Independent Oracle UCM Knowledge Center

Top 7 project-killing "Best Practices" - Part 2

2012-01-12T21:50:00.000-08:00

This is the follow up to the post I've cooked up for you over the holidays. Here're another two oh... way too common, embarrassing situations a UCM project may end up in... and how to prevent them:

The Snowball

This is what happens when you ignore the rule above.

Picture yourself having a nicely configured system with clean data. Every document has correct meta values. Now you begin asking for a field that doesn't make sense.

Your contributors will begin putting garbage there... And they'll be putting garbage in other fields as well! How?

Once you done it in one filed - you just keep on typing "asdf" all the way down the form...

The system will soon become polluted. And you might end up losing the meta values for your entire repository. Why?

You won’t know which records have the real values - and which just garbage. Soon enough you won’t be able to trust the data anymore!

Keep an eye on what content is getting entered. And always keep communicating with your business users. Know this single, most expensive type of ECM activity - manual Cleansing and Matching. Unless you have an army of data analysts looking for stuff to do - I don't recommend you letting your project get to this point, so you must try really hard to prevent it.

Gold Plating

This one is a UCM-specific twist on every developer’s all times favourite. All too often I see technical teams continuing to toy with a task or project way past the point when its ripe and ready for the business to start using it.

The key here is to have a live working system in the hands of your business people - as soon as you possibly can.

And then keep improving it. All you need to do is make small incremental changes. Like adding different types of documents, new modules, new workflows etc.

Keep listening to feedback. If business is happy - you did great. If not - all you have to undo is just a few more of these small changes!

And don’t try to bite more then you can chew and don’t sit on an egg that has already hutched! You build 80% of value in the first 20% of the time you're working on the project and that's a really good time to have a business take a look and make a call if they'd like to start using it.

Sounds good?

Ok, gotta go... back to client's work!

Stay tuned for more.

Top 7 project-killing "Best Practices" - which ones are you falling for?

2011-12-28T09:57:00.000-08:00

Whether you are a developer or consultant getting down and dirty or a business person or project manager in charge - this may very well be the most revealing technology article you've seen in years.

The project killers I'm about to reveal here are nothing like those plain old "watch for this" common pitfalls everyone is aware of, like testing the expertise before you hire, watching the project scope and making sure you get lots of comments in your source. Nope. The ones I'm talking about here will snick up on when you least expect it... Geez, many folks are even proud of adopting those and get complimented for using them.... all the way to post-mortem project reviews.

Sure, they may not kill the project in one fell swoop, but given a little time, they are certain to do its job.

What I'm about to describe now is these commonly-reinvented bad solutions to typical problems you'll encounter in almost any Oracle UCM implementation. And once you see their ugly faces for what they really are - you won't be making the mistakes and your projects will run much smoother. I’m also giving you my best tips for getting yourself out of these situations on a short notice.

So now let’s get down there and take a look. I've collected the most common and the most deadly ones I've seen in my 7+ years in the frontline trenches of Oracle Stellent UCM.

The Kiss of Death

The worst thing of all is when your new Oracle ECM is not accepted by your organization. If that happens - the project is not going to make it. When people don't like your system, they won't be using it... When they are not using the system, no one can not benefit from it. End of story. The next three patterns give you some scoop:

Idiots In Charge

Almost every talented developer has a point in their career when they laugh at business people. These folks use CD trays to hold their coffees! "Incorrect version of user" huh? It’s true, they may act funny when it comes to technology, but chances are - those “dummies” are actually paying your bills!

Oracle ECM - just like SharePoint, Vignette, BroadVision - you name it - is just a framework. All it does is allow you, the designer, to quickly and easily automate business processes. Eliminate paper. Help them find the information faster. Destroy when it has to be destroyed...

You need to adjust your content collection, management and presentation systems to processes and demands of your organization. That's the real goal, not the software installation!

So guess what comes first?

If you misunderstand your organization's culture, processes and business requirements - no system out there will save your project.

Take the time to understand the real needs of business people. Understand the goals of your enterprise. Then go ahead and automate them. You won't be stuck trying to automate a bad process!

And be sure to read about UCM Gold Plating later in this article.

Metadata Marshlands

When it’s that easy to add new metadata fields, you gotta be on the lookout!

If you store Project Plans - you might like to add a project managers name, completion date and expense account number. But will those fields make sense in a vendor invoice? If users don't understand a purpose of a metadata field - they'll skip it, put wrong stuff in there or just type up some garbage - so the system lets them submit the form.

Check out these tips for successful metadata design - they are expensive to ignore...

Don't ask for all of your fields every time.

If they check in an employee record and you're asking them for PM name - guess what kind of name you'll get. It must make sense. So be sure to hide irrelevant fields with Content Server profiles or custom check in forms.

It’s also must be as quick and painless as possible. Business people are busy or, at least, they like to think that they are.

Ok... You’ve got the first three. Try guessing the other four will you?

Or you could simply stay tuned...

Happy Holidays!
D

Save time and wow your friends with this cool Dynamic Converter hack

2011-07-19T07:41:00.000-07:00

If you ever wanted to add logic to the output of dynamic converter - this article will give you the best "gotcha" in a longest time. In the next few minutes I'll show you how to conditionally display parts of a dynamically converted word document - based on ... the query string parameters!

Yeah, you won't find this in the manual, but if you think about it - its a really simple and natural thing to do....

Let’s imagine that you have a bunch of word documents that contain a summary and the full story (or English and French sections) and you only want to display the first sections in your summary page, and full docs on the story page. And you don’t want to have to store your summary in a separate word document.

Using just one document will avoid duplicated content and make it much easier and intuitive to update - all content in one place.

To show you exactly how to do it I've setup a simple template with a region and inserted a dynamic converted word document in it.

What I want to see happening is this:

When I don’t send anything on the query string or send "show=0" - I only want to see the summary or my "regular content" section (See screenshot below)

When I send "show=1" on the query string - I want to see my entire document (See screenshot below)

So how do I make my converted word document "that dynamic"?

Well, I can embed some java script in the document as hidden text but this is really messy and fragile. Contributors will have to look at this every day and will soon begin to hate you to a degree that actually affects your digestion system. Don’t do that!

So here's a better option. Let me give you a little hint - dynamic converter converts native application content to.... HCSTs!

Yes, you can simply use iDoc in your dynamic converter template!

Here's how:

In your word document create a new paragraph style. Formatting and the style name are not important for what we're trying to accomplish here
Apply your new style to the section that you want to dynamically show and hide
Save your document and check it into the Content Server.
Fire up your Dynamic converter Template Editor and click Element Setup on the right
Create a Dynamic converter element (on the Elements tab) and a new style (On the Styles tab)
Now match them up (Below is a screenshot showing you how you can map a Word Style called "Image Aligned Left" to a new element called imgAlignedLeft)

Go back to the Elements tab and select the element you've just created and mapped
Click Properties and go to HTML Tag tab
See screenshot below for a sample of how you can add iDoc script to hide your section based on the value from the query string!

