Technology As Innovator

Intro

When I first heard of “Web 2.0″, my expectation was a new standard of World Wide Web. The usage of the term failed me, as Web 2.0 points me to what happen on the surface - user interaction and collaboration.

Web 2.0 roughly defined

Web 2.0 is not a new version of WWW. It refers to a phenomenal shift from centralized information authoring to a platform that enables end-users to interactively create, maintain and share contents.

Components

Mistakably Web 2.0 is used to describe relatively new forms of communication via the web:

• Weblog
• Social network
• Wiki
• wiki(RSS)
• Social bookmark

However, it coverage is much larger. Comparing to the definition, the following are also part of Web 2.0

• Instant Messaging
• Text chat
• Forum
• Real-time editors
• Search engines

This is not an exhaustive list though, as new trends continuously emerge at the time this entry is written.

Characteristics

• Open communication
• Information sharing and reuse
• Many-to-many authoring
• Publishing methods that requires less technical expertise
• User-centered
• Endless evolving. This is what “Beta” is for

Technology

Ajax was coined in February 2005, and has been widely equated to the technology that enables Web 2.0. In fact, features that Ajax has to offer had been initiated earlier. Microsoft Remote Scripting, which exploits Java Applet was a good start, then XMLhttpRequest flourished in Microsoft Exchange Server.

M$ did it at the first time, how did Ajax gain the fame? The answer might lie in its open nature. The Web community collaborated to develop, apply and reuse the technique. ‘Open’ and ‘community’ are the key traits of Web 2.0, it is no wonder why Ajax has become that popular.

Technically, Ajax is not a technology in itself, but a group of related technologies:

• XHTML
• CSS
• JavaScript
• XMLhttpRequest
• XML

My experience

My first experience with Ajax was July 2005 in a vbb forum. Although having been working with Microsoft Exchange Server for a long time, I couldn’t help a Wow. The wiki(usability) of the technology means very much to me as a web user. The sad reason is justified in the next section.

My first experience with Web 2.0-in-definition traced back to 2002, when I first used Yahoo! Messenger and Yahoo! Photos. Y!M opened up new horizons for me.

Pleasure

More than sharing and collaborating, Web 2.0 satisfies one dramatic desire of its users: ego affirmation. The virtual freedom of speech and the power of customization bring in the magic for laymen to lay their hands on creating and embracing their ‘I’ over the net by creating auxiliary identities.

Accept it or not, even ones who claim to pronounce what they want, or that they are wearing no mask are consumed by their own idealism, if not subconscious deluding.

Digital Divide

Vietnam International Internet connection bandwidth is so narrow it hurts.

Conclusion

Being abused, misunderstood, misused, Web 2.0 stands as an innovative evolution of Internet usage. While criticized to not being a deliberate advancement of technology, it completely revolutes the way users interact with the Web in the way it should have been, and proves the rationale of the rigid-free online business models. Web 2.0 enables collaboration, preserves and shares information and knowledge, brings business opportunities, enhances productivity, and encourages online practice of democracy.

Examples

Instant Messaging

Yahoo! Messenger
Gtalk
ICQ
MSN Messenger

Blogs

Blogspot
Wordpress
live.com
360.yahoo.com

Social networks

MySpace
Xanga
hi5

Forums

…

Photo sharing sites

flickr.com
imageshack.us
photobucket.com
picasaweb.google.com
slide.com

File sharing sites

rapidshare.de
rapidshare.com
megaupload.com
streamload.com

Wikis

wikipedia.org
citizendium.org

Search Engines

google.com

Real-time editors

Google notebook
Google Doc
Google Spreadsheet

Social Bookmarks

digg.com
reddit.com
del.icio.us

Reference

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2

Problem defined

Managing thousands of artifacts within the requirement phase alone in a project is not an easy task.

Solution

Automation have been provided by these popular software packs

• Documenting Use Cases and documents: Microsoft Word already gives all we need.
• Artifact Repository: Thousands of ways and tools satisfy this purpose. I’d suggest Microsoft SourceSafe and Microsoft SharePoint server.
• Diagram authoring: Rational Rose and Microsoft Visio do better.
• Version control: Many CVS tools are already out there.
• Project Planning: Microsoft Project rocks! Agile’s Product Backlog is also a good tool.

Single Solution

Single solution that addresses most, if not all, issues - a professional Requirement Management Tool that enables the following factors

• Traceability: The efforts spent in wiki(traceability) are greatly reduced. Hence, productivity and team moral are boost.
• Consistency: In a team of nearly twenty people, it might come out that different artifacts owned by different authors vary slightly in styles, indents, numbering. A tool helps to reduce this factor.
• Requirement linking: Reference to other documents, dependencies, extensions are handled in the form of URL links.
• Use Case-to-diagram generation: Many tools allow users to create flow charts from Use Cases

TopTeam Analyst

I recommend this tool: TopTeam Analyst

Demo screenshots

Vendor: technosolutions

TopTeam Analyst is wiki(RUP)-compliant

There are many more requirement management tools, but the reason I am attracted by TopTeam Analyst is that the product is compliant with standards from Rational Unified Process, which I’m am currently working with.