One of the biggest challenges I feel that we (Microsoft) face in showcasing the "value" of architecting/developing Office Business Applications is providing what I'll call "solid reference implementations" along the lines of Duwamish Books, Fitch and Mather, Global Bank, LitwareHR, other many other solutions we've released.  Sure, we have the OBA Reference Architecture Packs (OBA RAPs), but, by definition, they are meant to serve as simple examples of how to leverage the OBA pattern to address a given business scenario.  However, where I think they are lacking is in providing sound guidance and implementation practices around many of the architectural and implementation challenges many organizations face today in trying to deliver business value to their users.  Many organizations today are asking questions like:

• What are good practices for securing our OBA solution?
• What are good practices for integrating with other Line-Of-Business (LOB) applications and how do we take advantage of other Microsoft integration technologies in order to accomplish this?
• What are good practices for implementing other Microsoft platform technologies and services like Windows Live Services (Live ID, Virtual Earth, etc) and UX technologies like Microsoft Silverlight and WPF?  And, more importantly, WHEN should they be used?
• What are good implementation strategies for building addressing scability and performance challenges in your solution design?
• What are some common implementation patterns that allow for changes in business objectices and requirements and changes in technology?

and tons more.  So my question to you, dear reader, is what would you like to see in an OBA reference implementation?  Is something like Duwamish too much?  Are the OBA RAPs a step in the right direction?  This is an opportunity for you to be heard.

OBA Resources

• OBA Overview
• Office Business Applications Developer Portal
• Office Business Applications (OBA) Architecture Center
• OBACentral.com

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A couple weeks ago I mentioned that I'd been working on the Office Business Application (OBA) Reference Architecture Pack for Public Sector, which focuses on providing prescriptive architecture guidance for building e-Forms solutions within Public Sector.  I've gotten numerous inquiries since that post as to when the bits would be available for download.  Well, I'm happy to announce that they are now available on our Connect website.  If you are new to Microsoft Connect, read the Microsoft Connect Introduction to learn how Microsoft Connect works and how to enroll.  Included in the download are hands-on-labs and a fully functional Virtual Machine that has all the necessary bits to run the solution.  Because the RAP is being bundled as a Virtual Machine image you will need either Virtual PC 2007 or Virtual Server 2005, which are both free, to run the solution.

Also be forewarned that the Virtual Machine is fairly large in size (weighing in at a ~31 GB), so please plan accordingly when you decide to download as it'll take a minute

I welcome you to download the solution and give us some feedback on what you think.  This release marks the first phase of many exciting things that will come out of this RAP.  To get more information on what's going in Public Sector, you can visit the Public Sector Industry Center on MSDN.

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As I mentioned in my last post, I've had the opportunity to work on a number cool solutions in recent months.  One solution that I've been privileged to work on and help deliver is the Office Business Application Reference Architecture Pack for Public Sector (wow, say that 5 times fast!) and it has just been released to MSDN.  This reference architecture provides prescriptive architecture and guidance for addressing a major business problem within today's Public Sector organizations, that being the processing of electronic forms. It illustrates how an OBA (Office Business Application) can be built to automate and optimize forms processing.  The reference solution framework showcased in the RAP is generic and can be adapted to enable end-to-end processing of a number of electronic forms in the Public Sector.

This OBA solution was built using a number of technologies from the 2007 Office System and .NET 3.0 platforms.  Among those technologies include:

• Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
• Microsoft Office InfoPath Forms Services
• Windows Workflow Foundation
• Windows Communication Foundation
• Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007
• Microsoft Office Outlook 2007

Also included as a part of the RAP are a number of supplementary materials including a click through demo, videos, technical and business presentations, and architecture whitepapers.  The RAP is being bundled as a Virtual Machine image, which will include the working application and source code and will be made available from our Microsoft Connect website.  You will be able to download the Virtual Machine image from there and can use either Virtual PC 2007 or Virtual Server 2005, which are both free, to run the solution.

This version of the RAP only marks phase I of a multi-phased approach for delivering OBA capabilities to address E-forms processing.  In future releases we'll be introducing more advanced capabilities, including:

• Personalized citizen portals
• Live Collaboration and Communication (Citizen to Organization, Organization to Citizen)
• E-Forms analytics and activity monitoring
• Advanced Office client integration for information workers
• Rich Internet Application (RIA) capabilities via Silverlight
• Integration of information cards using Windows CardSpace

So keep your browsers tuned into the many exciting things that'll be coming out of Public Sector.

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