Oh, but what if you want to use other styles in your story and cannot apply your new style to an entire section?

Well, how about a pair of styles? Call the first one "Begin Body" and only specify a custom tag before the content. The other one will be the "End Body" and use the <$endif$> as its custom tag after the content

There you have it

Really simple if you think about it! Using the if statement as a custom before tag for the element! That's it - entire solution fits in just 8 words :)

Hope you enjoyed this neat and powerful hack. And remember, if you ever need a hand with your UCM project, task at hand, training, support or simply an independent third party opinion - we're one email away. Just shoot us a quick note at contact at stellentExperts dot com. You'll be glad you did, just like a lot of folks in these companies...

Oh, and we don’t have any sales people working here so after you do contact us - no one will be harassing you in the weeks to come - guaranteed!

Cheers

How to get 30% off The Oracle UCM Handbook....

2011-07-12T11:32:00.000-07:00

If you still haven't claimed your copy of The Oracle UCM Handbook - now it may be the best time to do so. For a short time only Packs offers 30% off eBook and 20% off - any print book in their Oracle Series

Check it out at http://www.packtpub.com/article/50th-oracle-book-offer

Content Server design flaw discovered: "Sometimes it takes a Big Boss to approve a workflow"

2011-07-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

Last week I've got an email form a senior developer, forwarded by our client in Europe. The guy that shortly after found a major design flaw in Content Server workflow engine!

They wanted to have a user's manager approve their content, so they simply added a user information field called Manager:

Sounds like a simple and intuitive solution, right?

Yep. And they've created a token

<$wfAddUser(getUserValue("uManager"), "user")$>

and added this "Manager Approval" step to the workflow.

Now what they found is this: The manager did receive email notification and the were able to see the workflow, but they couldn’t approve or reject!

So he was asking me why....

I told him that only the Big Boss can approve the workflow and if he sets the user's manager value to himself - the guy will be able to approve :) He laughed but did try to prove his point...

And he was shocked to see that....

It worked like magic!

So did we discover a design flaw? A piece of code somewhere in Content Server that let’s you approve the workflow if there's no manager higher then you and you're your own boss?

Uh.. Not really.

You see, what Eric didn’t consider is the fact that the token is re-evaluated every time. When the item goes into the workflow, notification is sent to the manager of the guy who submitted the item. All good! But once the manager arrives to approve the item - the token is evaluated again! Guess why the person with the Manager set to themselves can approve the item?

Solution?

Well, if you're set on having the Manager specified in the User Attribute, write this value to a workflow variable or an extended metadata value and add users to the step based on that. This way you know that the value won't change when approver is there to act on the item.... Or simply have a dropdown of approvers on the check in form (let’s say, you name the filed xWfApprover) and use that content metadata field in your token instead:

<$wfAddUser(xWfApprover, "user")$>

Guess what? Everything's working as designed....

Mastering Oracle Universal Records Management in a hurry

2011-04-18T13:07:00.000-07:00

And here's my second talk from Collaborate this year:

If you use (or planning to use) Oracle URM, but find it somewhat clumsy or confusing – chances are – you didn’t get the proper product introduction. Stop by this session for a live demonstration and crystal-clear explanations by the author of The Oracle UCM Handbook, that will dispel confusion and install clarity on Universal Records Management, Physical Records Manager and The Records Manager Enterprise Edition.

Slide deck is here:

http://www.slideshare.net/setellentExperts/mastering-oracle-universal-records-management-in-a-hurry

And here's the whitepaper:

http://stellentexperts.com/se/training/607%20-%20Mastering%20Oracle%20Universal%20Records%20Management%20in%20a%20hurry.pdf

Cheers,
Dmitri

Slashing manual input with Oracle Document Capture

2011-04-18T13:02:00.000-07:00

If you missed my Oracle Capture talk at Collaborate 11 in Orlando this year - here's the slide deck and the whitepaper. Actually, the whitepaper is almost as good as the session itself.... Almost!

Here are the slides:

http://www.slideshare.net/setellentExperts/slashing-manual-input-with-oracle-document-capture

And here's abstract:

If you ever wondered what kind of business impact you can achieve – by relieving users from having to fill in all these fields on the check-in form that make them cringe, this session (and this whitepaper) may literally bring home hundreds of thousands of dollars ... and get your business people dancing with joy! On April 12 I've presented a live session showing how using Oracle Capture can virtually eliminate dreaded manual input, skyrocket the quality of your content and explode user productivity.

Read the complete whitepaper here: http://stellentexperts.com/se/training/101%20-%20Slashing%20Manual%20Input%20with%20Capture.pdf

Enjoy!

What's new in 11g ... seriously!

2011-02-16T06:59:00.000-08:00

I was trying to avoid posting this for a while. UCM 11g has been around for almost a year now and its "new" features are now very familiar... Never the less, there's still a boat load of wrong information and plain old BS flying around on the subject.

So if you too want to discover exactly what's new in UCM 11g... and want to skip the 20 min of searching for it - here comes the link:

http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E17904_01/doc.1111/e10792/whatsnew.htm

Give it a quick read. Even if you aren't planning to upgrade yet... you may be shocked how much myth vs reality you've really heard

Cheers
D

Check me out in Oracle Magazine

2011-02-04T09:51:00.000-08:00

A buddy just reminded me... I didn't get around to brag about it for some time... but yes, its true. Come check me out in Oracle Magazine: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/issue-archive/2010/10-nov/o60peer-176064.html

As Published In

Cheers
Dmitri

Changing the maximum lengths of core metadata fields in Content Server

2011-01-24T10:36:00.000-08:00

This has came up in almost every UCM engagement we undertook in the last several years... And chances are - you might be scratching your head about it too... or you’ve given your business folks one of these "No can do" responses, that are so effective for draining their confidence in both - Oracle UCM and you personally.

So, without any further introduction - here's the trick that will help you make these core fields, such content title, security role, account and many other standard metadata fields - longer - to accommodate your business model and your requirements.... and re-gain that confidence and even score some points :)

This will also resolve the archive import issues such as "Content item was not successfully checked in. The Title may not exceed 80 characters" ... or AD/LDAP integration issues - when the roles or accounts you're getting from your LDAP provider are longer then 35 characters, the maximum length of the Role and Account fields.

And the answer is simply this: connect to your database with administrative privileges and alter the lengths of the Title, Role, Account or another standard metadata filed you need to be longer then it is. You'll need to restart the Content Server for the changes to take effect.

For instance, to change the maximum length of Content Server Security Role, you'll need to alter RoleDefinition table and change the length of the dRoleName field.

If Oracle is your database - use the following SQL statement:

DEV_OCS.RoleDefinition modify (dDocTitle varchar(255) not null)

Where DEV_OCS is your Content Server schema name.... I'm, sure you've got the idea...

