Features information

Previous Topic Next Topic
 
classic Classic list List threaded Threaded
5 messages Options
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Features information

fernando.manzano
Hi colleagues,

I am writing to the list to request information concerning OFBiz. I am
doing a eCommerce Software comparative between the main commercial and
open source products.

I have achieved to find information about client segmentation (use of
groups), campaign managment (through Marketing Manager and promotions),
stocks management (Facility Manager), product catalog (Product Manager),
order management (using Order Manager application), content management
(through Content Manager)...

However, there are other features I have not been able to document. I
would be very grateful if you could send me details about the following
features:

- Reports & analytics capabilities
- Integration and Interoperability (SOA Architecture, Web Services offered)
- Usability (for final customers, and administrators)
- Personalization potential
- Multidevice sites available?
- Accessibility considered?

Thank you for your help in advance.


Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Features information

David E Jones-3

On Mar 31, 2009, at 2:05 AM, [hidden email] wrote:

> Hi colleagues,
>
> I am writing to the list to request information concerning OFBiz. I am
> doing a eCommerce Software comparative between the main commercial and
> open source products.
>
> I have achieved to find information about client segmentation (use of
> groups), campaign managment (through Marketing Manager and  
> promotions),
> stocks management (Facility Manager), product catalog (Product  
> Manager),
> order management (using Order Manager application), content management
> (through Content Manager)...
>
> However, there are other features I have not been able to document. I
> would be very grateful if you could send me details about the  
> following
> features:
>
> - Reports & analytics capabilities

OFBiz currently has a few dozens pre-written reports OOTB, and more  
can be added using the OFBiz tools, or an external reporting tool  
(which is still very common, ie companies that use something like  
Crystal Reports or Business Objects will use that with their OFBiz  
applications). OFBiz has tools in the framework to facilitate building  
of user interfaces, and these same tools are used for building  
reports. This provides a high level of efficiency, and allows  
developers to use the same tools they are used to... and in some cases  
scripts and other things can even be reused in reports.

OFBiz also includes some BI infrastructure to support defining and  
populating star schemas, which can then be used for ad-hoc or pre-
written reports. A limited star schema exists, and work is going on to  
extend it.

> - Integration and Interoperability (SOA Architecture, Web Services  
> offered)

The OFBiz logic layer is itself a Service-Oriented tool, and all  
primary logic in OFBiz is implemented as services. Many of these  
services can be exposed externally as web services automatically, and  
the more complex ones can be exposed as web services (or call web  
services) through web services code that maps to them.

> - Usability (for final customers, and administrators)

Usability is very subjective, but I'll try to answer in a helpful way.

OFBiz is often customized for larger organizations, and in those cases  
the best usability is achieved by analyzing processes and then  
building user interfaces to directly support those processes. This  
results in something specific to end-user requirements and is far  
better than any OOTB user interface that even the best designers could  
create without specific requirements.

That is the main design goal behind OFBiz: easy customization since  
the only way to get a really good UI is to do so based on very  
specific requirements... and those requirements tend to change  
dramatically between organizations, in many cases even organizations  
in the same industry.

The OOTB user interfaces are primarily meant for easy reuse in custom  
user interfaces, so they mostly avoid automating any specific process  
and are instead meant to fit into any process desired. However, using  
the OOTB interfaces is pretty common and is usually best done by  
documenting where and how to do common tasks according to the  
processes of the organization. In other words, instead of creating a  
custom UI when you are on a tighter budget you can simply document how  
to use the OOTB interfaces, and while not usually excellent this way  
it is quite adequate for smaller organizations and gives them more  
functionality and ability to automate things than they would have in  
most software, allowing them to avoid large numbers of spreadsheets  
and such. Overall this results in tools to keep track and automate  
organizational information that are far more efficient and usable that  
a hodge-podge of various systems.

> - Personalization potential

Personalization is an extremely general term, broadly meaning behavior  
or data that changes according to the user. There are hundreds of  
features in OFBiz ecommerce and the OFBiz back-end (manager) apps that  
would fit this description.

Please feel free to send over more details and I (or others) will be  
happy to comment on them.

> - Multidevice sites available?

