All posts by vica

Happy Easter 2017!

Callouts and thanks, Favorite quotes

I wanted to wish happy holidays to all who read this blog. So I decided to search for an Easter quote reflecting my current happy mood, which primarily roots from being with the people dear to me.

I found the following:

“Easter spells out beauty, the rare beauty of new life.” ~S.D. Gordon

This statement is very true. The spring “spells out beauty, the rare beauty of new life” too. Maybe this is how it all started. The spring is inspiring. It inspires new life, new projects (private, personal and at work), a new month, a new day, a new moment.

I am immensely grateful to have met (both in my private and work life) many wonderful people who bring a vast amount of beautiful and new moments and impressions my way.
Life can be so much fun!

I would like to thank all who read this blog, who work with me, who support me with their friendship, good advice and simply being there!

I wish you all happy holidays, and many beautiful, sunny and joyful moments!

Pictures: Tulips, the flowers of spring; my children on a spring tour in a beautiful castle; and Easter eggs colored by my children, their grandparents, my husband and me.

Contributing to Mekon’s Bitesize on Business Rules – 7: What is the new brdoc Schema in the S1000D® Issue 4.2 is good for?

S1000D

Many S1000D users complain understandably about a quite high frequency of S1000D releases. A new version of any standard every five years would be hard to implement, but the S1000D is a highlight here. The community managed to publish two Issues within one-half of a year. These were the S1000D Issue 2.3 (released on February 28, 2007) and the S1000D Issue 3.0 (released on July 31, 2007).

The reasons for such frequent updates and releases are also understandable since they are driven by the requirements of the community using and developing it.

But even for a very short period between updates, each release means a huge step forward in its development in comparison with its predecessor: both in respect to technical novelties, quality of its guidance, and the readability of the specification itself.

The same case is with the S1000D Issue 4.2. Two concepts that progressed prominently in this issue are the business rules and handling of illustrations/multimedia objects.
Both received a new Schema to make their generation, management and exchange smoother and more reliable.

Illustrations and multimedia got an XML Schema/object to capture their metadata. Business rules have now a structure/Schema allowing to markup any type of the business rules documentation.

In my seventh article to Mekon‘s Bitesize on Business Rules, I discuss what you can use the new brdoc Schema for.

Click here to find out more: Bitesize Business Rules: What is the new brdoc Schema in the S1000D® Issue 4.2 is good for?

(Credits: Photograph ©librestock.com under the keywords “document”)

Contributing to Mekon’s Bitesize on Business Rules – 6: Read-Me Chapters for Business Rules Concept in S1000D® issue 4.2

S1000D

When a new Issue of the S1000D® comes out, the first thing which is reported all over the community using it are the new features. Then, when one or another feature — for example, a new Schema — is of interest, the implementers open the chapters describing that feature and try to understand how it works.

And then, they often feel lost.

They start asking questions about basics of the given construct, meaning for some introduction to it. They are searching for the Read-Me information. Eventually, they find various interpretations of what this Read-Me information could be.

But interestingly enough, this Read-Me information is available in the Specification itself.
I remember how I once was asked to compile a list of benefits of implementing S1000D® and was surprised to find a comprehensive but concise information on these in Chap 1.1 “Purpose” and Chap 1.2 “Scope.”

The same is about business rules. There are several chapters under Chap 2 “Documentation Process,” which provide all the necessary introductory and Read-Me information for approaching the business rules development process.

In my sixth article to Mekon‘s Bitesize on Business Rules, I have outlined the Read-Me Chapters and also given an overview of the new Chap 2.5.2 inside Issue 4.2, which in my opinion provides a core of this Read-Me information for business rules. This information will surely be updated with time. But it is utterly valuable already now, even in such a very new shape. Already now, it can help you save nerves, time, and money when you implement the new business rules constructs and concepts.

Click here to find out more: Bitesize Business Rules: read-me chapters for Business Rules concept in S1000D® issue 4.2.

(Credits: Photograph ©librestock.com under the keywords “read me”)

Every New Book is the First One

A mother's diary, Books I write, Contemplations, Discoveries, Experiencing the writing process, Writing

I used to think that if not writing itself then at least the rest of the process of bringing a book into the world will become more and more routine with each new book.

But it doesn’t look like that at all. I am working on my books nine, ten and eleven these days and I must say the work on them differs very much from those before and between each other.

One of the books I work on this year, and which is being edited by a professional editor right now, took me four months to write and one whole year to revise it.

It is not my first non-fiction book and not my first work where I made research, contemplations, and developed concepts. However, every step in creating this book, both writing, and editing felt like it was the very first one. Every bit of the process requested me to think out of the box, made me feel creatively uncomfortable, and made me exclaim, “It was never that way before!”

The paradox of wishing some calm of known, of a routine and at the same time longing for new and exciting accompanies me every time I work on my books.

I do feel challenged and feel an urge to complain. But when I slow down and look honestly at what is happening, I don’t want the whole process to occur in any other way.

I want each book to be new and exciting. In truth, I want it to be unknown, however scary this process might be.

And as long as I want it this way, I guesstimate that it will be like that.

What about you and your writing projects? Does each of them surprise you in any way? If yes, then how? If no, did you look close enough? Or non-judgmentally enough?

Picture: My children never stop surprising me. Here is my sweet little girl at the past New Year’s Eve party, claiming that the hat she was wearing was a bike helmet.

Copyright © 2017 by Victoria Ichizli-Bartels

Contributing to Mekon’s Bitesize on Business Rules – 5: Business Processes Are Not Just a Category of the S1000D Business Rules

S1000D

I remember how I as an employee used to look suspiciously when management of the organizations or companies, I used to work for, declared that they had to consider business processes and possibly reorganize them. I remember how I used to think, “But you need concrete actions, not just thinking!” With this, I meant that either new people needed to be employed to manage all the work we had to do or new tools purchased.

After having worked for thirteen years with S1000D and having among other helped meeting management decisions, and especially today being an owner of business, I learn more and more that being aware of the process flows inside a project or organization is vital. I also understand today, that a few simple but effective changes in business processes can save a lot of time and money. Considering and tweaking the ways how things occur in a company or organization can be immensely beneficial for all involved: customers, partners, employees, managers, and entrepreneurs.

Here is an article for Mekon‘s Bitesize on Business Rules, where I have explored this topic a bit more and where I quoted an excellent and illustrative resource explaining business processes. Above that, I show how business processes and business rules are connected.

Click here to find out more: Business Processes Are Not Just a Category of the S1000D Business Rules.

(Credits: Photograph © <librestock.com under the keyword “process”)