The Title field is referenced in Revisions, ArchiveHistory, WorkflowHistory and ProblemReports.

To be on a safe side and make sure you haven't missed a table or two, generate SQL (DDL) for all of the Content Server tables and search this file for your field - for instance, dDocTitle, dRoleName or dDocAccount.

Just one note of caution. Changing the length of content type, security group or account may affect performance! Proceed with caution.

How we made a complete working test copy of a 465 Gb production UCM environment in under 30 min... Really?

2010-11-24T22:48:00.000-08:00

If you want to make a copy of your UCM environment - for testing, staging, upgrade or similar purposes - according to System Migration Guide, you've got to go through these steps:

Build and configure a new Content Server instance
Install all of your custom components
Migrate your existing configuration over (using the Configuration Migration Utility)
Migrate your folder structure
Export, transfer and import all of your content using Archiver

If you tried to follow these, you must remember the pain of litreally finghting your way through the jungle of almost ever one of these steps. Few of these (if any) do go smoothly from the first attempt. You always find yourself stuck troubleshooting things - be it confuguration differences, archiver errors, settings you forgot to apply...

So I think it’s fair to say, that if you're tasked with making a working copy of your large production environment -

You're talking several days of work if you go "traditional" way!

A client has recently approached us asking if they can skip all of these steps and still make it work. Long story short - here's the approach that I've recommend (the one that we used multiple time successfully in the past. And yes, it really took us less then 30 min to make a fully functional standalone copy of our 465 Gb production environment - with dozens of compoenents and custom features)

Here are the instructions that let you make a copy of your environment without having to reinstall Content Server and migrate settings and content.

The only caveat is this - the instance name will have to stay the same, so you won't be able to setup replication from your original to your newly created copy. But that's the only issue.
... and that's not a problem neither for staging nor migration or testing. There're no other drawbacks ... And yes, you should be aslo be able to pull htis off in 11g.

Here's how to do it:

Make a copy of your database into a new instance.
Copy your Content Server installation directory to a new location. (All we had to do is spend 5 min to start rSync the day before.)
Change configuration on your new Content Server - to match its new URL and the new database server/schema

Follow instructions below for changing the Content Server URL
Use bin/SystemProperties (or Weblogic Console in 11g) to change your database connection info

Configure your web server (Instructions for Apache and IIS are below) to talk to your new Content Server - or you can use Content Server Installation Guide for instructions for configuring your web server
Configure your Content Server and Admin Server on the new machine to start automatically

And here's....

How to Change the Content Server URL by Changing the HttpServerAddress and HttpRelativeWebRoot

These instructions apply to versions 6.2 to 10gR3, any platform.

Change the HttpServerAddress

1. Edit the /config/config.cfg file

2. Change:

HttpServerAddress=

To:

HttpServerAddress=

3. Save and exit the file

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 in the /admin/config.cfg file

5. Repeat steps 2 and 3 in the /admin/data/servers//server.hda file

6. Edit the /admin/data/servers/servers.hda file

7. In the ResultSet AdminServers section look for the entry and change it to

8. Save and exit the file

NOTE: If this is a clustered Content Server instance, each cluster node's /admin/data/servers//server.hda file will need to be changed.

9. Restart the Content Server

10. Restart the Admin Server

Change the HttpRelativeWebRoot:

1. Edit the /config/config.cfg file

2. Change:

HttpRelativeWebRoot=//

To:

HttpRelativeWebRoot=//

3. Save and exit the file

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 in the /admin/config.cfg file

5. Repeat steps 2 and 3 in the /admin/data/servers//server.hda file

NOTE: If this is a clustered Content Server instance, each cluster node's /admin/data/servers//server.hda file will need to be changed.

6. Restart the Content Server

7. Restart the Admin Server

NOTE: In addition to the HttpServerAddress and HttpRelativeWebRoot, there are other parameters that can be used by the Content Server to set the URL string. These parameters are added in the /config/config.cfg file

Some of these include:

HttpAbsoluteCgiPath

HttpAbsoluteWebRoot

HttpBrowserFullCgiPath

If any of these parameters are present in the config.cfg file, make the changes to them also.

For a full list of these types of parameters, see the Idoc Script Reference Guide

Web Server changes

If the HttpRelativeWebRoot is changed the web server will need to be modified to reflect that change.

If you run on Apache

1. Edit the /conf/httpd.conf file

Or if it is a specific include file, edit that include file

2. Change:

Alias / "/weblayout"

/

To:

Alias / "/weblayout"

/

3. Save and exit the file

If you run on IIS

In IIS a new Virtual Dirtectory will need to be created

1. In the same Web Site or Default Web Site as the original Content Server Virtual Directory, create a new Virtual Directory.

2. As the Alias enter in the new HttpRelativeWebRoot.

3. Configure the rest of the parameters to match that of the original Virtual Directory.

4. Within the new Virtual Directory and another Virtual Directory, idcplg, needs to be created for the Content Server ISAPI filter.

5. As the Alias enter: idcplg

6. Configure the rest of the parameters to match that of the original Virtual Directory.

7. Restart IIS.

8. The original Virtual Directory can now be deleted.

So there you have it. Now you can make copies of your environment - for staging, data migration, upgrade or testing - the smart way!

And remember, if you ever need a hand with Oracle UCM - just email us. There's no charge for the first day of consulting. Talk to us at contact _at_ stellentExperts _dot_ com

Tap the wealth of killer queries, reports and custom pages...

2010-11-13T10:58:00.000-08:00

If your business users might benefit from some killer reports,
custom pages and queries - this exclusive guide might save
you days of trial and error.

It will instantly show you how to do all these and more - with the
tool that many administrators ignore (or at least, under-utilize) -
the WebLayout Editor

The steps described in this guide will work in both - the latest
Content Server 11g R1 and still more common version 10gR3.

Grab your copy here:

http://stellentexperts.com/se/Training/Web%20Layout%20Editor.pdf

Best,
Dmitri

Complete Lazy Man's Guide to UCM Content Server Workflows - yours FREE!

2010-10-26T08:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, its true! If you don't yet consider yourself a world-class expert of Content Server workflows - this exclusive guide will almost certainly save you days (if not weeks) of trial and error, while going through hundreds of pages of online documentation.

There're no gimmicks, just the street-tough, time-saving tips - hot from the trenches - where we fight our customer's UCM battles - day in and day out.

http://stellentexperts.com/se/Training/0387-chapter-5-understanding-workflows.pdf

This guide will work with both - the new Content Server 11g and still more common v. 10gR3

Workflows are one of the most used and useful features of UCM. They give you the power to quickly set up reviews and approvals for documents, web pages, product documentation, "stage gates" for project management artifacts, "virtual voting" on government legislation, gathering digital signatures, and SOX compliance reviews.

