extensibility in portal design, which is a must since customer needs change from contract to contract and will expand over time.

This is not a book that you will learn XML from. You will not learn JSP. It will not write your portal for you, but it will get you a long way along the road to developing a portal that will significantly benefit your organization, as well as evaluate whether your organization even needs a portal.

The only thing that keeps me from giving this book five stars is the organization. While it is pretty organized on several fronts, finding a topic quickly can be difficult.

Rating:
Summary: This book is not very useful if you are a practitioner
Review: On page xxii of the introduction, the authors say :-"The methods in this book define a methodolgy". I looked but could not find any methodology it in the following 500+ pages, and I like reading.If you are teacher you might find this book useful, if you are a research worker you will not find anything new, and if you are a practitioner, skim through it in a book store before deciding whether to buy it.

Rating:
Summary: Book from the 1980's?
Review: The first 300 pages of this book read more like a systems design book from the late '80's than an up-to-date treatise on portals and the use of XML.
The rest of the book jumps glosses over XML, reengineering tecnnology, "Organizational Quality Initiatives", and the all important final chapter, " The Central Role of Enterprise Portals" starts by fawning over a Microsoft XML web site that illustrates how you can convert some of your old applications and spends 15 of the 50 pages in the chapter giving a poor description of those 9 'scenarios'.
Unless your data systems are mired in the late '80s information architecture described in this book, you'd be best served by a more modern approach to data presentation and distribution.

Rating:
Summary: It's My Professional "Bible"
Review: This book is an excellent single reference and "how to" for Enterprise Engineering, Data Warehousing, Corporate (Enterprise) Portal Deployment, Metadata Management, and Business Reengineering. In addition it provides an overview of XML (eXtensible Markup Language) and describes the uses and value of XML in support of these methods and practices.

I have never read a more thorough description of the activities necessary for an enterprise to deliver the right information, regardless of source or format, to the right people, in the right form, and on demand. That alone justifies buying and using this book as my professional "Bible." The authors have also included practical advice and procedures for fully using the power of the Internet, intranets, and extranets to not only deliver quality information, but also transform enterprises to ensure their success in the 21st Century. As if that weren't enough, this book is a virtual "treasure map" that can guide visionary individuals and enterprises through the perpetual dangers of rapidly changing environments to the reward of information systems that fully support enterprise goals and strategies.

For over ten years, I have been a successful practitioner of many of the methods and techniques described by the authors, and I found the book to contain well-written, comprehensive descriptions of those methods. I also found many more techniques and practices that are both new and inspired, which will be of great value in my consulting practice.

I highly recommend this book to any information technology professional, regardless of experience. It should become your most valued reference. I also recommend that business analysts, management consultants, and enterprise managers acquire this book. Even though you may not be charged with "building enterprise portals," applying the concepts and methods contained in this book will make your jobs easier and may even be the key to your success.

Rating:
Summary: What a waste!
Review: This book wastes quite a few things, very respected names like Finkelstein, Aiken and Zachman and lots of pages. It will waste your time as well. This book is a vague attempt on connecting XML with information engineering.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent presentation of architecture!
Review: This is a fabulous book! There is something for everyone: business executives, IS management, techies, everyone.

The work is well written, filled with excellent examples, comprehensive. There are examples of approaches to architecture, methodologies for modeling, explanations and examples of XML, business reasons to pursue these things, etc.

I am encouraged every time I see someone providing an excellent presentation of the holistic approach to architecture. I am frustrated every time I see a company rush to the web, getting excited about the shiny new front-end toys, and not being successful because the real problem is in the legacy that shackles the company.

A new front end will not provide information by itself. That is a point thoroughly made by this book. Technology is only one part of an information portal. And, perhaps, it is the easy part.

"To achieve the true flexibility and information support that is offered by Enterprise Portals, organizations must integrate and use their information and knowledge resources more effectively than they do today. This knowledge integration depends on the establishment of an Enterprise Architecture..." pp. 508-509.

Some people already embrace this. This book will help others to "get it". Unfortunately, some will never get it.

Thank you Mr. Finkelstein and Mr. Aiken. Great Work!!!