Real World Applications of Topic Maps
> information: | > navigation: |
Names
Real World Applications of Topic Maps
Resources
Since the adoption of the topic map ISO
standard in 2000 and the release of the
XTM specification earlier this year, topic maps have
gotten a great deal of attention. The concept has
been billed as the be all, end all for knowledge
organization and representation. Battles between topic
maps and RDF zealots have broken out, with
each touting the strengths and advantages of their
individual schemes. However, through the din, a common
question has arisen from users: "This sounds cool,
but what can I use it for in my organization?"
Several topic map vendors and architects have developed
example topic maps in order to demonstrate the
power of the topic map paradigm. However, in most
cases, these applications are merely toys and not of
much use in a commercial enterprise. They also deal
with topics (no pun intended), such as genealogy
and music, which are often difficult to map to
real-world applications. If potential users are unable
to bridge the chasm between the examples and their
own potential uses of the paradigm, they are rarely
willing to risk dwindling corporate resources to
field even a pilot program. In keeping with the
conference theme "What Really Works", this
paper will present a real-world application of the topic
map model in use at a real company. The application
includes a parts management system and IETM
. The paper will discuss the application and highlight
the successes and challenges encountered in designing
and implementing the system.
|