This (complete) chapter from my latest book (The OracleUCM Handbook, Packt Publishing, 2010) covers things you'd be doing most of the time as well as other important things you ought to know about workfl ows. More specifically you will learn:

How to set up and change Content Server workfl ows—allowing you to get up to speed really fast, walking you step by step through an automation of a real-world approval process.
Hidden (and frequently overlooked) facts about content life cycle that will help you locate and reclaim your disappeared content items.
Tools you need for advanced workfl ow design such as workfl ow templates, jumps, sub-workfl ows, and scripting—that let you harness the true power of Content Server workflows.
How to group approvers and even select them dynamically based on the business rules—maybe the last bit of advice you will need to automate that complex business process you were looking at.
Different types of workfl ows you have to choose from and how to pick the best one for your task at hand.

Grab your copy here:
http://stellentexperts.com/se/Training/0387-chapter-5-understanding-workflows.pdf

Best,
D

Hundreds are loving the new Site Studio now... even though they first found its new site design messy and annoying!

2010-09-10T11:58:00.000-07:00

If you're in any way, shape or form are involved with Oracle Web Content Management... and not yet in love with the new Site Studio 10gR4 (11g) - this may well be the biggest time-saver article you read in your entire week. Here's what its all about.

When the new Site Studio 10gR4 was released back in Dec 2008 - I used to hate it from my first sight. One of my clients at the time called the older Site Studio "a kludge". To him - primary and secondary page templates, replaceable regions and static lists were simply the many pieces of one monster-sized tangled messy nightmare. Imagine adding another 3 (!) levels of indirection and 5 new types of site assets on top of all these! Wasn't that messy enough as it is? Who would ever use it? Are they losing it after Oracle bought them?

But time has passed by and I soon realized that - nope. They haven't lost their marbles. In fact, the new design does save a ton of time in the long run.... And - no - it doesn't take that much longer to design a site in R4.

Let me give you an example. Let's say, you have a web site that you need to manage with WCM and most of your pages look like this:

The all-familiar header, left menu and footer. The simple content area with header and the body. Sometimes it may need a flash video player or image gallery. Sometimes it will need right hand links....

Let's now say, your home page and your section landing pages are slightly different. They look like this:

We've added the right hand links and the news story layout for your content area - with multiple sections of content.

What site structure elements wall you need to implement this in 10gR3? Let's see...

You'll need fragments for header, footer and your left menu
A layout template for layout B as shown
Another template for layout B with the right hand links
One more template for layout B with flash video player
Another six variations of Layout B template - with and without these elements
A few more layout templates to cover the variations of Layout A

So far, we've got 18 variations of layout templates... and we haven't even got a complex site! What if you need to change your options on the rich edit control or your HTML doc type declaration? What if you change your security model and need to update the path to your css file? That's right - 18 templates to change each and every time! ... and that's still a fairly simple site.... Try making that site multi-lingual!

Now let's "re-design" this in Site Studio 11g (10gR4)

Yep, you'll still need your fragments for header, footer and your left menu... but....
Now all you need is just ONE layout template!

One instead of 18! Isn't that neat?

How? Let me explain.

You simply make one layout page, but instead of contribution regions, you put new placeholder tags in it. They will contain region templates, user- switchable mini-templates for your contribution regions. You will have 2 placeholders in the template - one for main content and one for your right-hand links.

For Layout B your contributors will pick a "simple page" region template or "simple page with flash video" one. If the page needs right-hand links - they'll assign content there. If not - they'll leave it blank - so there's no html being generated. No empty region garbage. No html layout problems.

Or they may simply pick the "multi-section page" region template - and you've got your Layout A covered.

And if that's not enough - you'll only have ONE Rich Edit element definition instead of 18! Just one plain text element. One place to update your CSS file if security group was updated!

And if these savings aren't enough - consider the fact that Site Studio 10gR4 is being used in new Oracle UCM 11g. It will be there for years to come - and you owe it to yourself to master it.

But what if days of painful trail and error, sifting through 486 pages of the new Site Studio Designer Guide and bugging Oracle Support is just not your idea of fun?

There's always a better option!

In fact, there're multiple... But the one many of my clients found the most helpful is this: you spend an hour or two with a pro. Live dialog. He gets you the scoop and answers your questions. You take your time... learn at your own pace...

And we only focus on important stuff. No filler. No "repeat of the basics" time-wasters. Just the new features in 10gR4 - that you need to drive home. Just the battle-hardened tips and time-saving insider info.

And if that's not enough - you get ...

Full 3 months of unlimited email support

You have a question - just shoot an email and get an answer. Its that easy! No support tickets to open. No formalities, no favours to ask. Direct access to a practicing Site Studio 11g/10gR4 pro - all yours for 3 full months!

But isn't getting an expert on the phone for 2 hours very expensive? You'll be pleasantly surprised! Remember, its ECM Solutions, the best value in Oracle UCM! There's no outrageous charges - just one flat, low hourly rate.

And if you choose to get the unlimited support option - just add another 2 hours of the same, low hourly rate. That's it!

Just schedule an online meeting at the time that works for you and get your own, personalized Site Studio rocket boost. ... And yes, you can put as many people on the call as you feel will benefit from participating. No per-person charges.

But isn't there a catch? There must be! Yes, I must admit, there's one. Resources are limited, so you must act now. When we get our hands full - we put our current customers first, not the new ones. So we may ask you to wait - if you don't act now. Drop us a line at contact at stellentExperts dot com and claim your time spot - while they're still available.

How to install new Oracle UCM 11gR1 faster then everyone else thought possible

2010-08-13T08:34:00.000-07:00

If you, like the most of Stellent folks I know, are feeling pressure to try the new UCM 11g, but don't have a week to spend on trial and error - this will be the most important email you've received in this entire summer.

I've just published a complete set of videos that shows you exactly how to install and configure new Oracle UCM ... faster than everyone else thought possible. Set up your own complete portable environment on your laptop or desktop - in a short afternoon - and watch your buddies' jaws drop!

This really is the lazy man' guide to building your own Oracle UCM 11gR1 environment (in just a few short hours).

I show you how to avoid all the pitfalls and get it done right the first time. Let those know-it-alls struggle for a couple of days. Why not get it over with in an hour or two... and go play golf?

Just go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1zAzaXCJwQ and see how easy it can really be.

Additional videos are available at http://www.youtube.com/stellentexperts

For more killer tips and hot insider information .. or to get a helping hand (without breaking a bank) - check out ECM Solution - www.stellentExperts.com

Cheers

Discover Oracle UCM over a lunch break...without skipping a meal

2010-04-17T10:51:00.000-07:00

If you need to learn Oracle UCM as fast as it humanly possible, this may be the best article you ever read. My recent UCM review, published by CMS Wire, walks you through the major features in just a few short minutes. So you can literally learn it on your lunch break, and still have enough time left to grab a meal.

