Re: [Fwd: Example Scenarios Used Within the Aerospace Industry]

[Mike Rawlins <mike@rawlinsecconsulting.com>]

In response to Abid Farooqui's comments about EDI not being standard, concerns
about ebXML going the same way, and his proposed solution, I can only say this:

Yes, it is a pain (if you want a little more detail about why it's a pain in
EDI, I invite you to check out the article of the same name under the X12
Technical tutorial at my web site:  www.rawlinsecconsulting.com).  But, you have
to remember a few basic truths.  Even though it would be ideal if business folks
were a bit more aware of some of the IT costs involved in doing what they want
to do, it is ultimately business needs that drive things and not IT needs or
wants.  We can't put the cart before the horse.  EDI POs and ebXML compliant POs
will be different for different companies and industries because the business
processes in which they are used are different.  It is as simple as that.  If
you want the POs to be the same, then the business processes need to be changed
- something that probably will not happen in any of our lifetimes.  If you have
problems accepting any of this, you probably need to find a different line of
work.  There has been at least one other suggestion that a "least common
denominator" approach such as the one you suggest would work, but it will almost
certainly not work because the data requirements of the business processes will
not be met.

The context dependent core component work should help ease or at least make it
easier to identify the differences in POs, but it won't eliminate them.

Cheers,

Mike