When should it be finished?

To agree on a time frame for each goal set instead of trying to establish a single goal for the UBL project overall.

Goals

1) To identify current applications or types of applications that need UBL Ontology development. These applications could be business sectors or types of end users.

2) To determine from the groups identified which have the greater needs for the greatest good of forwarding UBL into the "real world".

Gap Analysis Homework

Issue 1: There is a noted lack of sufficient technical skills within this group to both work in virtual environment and to implement the adopted onology. There is a need to improve both of these skill areas.

• Stategy 1: To make a personal comittment to improve skills in working in a virtual environment by reading the suggested training materials and learning to some degree how to write a logical structure.

• • Measureable Objectives: (1)A sign off list for reading materials and (2)specific tutorials

(3)Participation in training sessions

• Strategy 2: To create and organize the existing and additional training materials to CD-ROMs for newcomers and member to review/train/learn.

• • Measureable Objective: (1)To compile, organize the existing contributions and writing to CD-ROMs. This is most likely the greatest honor and aspect of this group as a whole, the totality of knowledge that exists amongst it memebers. It has already been suggested that previous contributions of members from presentations with slides/voice be synchronized and written to CD-ROM for distribution.

• • Measureable Objective: (2)To create a WIKI page specifically for training, guidance and depositing new materials from memebers, and a links page that includes a short review of the resource that a link is provided for.

Issue 2: This is like a "which comes first, the chicken or the egg" question. "Anyone trying to make solid project plans needs committed resources". The ontology group needs a written project plan(s) and knows that funding a group brings quicker results and dissolves disagreements more effectively amongst its members. The need for money and the need for agreement on goals, project plans, organization, etc. has been well noted. The capablility of the goup needs to be established before seeking funding.

• Stategy (1): Perform a skill set analysis of the group's members and include their personal goals and reasons for participating.

• • Measureable objectives: (1)To create a list of both desired ( a kind of baseline) and needed skills ( to achieve the work) and (2) have each member respond as by asessing their level of knowledge in those skill areas and include a goals set no matter how selfish it seems.

• Strategy (2): To assign a person(s) to determine what skills are needed to complete the goals set by the project plan.

• • Measureable objective: an assessment of the existing skill sets provided by the members and report those back to the group. This may be a bit uncomfortable, but as any good project manager knows, the skills of the group determine the success levels of the project. The goals of the project may need to be adjusted as a result, or specific skills solicited from outside the group. This may become a funding issue at some point to acquire those skills.

Issue 3: The need for organized goals and objectives, and the plan to achieve those goals and objectives.

• Startegy (1): Write a project plan based on an informed basis of the group's overall skills and capabilities. Avoid a 'blue sky' and 'shoot for the moon' approach. A greater project plan or revision can be written at any time.

• • Measureable objective: Review the written project plan for funding needs once completed. Set aside a block of time for seeking such funding, assign a person to head up that effort.

• Strategy (2:) Long term projects should be encouraged and those plans drafted, posted for ideas, review and comment when and where appropriate on the WIKI.

• • Measureable objective: Allow the group to be solicited for reviewing additional project plans, ideas and funding suggestions until such time as the group has sufficient membership in sub groups to support those efforts.

• Stategy (3): Determine what kind of forum is most effective for the group. A preliminary concensus suggests that this group is primarily project managers who wish to learn all about developing ontologies, but not be the project manager. So one might ask, do a group of project managers really need a project manager? Also, since learning is a key factor for group participation, is funding a real obstacle to begin working truly forward on goals set by the group? Will this group work effectively for "free"? Agreement to forego a search for funding until a later date could relieve a pressure point in the design phase for this group. However, it is also wise to look well ahead for funding.

• • Measureable objective (1): Clearly identify possible funding sources and to the strings attached, committment levels, in receiving the funding before actually pursuing the funding.

• • Measureable objective (2): To complete the skill assessments, begin the learning process for building an ontology and meeting the first goal or objective will best determine what type ofleadership is needed for this group, whether a group of project managers need a project manager or can they work collectively as individual contributors effectively.