Check out the article here

P.S. if you're a seasoned UCM professional, I'll give you another reason to still check it out - just look at these comments... Ouch! You gotta see them!

And Oracle documentation confirms: Propagate in virtual folders meant to be broken!

2009-12-24T10:11:00.000-08:00

If you ever tried to use Propagate feature in Virtual Folders - just to discover that it doesn't work - this post will delight you.

Imagine you need to "push down" the meta values from a parent folder down - onto the sub-folders and content items in them. You select Propagate from the menu on the top right on folder information page:

You go to a sub-folder and check if its meta was updated. And it wasn't! You check the content items… Same story.

What gives?

Don't be surprised when Propagate does nothing - if you use it "out of the box"!

That's right: Before you can use Propagate feature, you need to specify - what meta fields are ok to push down.

Here's how you do it: Expand Administration Tray. Expand Folder Configuration. Click Information Field Inherit Configuration. Here's how Information Field Inherit Configuration screen looks like:

Just place check marks against the fields you'd like to push down when you use the propagate feature - and click Update. You're done.

Now you can propagate the meta values! Give it a try!

Content Migration - How we got a project over a finish line 16.9 times faster

2009-08-17T07:59:00.000-07:00

Last year we ended up migrating 38 web sites and major site sections (10,710 pages in total) in just over a week each. A Nation-Wide reputable vendor estimated each of them to take 3 to 6 months. How did we do it?

The short answer is this: we used Batch Loader. Easy enough. Am I simply comparing a manual import to the use of a tool? Nope. I'm not about to waste your time. After all, that vendor was also using batch loader.

Batch Loader Turbo Charged

When it comes to a mass-check in - batch loader is a nice and useful tool but when you're loading tenths of thousands of files from dozens of locations and when each file has unique derived values in its metadata - Batch Loader won't be of much help.

I guess that almost any enterprise-scale content migration will have you fall flat on your face if you're simply relying on Batch Loader to "magically" load your content into ECM.

So what is the quickest way to automate such a migration?

Its simple. The answer becomes obvious when you look at HOW the batch loader works. It processes a typical HDA file - one record at a time. It picks up a file from the location you specify in primaryFile field, sets metadata values to the ones you tell it to use and calls a Check In service. Again, it reads batch loader script one record at a time and checks in files - one by one.

What if we could create some cool batch loader script that will import all the files we want imported? All at once! Sure, that would be nice, but how do we go about creating one?

The Batch Builder utility that comes with Batch Loader is very limited. It builds a very simple files based on a content of a single directory lets you use file system data as meta. It won't let you pick up files from multiple locations or create complex meta values.

So, here's the biggie - to turbo-charge your content migration effort, you need may consider GENERATING your own batch loader scripts.

How to use Code Generation effectively

How do you go about generating it? For simple migration you can get away with using your editor's search and replace function on a comma-separated list of files

Let's say, your excel file has the following columns:

Content Id, Title, Author, Security Group, Account, Doc Type, Date, File Path

After you save it in a comma-separated (CSV) format, you'll end up with something like this:

A2561405, Migration Project Plan, Bill, Public, , abstract, 8/12/09 4:20 PM, C:/Migration/Project Plan v.3.4.doc

Now, you could use a RegEx like this to produce a batch loader script out of your CSV file:

Replace this:

^([^,]*),([^,]*),([^,]*),([^,]*),([^,]*),([^,]*),([^,]*),([^,]*)$

( If you're new to regular expressions, this says:

- Begin at the start of a line
- Select every character until you see a comma - repeated 8 times
- You must be at the end of the line )

With this replacement string:

dDocName=$1\n dDocTitle=$2\n dDocAuthor=$3\n dSecurityGroup=$4\n dDocAccount=$5\n dDocType=$6\n dInDate=$7\n primaryFile=$8\n <<EOD>> \n

You may need to test the RegEx in your own editor as every one has a slightly different syntax.

After you run it - your comma-separated line will transform into an HDA entry that will look like this:

dDocName=A2561405
dDocTitle=Migration Project Plan
dDocAuthor=Bill
dSecurityGroup=Public
dDocAccount=
dDocType=abstract
dInDate=8/12/09 4:20 PM
primaryFile=C:/Migration/Project Plan v.3.4.doc
<<EOD>>

I hope, you get the idea.

How to scale it up

You can easily adapt this technique to any complexity. Just use Perl, Ruby or another scripting language of your choice to generate metadata values and the file names and locations.

Be sure to use subroutines, structure your code well and store it in source-control system. Code generation script can get quite complex quite quickly.

Important last minute tips

Today, there will be three:

- You'll very likely need to debug your code generation script and run your batch load file more then once so be sure to:

Add a custom meta field or a special value like "batch_loader" for the dDocAuthor so you can find your files quickly and delete them when its time to start fresh
Test on a small sub-set (under 200 items) so you don't have to wait for 8 hours for these 500 Gb to import

- Be sure to CLEAR the "Clean up files after successful check in" box. If you leave it checked - your source files WILL be deleted and you won't find them in a Recycle Bin!

- Be sure to MARK "Enable error file" box. This will create a detailed log file and a smaller batch loader script file for the files that didn't load. Absolutely essential!

That's all for now.

Happy Migrating!

How to build your own personal and portable testing and learning environment

2009-07-16T11:01:00.000-07:00

This article applies to Oracle UCM 10gR3. For new UCM 11gR1 follow the link below:
http://stellentexperts.blogspot.com/2010/08/how-to-install-new-oracle-ucm-11gr1.html

I promised to walk you through the process of creating your own personal and portable testing and learning environment - the one you can load on your laptop so you won't be dependent on your sysadmin to give you permissions. You won't be afraid to break something and will feel free to experiment.

Having your own environment may also let you work from home - but don't mention my name when you talk to your boss :)

Let's get started.

In my courses I'm making an assumption that you're familiar with virtualization. In case you aren't - here is a 1 min introduction.

Virtual machine or VM is an instance of a real OS such as Windows or Linux (Guest OS) running on a special software you install on your machine. Now that hardly any computer has less then 1 Gb or RAM and most OS (except Vista, of course) take less then 512 Mb - you can run a second OS in your own virtual environment.

The benefits are multiple:

Guest OS has absolutely no affect and may have no access to your host OS so even if you're running a virus in your guest OS - you are safe
Moving VM on another machine is a simple file copy operation so if you have your VM on a portable drive - you can work on the same OS at home and at work.
You don't need to pollute your software configuration when you can install and test one-offs on your virtual environment that can be reset to its original configuration in a matter of seconds

"OK, Show me how to build a virtual environment"

Here's how:

If you running Windows, begin by downloading and installing MS Virtual PC 2007. This is free download. On Linux - check out VMware products such as VMware Player or Server (currently free) or Workstation.

Here's a link to get MS VPC 2007

Download and unzip a sample VM. The one I'm recommending comes with Windows Server and SQL Server 2005.

