Content and Knowledge with XML
The XML Summer School is now over - plans for the XML Summer School 2007 are under way. Please keep checking the website for further information.
£395.00 + VAT
The delegate fee includes 2 nights accommodation at Wadham College on Sunday 23rd and Monday 24th July. All meals, refreshments and evening excursions are included also.
Please click here for a full list of curriculum prices.
Overview
Most organisations are accustomed to creating and sharing information as part of their day-to-day business processes. The information which is shared forms a valuable asset of the organisation. If these base information assets can be enhanced to specify where and when the information can be used in a business process, then the organisation has created an even more valuable asset – knowledge!
Information can be transformed into knowledge by adding meta data (information about the information), ontology (classification schemes that organise the concepts in a vocabulary of terms that are used to populate the values of meta data) and processes (a representation of the business processes and procedures that are performed in an organisation).
XML is an ideal technology for representing information (content) and for providing the necessary tools to turn content into knowledge.
Learning Objectives
After taking this course you will understand:
- The value that can be unlocked by representing content and knowledge as XML
- How to present the business case for XML
- The organisation and governance required to maximise return on investment
- Which tools and technologies make the content supply chain most efficient
- How to turn information assets into more valuable knowledge bases
- New XML standards for creating and delivering executable knowledge
Who should attend
This course is aimed both at leaders, managers and strategists who want to understand the potential of XML to deliver real value to their organisation, as well as technologists who want to gain a broader picture of how XML can be applied to content and knowledge applications.
Faculty
This course is prepared and delivered by a world-renowned faculty, including:
- Peter Flynn (chair)
- Ann Wrightson
- Peter Brown
- John Chelsom
- Debbie Lapeyre
- Reuben Wright
- Steve Harris
Learning Curriculum
Module 1 - Managing and Delivering XML Content – the Value Proposition
1.1 Information as a Corporate Asset
Speaker: Peter Brown
How to elevate information (and knowledge) to the status of a valuable corporate asset by developing a management strategy, processes, governance and ownership. How information can be made more valuable by capturing semantics and treating data/information models as IT assets.
- XML as a "lingua franca" for anyone talking about information management
- XML as a vehicle for developing business ontologies
- developing a management strategy, processes, governance and ownership;
- using metaphors and similar devices to communicate XML's value to non-technical community and business leaders
- cooperation, collaboration and "defending" your information territory
You will learn how to formulate and drive the ‘XML Manifesto’ – the blueprint for adopting XML – and how to sell it up, down and across your organisation.
1.2 Requirements for Managing and Delivering Information as XML
Speaker: Debbie Lapeyre
XML may seem an ideal technology solution, but as with any other technology, its choice as the technical basis for a solution should be driven by the business needs and detailed requirements.
- Identifying the business need for managing and delivering information assets
- Consideration of typical ‘Use Cases’
- The important distinction between management and delivery
- Requirements for managing information, and how XML addresses them
- Requirements for delivering information, and how XML addresses them
- Which XML technologies are ready for use now
- Where does the leading edge lie and what are the risks and benefits?
You will learn how XML meets business needs for managing information as a corporate asset, and how to adopt a requirements driven, rather than a technology driven perspective.
1.3 Productivity Tools for XML
Speaker: Peter Flynn
XML is now a mature technology, which means that technical complexity can be hidden below layers of tooling which harness the power of the base technology, whilst making it easy and cost affective to gain the benefits of XML. Here we cover the productivity tools that can maximise the efficiency of the ‘content supply chain’, with consideration of enterprise needs including change management, training and resource utilisation.
- How to create an effective XML content supply chain
- Commercial and open source productivity tools
- Aggregating XML content from multiple sources
- Creating XML in purpose-built editing tools
- Using standard office suite applications to create XML
- Managing XML content
- Delivering XML content through multiple channels and devices
Based on an understanding on the benefits of the core XML technologies, you will learn about the tools that will delivery end solutions quickly and efficiently in an enterprise environment.
1.4 Versions, Variants and Customised Content
Speaker: Ann Wrightson
The power of XML is fully harnessed when it is used to create and maintain multi-purpose information assets, over an extended information lifecycle. Here is an analytical view of change control and variant management in long-lived multi-purpose content repositories, drawing on examples from engineering documentation, reference publishing, Web information services, and others.
- The value of multi-purpose content
- Exploding the myth of XML content reuse
- Change control and the labyrinth of version management
- Variants – their value and their management
- The added value of Language Variant Management
You will learn how to gain true value from reusable XML content and how to surmount the barriers to effective long-term management of versions and variants.
Module 2 – From Content to Knowledge
2.1 Turning XML Content to Executable Knowledge Bases
Speaker: John Chelsom
Information can be transformed into knowledge by adding meta data (information about the information), ontology (classification schemes that organise the concepts in a vocabulary of terms that are used to populate the values of meta data). Such knowledge bases can be made ‘executable’, by using them as the fuel to drive ‘knowledge engines’, delivering knowledge at the right point of the decision-making process.
- The use and abuse of meta
- What are ontologies and how can we harness their power?
- Requirements for engineering and managing knowledge
- How can we ‘discover’ knowledge
- Representing business processes and context in XML
- Delivering executable knowledge
Recognise the difference between content and knowledge and how XML can provide the representation language for all the key components.
2.2 XML Standards for Meta Data and Ontology
Speaker: Steve Harris
XML content can be turned into knowledge assets by adding meta data, ontology and business process context. Standards have emerged over the last few years that allow these key components of a knowledge base to be created in a consistent way in any organisation, with the benefits of standard tooling, knowledge sharing and aggregation.
- Meta data and more with RDF
- Topic Maps
- Web Ontology Language (OWL)
- The Web 2.0 technology suite
- Representing business processes in XML
- Towards standards for executable knowledge and reasoning engines
Learn which standards are the most important, how they fit together, what their status is and where the standards world is moving.
2.3 Creating XML Knowledge Bases
Speaker: Reuben Wright
Here we focus on the tools and techniques for engineering knowledge as a corporate asset. We will be using the open source Protégé application to illustrate key concepts.
- Anatomy of a knowledge base
- Basic introduction to Protégé
- Creating basic domain knowledge
- Embellishing knowledge
- Semantic linking
You will learn how knowledge engineering tools such as Protégé can be used to create and maintain knowledge bases using XML standards.
2.4 Applying Knowledge to Support Business Processes
Speaker: Reuben Wright
Building on the hands-on knowledge of Protégé we take the step from static knowledge bases to inference and reasoning, based on open standard knowledge representation.
- From knowledge engineering to inference
- Representing executable knowledge
- Priming and fuelling the reasoning engine
- Running a reasoning engine – what can we achieve?
- Building for the future – how we can create knowledge store that will exploit future advances in reasoning technology
You will learn how to use Protégé to create executable knowledge and run a standards-fuelled inference and reasoning engine.