It is pretty easy to build sites targeted at different devices, and  
there are some available OOTB. If by "device" you mean a specific UI  
then the hhfacility component is a good example. If by "device" you  
mean specific hardware control (like cash drawers and CC scanners),  
then the pos component (point-of-sale) has some good stuff.

> - Accessibility considered?

In ecommerce the templates are often changed so much that  
accessibility ends up more in the hands of the designers and  
developers who customize the system (so make sure you have a good  
service provider!). The OOTB ecommerce templates do a pretty good job  
of this by using styled text instead of images, alt-text on images,  
and so on.

For the OOTB back-end functionality, accessibility is considered, and  
to be maintained it must be considered in customizations. These are  
primarily web-based applications and to improve accessibility are very  
text-heavy, etc.

> Thank you for your help in advance.

No problem, best wishes in finding a solution that meets your needs.

-David

Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Features information

Jacques Le Roux
Administrator
Hi David,

I'd see this detailled explanation in a wiki main ENDUSER page like "Some questions and answers about OFBiz to help you make your
choice"

Jacques

From: "David E Jones" <[hidden email]>

> On Mar 31, 2009, at 2:05 AM, [hidden email] wrote:
>
>> Hi colleagues,
>>
>> I am writing to the list to request information concerning OFBiz. I am
>> doing a eCommerce Software comparative between the main commercial and
>> open source products.
>>
>> I have achieved to find information about client segmentation (use of
>> groups), campaign managment (through Marketing Manager and  promotions),
>> stocks management (Facility Manager), product catalog (Product  Manager),
>> order management (using Order Manager application), content management
>> (through Content Manager)...
>>
>> However, there are other features I have not been able to document. I
>> would be very grateful if you could send me details about the  following
>> features:
>>
>> - Reports & analytics capabilities
>
> OFBiz currently has a few dozens pre-written reports OOTB, and more  can be added using the OFBiz tools, or an external reporting
> tool  (which is still very common, ie companies that use something like  Crystal Reports or Business Objects will use that with
> their OFBiz  applications). OFBiz has tools in the framework to facilitate building  of user interfaces, and these same tools are
> used for building  reports. This provides a high level of efficiency, and allows  developers to use the same tools they are used
> to... and in some cases  scripts and other things can even be reused in reports.
>
> OFBiz also includes some BI infrastructure to support defining and  populating star schemas, which can then be used for ad-hoc or
> pre- written reports. A limited star schema exists, and work is going on to  extend it.
>
>> - Integration and Interoperability (SOA Architecture, Web Services  offered)
>
> The OFBiz logic layer is itself a Service-Oriented tool, and all  primary logic in OFBiz is implemented as services. Many of these
> services can be exposed externally as web services automatically, and  the more complex ones can be exposed as web services (or
> call web  services) through web services code that maps to them.
>
>> - Usability (for final customers, and administrators)
>
> Usability is very subjective, but I'll try to answer in a helpful way.
>
> OFBiz is often customized for larger organizations, and in those cases  the best usability is achieved by analyzing processes and
> then  building user interfaces to directly support those processes. This  results in something specific to end-user requirements
> and is far  better than any OOTB user interface that even the best designers could  create without specific requirements.
>
> That is the main design goal behind OFBiz: easy customization since  the only way to get a really good UI is to do so based on
> very  specific requirements... and those requirements tend to change  dramatically between organizations, in many cases even
> organizations  in the same industry.
>
> The OOTB user interfaces are primarily meant for easy reuse in custom  user interfaces, so they mostly avoid automating any
> specific process  and are instead meant to fit into any process desired. However, using  the OOTB interfaces is pretty common and
> is usually best done by  documenting where and how to do common tasks according to the  processes of the organization. In other
> words, instead of creating a  custom UI when you are on a tighter budget you can simply document how  to use the OOTB interfaces,
> and while not usually excellent this way  it is quite adequate for smaller organizations and gives them more  functionality and
> ability to automate things than they would have in  most software, allowing them to avoid large numbers of spreadsheets  and such.
> Overall this results in tools to keep track and automate  organizational information that are far more efficient and usable that
> a hodge-podge of various systems.
>
>> - Personalization potential
>
> Personalization is an extremely general term, broadly meaning behavior  or data that changes according to the user. There are
> hundreds of  features in OFBiz ecommerce and the OFBiz back-end (manager) apps that  would fit this description.
>
> Please feel free to send over more details and I (or others) will be  happy to comment on them.
>
>> - Multidevice sites available?
>
> It is pretty easy to build sites targeted at different devices, and  there are some available OOTB. If by "device" you mean a
> specific UI  then the hhfacility component is a good example. If by "device" you  mean specific hardware control (like cash
> drawers and CC scanners),  then the pos component (point-of-sale) has some good stuff.
>
>> - Accessibility considered?
>
> In ecommerce the templates are often changed so much that  accessibility ends up more in the hands of the designers and
> developers who customize the system (so make sure you have a good  service provider!). The OOTB ecommerce templates do a pretty
> good job  of this by using styled text instead of images, alt-text on images,  and so on.
>
> For the OOTB back-end functionality, accessibility is considered, and  to be maintained it must be considered in customizations.
> These are  primarily web-based applications and to improve accessibility are very  text-heavy, etc.
>
>> Thank you for your help in advance.
>
> No problem, best wishes in finding a solution that meets your needs.
>
> -David
>


Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Features information

BJ Freeman
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

+1

Jacques Le Roux sent the following on 4/2/2009 12:55 AM:

> Hi David,
>
> I'd see this detailled explanation in a wiki main ENDUSER page like
> "Some questions and answers about OFBiz to help you make your choice"
>
> Jacques
>
> From: "David E Jones" <[hidden email]>
>> On Mar 31, 2009, at 2:05 AM, [hidden email] wrote:
>>
>>> Hi colleagues,
>>>
>>> I am writing to the list to request information concerning OFBiz. I am
>>> doing a eCommerce Software comparative between the main commercial and
>>> open source products.
>>>
>>> I have achieved to find information about client segmentation (use of
>>> groups), campaign managment (through Marketing Manager and  promotions),
>>> stocks management (Facility Manager), product catalog (Product
>>> Manager),
>>> order management (using Order Manager application), content management
>>> (through Content Manager)...
>>>
>>> However, there are other features I have not been able to document. I
>>> would be very grateful if you could send me details about the  following
>>> features:
>>>
>>> - Reports & analytics capabilities
>>
>> OFBiz currently has a few dozens pre-written reports OOTB, and more
>> can be added using the OFBiz tools, or an external reporting tool
>> (which is still very common, ie companies that use something like
>> Crystal Reports or Business Objects will use that with their OFBiz
>> applications). OFBiz has tools in the framework to facilitate
>> building  of user interfaces, and these same tools are used for
>> building  reports. This provides a high level of efficiency, and
>> allows  developers to use the same tools they are used to... and in
>> some cases  scripts and other things can even be reused in reports.
>>
>> OFBiz also includes some BI infrastructure to support defining and
>> populating star schemas, which can then be used for ad-hoc or pre-
>> written reports. A limited star schema exists, and work is going on
>> to  extend it.
>>
>>> - Integration and Interoperability (SOA Architecture, Web Services
>>> offered)
>>
>> The OFBiz logic layer is itself a Service-Oriented tool, and all
>> primary logic in OFBiz is implemented as services. Many of these
>> services can be exposed externally as web services automatically, and
>> the more complex ones can be exposed as web services (or call web
>> services) through web services code that maps to them.
>>
>>> - Usability (for final customers, and administrators)
>>
>> Usability is very subjective, but I'll try to answer in a helpful way.
>>
>> OFBiz is often customized for larger organizations, and in those
>> cases  the best usability is achieved by analyzing processes and then
>> building user interfaces to directly support those processes. This
>> results in something specific to end-user requirements and is far
>> better than any OOTB user interface that even the best designers
>> could  create without specific requirements.
>>
>> That is the main design goal behind OFBiz: easy customization since
>> the only way to get a really good UI is to do so based on very
>> specific requirements... and those requirements tend to change
>> dramatically between organizations, in many cases even organizations
>> in the same industry.
>>
>> The OOTB user interfaces are primarily meant for easy reuse in custom
>> user interfaces, so they mostly avoid automating any specific process
>> and are instead meant to fit into any process desired. However, using
>> the OOTB interfaces is pretty common and is usually best done by
>> documenting where and how to do common tasks according to the
>> processes of the organization. In other words, instead of creating a
>> custom UI when you are on a tighter budget you can simply document
>> how  to use the OOTB interfaces, and while not usually excellent this
>> way  it is quite adequate for smaller organizations and gives them
>> more  functionality and ability to automate things than they would
>> have in  most software, allowing them to avoid large numbers of
>> spreadsheets  and such. Overall this results in tools to keep track
>> and automate  organizational information that are far more efficient
>> and usable that a hodge-podge of various systems.
>>
>>> - Personalization potential
>>
>> Personalization is an extremely general term, broadly meaning
>> behavior  or data that changes according to the user. There are
>> hundreds of  features in OFBiz ecommerce and the OFBiz back-end
>> (manager) apps that  would fit this description.
>>
>> Please feel free to send over more details and I (or others) will be
>> happy to comment on them.
>>
>>> - Multidevice sites available?
>>
>> It is pretty easy to build sites targeted at different devices, and
>> there are some available OOTB. If by "device" you mean a specific UI
>> then the hhfacility component is a good example. If by "device" you
>> mean specific hardware control (like cash drawers and CC scanners),
>> then the pos component (point-of-sale) has some good stuff.
>>
>>> - Accessibility considered?
>>
>> In ecommerce the templates are often changed so much that
>> accessibility ends up more in the hands of the designers and
>> developers who customize the system (so make sure you have a good
>> service provider!). The OOTB ecommerce templates do a pretty good job
>> of this by using styled text instead of images, alt-text on images,
>> and so on.
>>
>> For the OOTB back-end functionality, accessibility is considered, and
>> to be maintained it must be considered in customizations. These are
>> primarily web-based applications and to improve accessibility are
>> very  text-heavy, etc.
>>
>>> Thank you for your help in advance.
>>
>> No problem, best wishes in finding a solution that meets your needs.
>>
>> -David
>>
>
>
>
>
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (MingW32)
Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org