The link is here

In VPC 2007 go File - New VM Wizard -> Use Default Settings to Create a VM.

Once VM settings are open, under hard drive select the location of your newly download SQL Server 2005 machine VHD file.

Give it about a 512 Mb or RAM and hit Start.

Voila! You're now ready to begin Oracle Content Server installation.

Please follow the instructions in my YouTube Video to install your Content Server

Since you are going to be using MS SQL Server, check out my article for JDBC Driver instructions

In the next 15 min you should have your new portable installation of Oracle Content Server up and running. You can put your (updated) VHD file on a portable drive and take with you wherever you go!

Are you getting ripped off by your Oracle ECM consultant?

2009-05-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

Its absolutely maddening! A couple of days ago I've got a call from Alex. He was too busy to help out a client and wondered if I could help them out. I asked what do they need done. Guess what? Yet another new Oracle ECM client was badly burnt by a large consulting shop.

First they paid $250/hr plus travel and accommodation for a consultant to come on site for two weeks and "design an implementation approach". What they ended up getting for over $25,000.00 is a copy of their own technical architecture document with a few pages of Oracle "Planning and Implementation Guide" plugged in. That's all! Like that wasn't enough?

The client proceeded anyways. They invested in the Content Server licenses and needed ECM up... Another month and a 25% of their budget later they had a few requirements workshops done and a requirements gathering template partially filled in. They've seen a PM, BA, an ECM consultant and an architect. No results! Isn't that NUTS?

That amount was sufficient to have their environments rolled out and users trained in ECM but all they got is a couple of useless documents. What a rip-off!

I understand that replying to an RFP costs money but why the client has to pay for it?

If any one of you tells me another story like this - I'll be banging my head against the wall and screaming until my neighbour comes back from their night shift and stops me! I cannot take it anymore! Can't you guys see who you hiring?

OK, I understand that frustration doesn't help much so let me give you a few red flags look for

Forced methodology. When consultant "recommends" very insistently that you have them produce a document or other "artefact" because its required by their methodology - be sure to question that and get your own independent assessment of what kind of return will you'd be getting on this investment.
Withholding knowledge. Unless you plan on retaining the consulting shop indefinitely, put very specific controls in place regarding the knowledge transfer. Be sure that consultants are ready and willing to explain every step they take and help your full time staff to follow by their footsteps. Verbal promises on behalf of the sales team are usually not enough to get that in place.
Unnecessary consultants. Before authorizing a team of consultants to start working on your project - are you sure you understand what every one of them is doing? Are you sure you will be getting value for what you pay for EACH ONE of them?
Inflated estimates. This one hardly needs any explanation. As long as you don't have in-house Oracle ECM expertise - you are completely at they mercy as far as the estimates are concerned. They are free to double and triple the time things actually take and you won't even know when to object.
Weak or no guarantee. Typical 30 days guarantee when consultants fix the bugs you find after the project is complete - is not much help:
- Does it protect you from the project taking five times longer then they promised?
- What about the one that delivered five times less then you expected where everything over and above the out-of-the-box Content Server deployment is a "Change Request" and costs extra?
- Also - do you seriously expect them to fix bugs FOR FREE at the same pace they did when they were paid? Come on! Those developers were reassigned to another project a week before your last payment came out!

Hope those will make you a little more prepared to deal with not-so-honest consultants or minimize your losses if you already have one of these by your side.

Can they still cheat you?

Well, now that you will be noticing the "tricks of the trade" it will be harder for them to do but many will continue to get away until you have an in house Oracle ECM expertise ... and - despite of what they tell you

- you actually can get good working knowledge of Oracle ECM in just a few days and

- NO - it won't require sending your people for an expensive several day course.

For starters, why don't you get a "sandbox" copy of Oracle ECM on your laptop? You can get an easy, step by step instructions here and simply play around with it. Online help, combined with information from this blog should get you pretty far, pretty fast.

I'm working a complete set of FREE or very LOW COST training materials to get you the knowledge you need as quick and easy as it is humanly possible - you can check out my video courses at stellentexperts.com. And, of course, keep an eye on this blog.

That's all for now,

Best,
Dmitri

Fastest way to understand security model I know about

2009-03-17T20:32:00.000-07:00

At last! After years of struggling to explain Content Server security model to my clients - I finally got it!

A while back when I was first learning it myself - it took me about an hour to understand how Role-based component alone is used. But when I tried to add on accounts... Later in that day there were five of us desperately trying to cut through the mess of multiple dimensions and confusing terminology. It took us several hours of screaming around a white board just to begin seeing some light at the end of the tunnel...

It always bothered me greatly to look at my customers suffer through trying to get their head around it. Many just gave up and were forced to rely on consultants for explanation... Not any more!

So here it comes

I finally realized that most humans are not good at piling on multiple dimensions ... and I see no benefit of looking at all the components of security model at once! When clients were introduced only one component of the model at a time and asked to keep them separate in their heads (and their diagrams) - the confusion quickly subsided or didn't appear in the first place!

Check out my FREE video tutorial at http://youtube.com/stellentexperts

Gain Complete Working Knowledge Of Content Server In 5 Days Or Less In Just Minutes A Day - 100% GUARANTEED

2009-03-07T12:14:00.000-08:00

Content Server Running Start Course is now available!

I did my best to put everything you'll need to stand comfortably on your own two feet, so you won't have to spend a single penny on consulting or other Content Server education... and this is the easiest course to follow that I know about...

Seasoned Professionals - don't be so quick to dismiss it! Are you sure you're crystal clear on all the topics I cover like building a portable virtual testing environment and my own approach to security model?

Check it out at http://www.stellentexperts.com/se/running_start.htm

Are you crystal clear on Stellent security model

2008-03-12T09:43:00.000-07:00

Last week I was doing one of my presentations on Stellent security model. Its stunning how after all these years this of all Stellent aspects, still manages to confuse even most experienced admins. ARE YOU CRYSTAL CLEAR ON STELLENT SECURITY MODEL? If not – here's your magic bullet – it requires a paradigm shift.

Start with the basic terminology. You will need to understand what Stellent means by such commonly used terms such as "group" or "account". Believe me – its' not what everyone's thinking!

When you get comfortable with the glossary – draw a diagram how all of this fits together. Drive home how content is assigned into groups, how group access is controlled by roles and how account hierarchy works.

Once you get that down – check how Folders are used to impose virtual hierarchy on otherwise flat repository.

Check out my presentation below. It covers the same ground in a little bit more details and may become a good road map for you…. Good luck

Oracle Stellent
SECURITY model

Lessons learned

Dmitri Khanine

dk at stellentexperts dot com

Oracle Stellent Security

• Powerful but can be confusing

• Requires careful planning

• Professional help is not always an answer

– Why? Explained later in this presentation….

