1. Abstract

"Practical Universal Business Language Deployment" (formerly titled "Practical Use of UBL Artefacts") overviews the Universal Business Language (http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/ubl/) suite of publicly-available files, process and methodology descriptions, deployment strategies and documentation from a technical perspective of the roles that all these artefacts play in information systems and how to work with each artefact with hands-on experience.

UBL, the Universal Business Language, is the product of an international effort to define a royalty-free library of standard electronic XML business documents such as purchase orders and invoices. Developed in an open and accountable OASIS Technical Committee with participation from a variety of industry data standards organizations, UBL is designed to plug directly into existing business, legal, auditing, and records management practices, eliminating the re-keying of data in existing fax- and paper-based supply chains and providing an entry point into electronic commerce for small and medium-sized businesses.

This is a course supporting the deployment and use of UBL artefacts, but this is not a course in the interpretation of specific UBL information items in a business context or the adaptation of financial systems to the semantics expressed by UBL.  The instructor is not in a position to offer financial or legal advice regarding the application or suitability of UBL to any particular scenario or purpose.

Hands-on exercises are provided in a turnkey fashion for a Java-based environment under either Windows command-line or Linux shell invocation.  Students may use any editing tool they wish for modifying the exercise files when completing the exercise objectives.

2. Length

This course runs in either a one-, two- or three-day format. Users of UBL will probably find the one-day or two-day version will suffice, while those who specify the use of UBL will probably find the two- or three-day version necessary to cover all of the critical components. The third day is of import to those specifying UBL customizations. See the detailed syllabus below.

Note that day two of the two-day and three-day configuration of this class is the Practical Code List Implementation full-day hands-on class.

3. Expected Audience

This course is aimed at people needing to understand both conceptual and practical aspects of the files published by the UBL committee, as well as deployment methodologies and strategies. The one-day version of the course is more high level and has less technical detail than the in-depth two-day and three-day versions of the course.

4. Prerequisites

There are no formal prerequisites for this course, though the instructor assumes the student who participates in exercises well understands XML at the markup level (concepts and syntax editing). This is not a course to attend to learn XML, and the exercises are geared to engage students with at least a limited background in XML and who are comfortable editing and working with software tools from command line invocation interfaces.

To participate in the hands-on exercises, attendees must have working knowledge of markup and a Java-equipped personal computer. Copies of the exercise materials are available on USB sticks at the course. Complete solutions are provided to research in place of attendees deriving the exercise solutions on their own. More details regarding the exercise and working environment are below.

Attendees must have a firm knowledge of the operating system environment as there is no time for coaching from the instructor regarding the command-line environments of today's operating systems.

5. Exercise environments

Any processors supporting the technologies being covered are acceptable for working the exercises in this course. Note, however, that Java-based processors are brought to the course by the instructor and there is no time for coaching from the instructor on the use of other applications.

Some of the hands-on exercises require opening files in either Open Document Format Stylesheet (.ods) such as supported by Open Office available from http://www.OpenOffice.org, or Excel format (.xls) such as supported by Microsoft Office Suite.

Some of the hands-on exercises require opening files in Portable Document Format (.pdf) such as supported by GSview available from http://www.ghostscript.com/gsview/index.htm and by Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader available from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/alternate.html.

6. Synopsis

There are many artefacts found and methodologies described in the Universal Business Language (UBL) deliverables. Without an awareness of the roles played by these, UBL can be perceived more complex or considered "too hard" to tackle successfully. This technically-oriented course is written for both the user of UBL (the one-day or two-day configuration of the class) and for either the implementer of information systems to support UBL (the two-day or three-day configuration of the class) or organizations specifying a contextualization of UBL (the three-day configuration of the class). For the implementer and specifying authority it is important to understand candidate opportunities to work with the artefacts and to gain hands-on experience in their use and applicability in the context of the documented methodologies and deployment strategies.

The following topics are covered through the class:

• parties and document types - use case and business documents

• information items - data description spreadsheets

• model conventions - Naming and Design Rules

• documents and document models - schema expressions

• model semantics - data dictionary

• XPath enumerations

• methodology for code list and value validation

• customization and system design considerations

"Practical Universal Business Language Deployment" successfully equips the attendee with an understanding of the components found in UBL deliverables and overviews methodologies and strategies to better understand their respective roles.

The hands-on exercises help cement concepts by leading the attendee to resolve basic, often initially frustrating, obstacles under the supervision of the instructor and collaboration with fellow students. Exercises cover important concepts with simple objectives. Attendees are invited to research completed exercise solutions without needing to derive the solutions on their own.

During the course the exercises are timed to cover breaks so that students can choose to balance work time with break time should extra exercise time be required, thus reducing the chance of delaying the progress of the course material.

Answers to all exercises are available to attendees.

While this is a course supporting the deployment and use of UBL artefacts, this is not a course in the interpretation of specific UBL information items in a business context or the adaptation of financial systems to the semantics expressed by UBL.  The instructor is not in a position to offer financial or legal advice regarding the application or suitability of UBL to any particular scenario or purpose.

7. Syllabi

The one-, two- and three- day syllabi share the same content. It is the choice of the host to hold or of the student to attend one, two or three days of training based on your needs.

7.1. Day One Delivery Syllabus

 00:00   Course Introduction
         Instructor/Student Expectations
         Module 1: Universal Business Language (UBL)
         Exercise: Setup
 01:00   Break
 00:00   Module 2: Parties and document types
 01:00   Break
 00:00   Module 3: Information items
         Exercise: Spreadsheets
 01:00   Lunch
 00:00   Module 4: Naming and Design Rules (NDR)
         Module 5: Documents and document models
         Break (01:00)
         Exercise: Validation
 02:00   Break
 00:00   Module 6: Model semantics
         Module 7: XPath enumerations
         Module 8: Controlled vocabulary overview
         Module 9: UBL customization overview
         Question and answer session
 01:00   End of day

7.2. Day Two Delivery Syllabus

Day two is, in its entirety, a delivery of the Practical Code List Implementation full-day hands-on class:

 00:00   Module 1: Controlled vocabularies (code lists & identifiers)
 01:00   Break
 00:00   Module 2: Declaring controlled vocabularies
 01:00   Break
 00:00   Module 3: Validating the use of controlled vocabularies
 01:00   Lunch

 00:00   Module 4: Controlled vocabulary representation detail
         Exercise - controlled vocabulary representation
 01:00   Break
 00:00   Module 5: Controlled vocabulary validation detail
         Exercise - controlled vocabulary validation
 01:00   Break
 00:00   Module 6: Your own business documents
         Exercise - your own business document controlled vocabulary
         Question and answer session
 01:00   End of day

7.3. Day Three Delivery Syllabus

 00:00   Module 1: UBL customization
 01:00   Break
 00:00   Module 2: Customization specification
         Exercise: Spreadsheets
 01:00   Break
 00:00   Module 3: Customization implementation
         Exercise: Instance filtering and validation
 01:00   Lunch

 00:00   Module 4: Customization deployment
         Exercise: Your own UBL customization
         Question and answer session
 02:00   End of day