Security Model Overview

• Any security model made of:

– Authentication

– Authorization

• Authentication

– Stellent

– Windows

– Active Directory

– LDAP

– Custom

• Authorization

– Groups

– Roles

– Accounts

• Authentication and Authorization combo:
(LDAP, Active Directory, Custom)

– Allows mapping of existing org structure to Stellent security principals

– Stops the agony of maintaining permissions of the same user in multiple places

– Covered in detail later in this presentation

Security planning

• Long ranging implications of overly complex and under-designed models

– Users will be able to do more then it is mandated or even safe for them to do

– Access may be denied in unpredictable situations

– Hard to debug user access issues

– New content will follow the model and increase the cost of correcting the model

On Content Revisions

• Major benefit of content management…

• Each revision can have different metadata

– To update security on a content item all revisions need to be updated

– Even if you don’t add new content – changing of security gets more expensive over time

Security planning

• Long ranging implications of overly complex and under-designed models

• Easier to start with a good model then change later

BUT

• Security model can be changed at any time

… How to plan a security model – later in this presentation

Basic terminology:Major source of confusion

• Groups –

– Windows: a set of users

– Stellent: a piece of metadata

• Accounts –

– Windows: user record

– Stellent: a piece of metadata

Security at a glance

• Groups and accounts used together

Why is it so confusing?

• Robust, time tested system

• Hundreds of customers worldwide

• Is it just terminology?

Paradigm shift

• Single flat repository instead of conventional taxonomy

– No permission inheritance in the base system

– Optional Folders components required for some of support hierarchies BUT

– Folders are no longer synchronized with web site navigation (as of v. 7.x)

Groups

• A “tag” on a content item

• Helps to group items with same security level

• Used verbatim

• Limited to 30 characters

• Access to groups specified by user role membership

Roles

• Specifies user access level to various groups

• User can belong to multiple roles

Accounts

– Another “tag” on a content item

BUT

– Supports hierarchy

– User access to accounts specified directly

• Accounts support hierarchy, based on a “Starts with” substring rule

• RW on ca/on will give Read and Write access to

• ca/on/montreal

• ca/on/toronto

• ca/on/Ottawa

– Slashes are optional

• RW on ca,on will give Read and Write access to

• ca,on.montreal

• ca,on-toronto

• Ca,on=>ottawa

– Length limited to 35 characters

– Can be created on the fly…

Ignore these and get in trouble:

• Account text box lets people create ad-hoc accounts that others can not access

How I plan Stellent security

• Name all types of people who will at any time access the system

• Will they be authenticated? How?

• What will they do on the system?

Case study

• Model features after security redesign:

– Roles follows user’ job function, not organizational unit

– Groups describe access level

– Accounts segment content by organizational unit and web site section

Oracle Stellent Security:

• Requires careful planning

– Authentication

– Authorization

- Groups, Roles, Accounts

BUT

• Bad model can be corrected at any time

• Requires paradigm shift in thinking and can be confusing

• Professional help is not always an answer

– Must have experience implementing Stellent security models

Must be able to explain Stellent Security concepts without mystifying them

• Questions?

How to remove account text field

2007-09-29T19:39:00.000-07:00

Content Server 7.x as well as 10G includes an editable text box next to Account field on content check in form. Allowing users to type in arbitrary accounts increases the risk of newly checked in content becoming inaccessible to others and has a potential of causing performance problems due to proliferation of account-related directories in weblayout. Many people wonder if they can remove it so users can only pick from the list of pre-defined accounts.

Here is how to accomplish that in just a few minutes without resorting to custom component development.

1. Start Configuration Manager

2. On the Tables Tab go Add table

3. Select DocumentAccounts table, Click OK

4. On the Views Tab go Add…

4.1 Pick DocumentAccounts as your table and select dDocAccount field so it will be shown

4.2 On Security Tab uncheck the Publish view data and select “Use standard document security” as shown below

4.3 Hit OK to close Edit View dialog

5. On Information Fields tab hit Add…

5. 1 Type field caption such as “SecurityAccount” , pick desired field order

5.2 Check the Enable Option List checkbox as shown below and click Configure button besides it

5.3 Select the Use View option as shown below. Select the view you’ve created on step 4 as shown below

5.4 Click OK to close the Configure Option List dialog

5.5 Click OK to close Edit Custom Info Field dialog

6. Click Update Database Design button (right side on the Information Fields tab on Configuration manager)

7. Select the Rules tab and click Add…

7.1 Type in a name for the new Global Rule you will be creating

7.2 On the Edit Rule dialog make sure that “Is global rule with priority” box is checked

7.3 Select Fields tab (see below)

7.3.1 Click Add to add a new filed

7.3.2 Select the filed you’ve created on step 5

7.3.3 Change Type to required or leave as Edit depending on your preference

7.3.4 Add dDocAccount field as you did on step 7.3.1 but this time mark is Hidden

7.3.5 Make sure that “Is derived field” box is checked and click “Edit…” as shown below

7.3.6 Switch to Custom tab on the Script Properties dialog as shown below

7.3.7 Check “Custom“ check box and paste the following text into it:

<$dprDerivedValue=getFieldViewValue("xSecurityAccount",#active.xSecurityAccount,"dDocAccount")$>

7.3.8 Click OK to close Script Properties dialog.

7.3.9 Click OK to close Edit Rule Field dialog

7.4 Click OK to close Edit Rule dialog

8. Select Options -> Publish Schema and Options -> Publish Schema Base so that your changes are visible on the check in form

WARNING : The global rule created on step 7 will hide the built in Account filed on content information, search and update screens to above steps will only be sufficient if you perform them on a new instance of content server. If you are working on an instance with existing content – follow the steps below:

9. Under Rules tab of Configuration Manager select the rule you’ve added on step 7 and hit Edit…

9.1 Select “Use rule activation condition” as shown below

9.2 Click Edit… and Add… to add a rule condition as shown below.

This will ensure that the original Account field is still visible and none your users are affected when they perform and update. You might want to add another rule to hide your newly created filed on search and content information pages…

Who else didn’t upgrade to 10G R3?

2007-09-02T23:06:00.000-07:00

We’ve recently upgraded our instances of Stellent Content Server 7.5.1 to the latest Oracle release 10G R3. Upgrade procedures, as most of the things in Stellent, are fully documented but we still hit a few bumps on the road. Here are the notes for which I was ready to walk to the top of the mountain in a blizzard if I only knew they existed.

What was missing in the manual

We slightly disagree with Oracle when they say in Windows Install Guide

“It is recommended that you disable all installed components before the upgrade and enable them one by one after the upgrade. This is a good strategy because it allows you to determine which components may have been broken by the upgrade. Please note that this is not necessary for the software upgrade as such to succeed; it is merely a useful customization upgrade strategy.”

This is the only way we got our servers to come up after the upgrade so in our case it was required.

What Server Install Guide didn’t mention was that if you have a Site Studio installed, none of your sites would come up if you follow that procedure. (When you navigate to the Site Studio site URL even after you reinstall the new Site Studio component – you will get “Page can not be found” error).

WARNING: Your upgrade path will change depending on which custom components you have installed! Please review upgrading instructions for new versions of all of your installed components prior to upgrade.

For instance, if you have Folders and Site Studio together – you shouldn’t uninstall or disable them prior to upgrade so that each site can be migrated from a folders-based hierarchy to a project-based hierarchy

Upgrade process overview

Here is what your upgrade task list might look like:

Update JVM - 10G no longer works with JDK 1.4
Make a copy of Stellent Installation directory
Disable all components except Folders.
Once again, see your components upgrade instructions prior to keeping or removing them! Sample list would look like that:

Uninstall components except Folders

The following components need to be disabled and then uninstalled:

Site Studio
Dynamic Converter
tzus2007
WebDAV

The following components need to be disabled but not uninstalled :

FoldersLocal
FolderStructureArchive
BackgroundThread
Lists
Helper
All other components except Folders

Disable Indexer Auto Update Cycle
Restart server and make sure that there are no errors in the output after every subsequent component disabling and uninstall
Install new Site Studio Component
Perform Content Server upgrade
Enable Indexer Auto Update Cycle
Install Dynamic Converter
Web sites should be fully functional including contribution mode and WebDAV

Tips and tricks

Here are a few more tips that may save you a few more hours

If Verity is you search engine - set the following variable (as shown, in all caps) in the [install_dir]/config/config.cfg file:

SearchIndexerEngineName=VERITY.VDK.4

New Content Server will continue working with your existing Verity installation and you won’t need to wait for index to rebuild. That said, you might consider upgrading to Verity VDK6 at later date if you have content in multiple languages.

If your database is MS SQL Server or Sybase - download jTDS JDBC Driver The old driver may not work. JDBC driver classname will be net.sourceforge.jtds.jdbc.Driver

If you are having WebDAV problems following successful upgrade - make sure default web site in IIS Admin doesn't have two Stellent ISAPI filters as it is shown below.

If two filters present, remove the second one. Subsequent IIS should render WebDAV fully operational.

Good luck!

Are you in control of your Stellent Systems?

2007-02-21T21:27:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I've got a call from my old time client. He was reading SANS' Top-20 Internet Security Attack Targets and was wondering if his Stellent installation might be vulnerable. He had all the latest patches at that time but something kept him thinking of his Stellent installation after hours.

We did an audit on his instance and found that even though the system was completely up to date with security patches, most of his contributors were in fact super admins! They couldn't find a better way to let contributors access the site continent they needed to access - there were simply too many security groups and accounts to deal with!

In my years as Stellent architect I've seen many capable sysadmins badly misconfiguring their security system. Is there anything wrong with Stellent security? Ten years of its succeess in multiple industries tells us otherwise. Stellent is simply very different when it comes to security. Here is why.

In my other post I've explained the limitations of a hierarchical folder structure which grows unwieldy over time making it difficult to find documents. Stellent overcomes this by providing a single metadata-driven content repository. This strategy is very effective for managing content but it takes away conventional files and folders where all of us are so used to set permissions! So where do we set permissions now? Just the content items themselves. There is no permission inheritance. Once the content checked in - its group and account values are set. Unlike Windows where you can specify who can do what with a file, in Stellent you specify what content group it belongs to and then you specify who can do what with your content groups.

Another major confusion point is the actual naming convention. What Stellent calls "Group" and "Account" is not always what the rest of the world calls them. Unfortunately, there is only a few simple words in English that can describe a group of content so Stellent calls it "Group". Windows users are trained that a "Group" is a group of users and "Account" is a user security record... Once again, a "Group" in Stellent is a Group of Content or "Content Group". An "Account" is another grouping of content or "Content Account". Try these names in your next security discussion and see confusion subside!

What if your system is already implemented? Is it too late to change content security? Do you have to manually update content group and account of every content item? Fortunately, in most the answer to those questions is no. Existing systems can have their security updated in just a few days. If your system is vulnerable - it can be fixed.

The Secret of SharePoint Microsoft doesn't want you to know

2006-12-26T19:48:00.000-08:00

Many people asked us if they should pick Stellent over SharePoint and vice versa. The choice is not immediately obvious and there are long ranging implications. With the recent launch of SharePoint 2007 or MOSS both products seem to be offering the same things. Both manage content, publish it on the web and allow creation of complex custom workflows.

SharePoint 2003 and now 2007 offers an attractive set of collaboration tools and deep integration into MS Office so if you are looking for collaborative content creation or interactive project workspaces - you will be hard pressed to find a rival match to free SharePoint Services 3.0. However when it comes to collecting, storing and managing content - its a different ball game.

SharePoint relies on folder structures or taxonomies for its document storage system. Here is what Mark Suster of Koral Inc, the industry leader in document management, says about the limitations of a taxonomy:

"The folder hierarchies that were established at the start of projects by well intentioned and very competent file storage experts are often only as good as the training and communication plans to educate the masses of users that need to use them. Even in successful projects there is often a huge transition period when the resident document experts, change managers or project sponsors change jobs or move roles. The trained staff invariably turn over and new staff do not always get the expert training that those at the start received.

I think most of us have experienced the dilemma of seeing our own Windows folder structure on our desktops grow unwieldy over time and we soon get lost trying to remember where exactly we stored that important financial projection from 4 years ago. ... The problem of file storage systems is naturally exacerbated in a shared network structures. Folders are a taxonomy-based system and there is a fundamental flaw in the taxonomy-based structure of most content systems."

While being a great tool for collaboration inside a small group, SharePoint does not address issues of enterprise-wide sharing and reuse of content by encouraging people to store their documents in a set of isolated document libraries. Not only each library has its own taxonomy that in most cases is not self explanatory, many users face a dilemma of which particular document library should they commit their current working document into. This creates a set of documents that is not only duplicated but potentially outdated. For example, if you as project manager, have posted John's latest work assignments to the project site and John is looking them up on his team site - he'll be looking at the old copy and possibly work on the wrong stuff.

Stellent Content Server provides a single point of storage and management for the entire set of enterprise content. Not only this helps eliminate duplicate copies of content but also helps people from outside the work group or project to find the information they looking for. Unlike conventional search engines such as Google and Yahoo, where you're looking throughout the entire content of documents, Stellent content server allows you to define and search for business specific metadata fields like project name, cost center or document type such as project plan and other relevant and intuitive data.

On the other end of the spectrum, Stellent metadata fields need to be properly planned and managed. If you notice contributors filling in garbage into your the checkin form - your metadata model is due for a checkup. Garbage entered into required fields will be diluting existing valid entries making it harder to find information and discourage other contributors from entering valid data into those fields. In a matter of weeks, years worth of metadata may become contaminated and require massive cleansing efforts to recover.