iD8DBQFJ1KFGrP3NbaWWqE4RAtZGAJ9VUTvoyTijWYJxKYKkzK7R1U2l6gCfQ6Lb
QSYpKGpwgcfWmvzmmw9Huo8=
=MeKG
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Features information

Jacques Le Roux
Administrator
In reply to this post by Jacques Le Roux
Done at http://docs.ofbiz.org/x/hgM#IsOFBizforMe-SomequestionsandanwserscollectedonuserML
I have also added links from Table of Contents, and removed the line
Written By: David E. Jones, [mailto:[hidden email]]
Please feel free to re-add if you think it should stay

Jacques

From: "Jacques Le Roux" <[hidden email]>

> Hi David,
>
> I'd see this detailled explanation in a wiki main ENDUSER page like "Some questions and answers about OFBiz to help you make your
> choice"
>
> Jacques
>
> From: "David E Jones" <[hidden email]>
>> On Mar 31, 2009, at 2:05 AM, [hidden email] wrote:
>>
>>> Hi colleagues,
>>>
>>> I am writing to the list to request information concerning OFBiz. I am
>>> doing a eCommerce Software comparative between the main commercial and
>>> open source products.
>>>
>>> I have achieved to find information about client segmentation (use of
>>> groups), campaign managment (through Marketing Manager and  promotions),
>>> stocks management (Facility Manager), product catalog (Product  Manager),
>>> order management (using Order Manager application), content management
>>> (through Content Manager)...
>>>
>>> However, there are other features I have not been able to document. I
>>> would be very grateful if you could send me details about the  following
>>> features:
>>>
>>> - Reports & analytics capabilities
>>
>> OFBiz currently has a few dozens pre-written reports OOTB, and more  can be added using the OFBiz tools, or an external reporting
>> tool  (which is still very common, ie companies that use something like  Crystal Reports or Business Objects will use that with
>> their OFBiz  applications). OFBiz has tools in the framework to facilitate building  of user interfaces, and these same tools are
>> used for building  reports. This provides a high level of efficiency, and allows  developers to use the same tools they are used
>> to... and in some cases  scripts and other things can even be reused in reports.
>>
>> OFBiz also includes some BI infrastructure to support defining and  populating star schemas, which can then be used for ad-hoc or
>> pre- written reports. A limited star schema exists, and work is going on to  extend it.
>>
>>> - Integration and Interoperability (SOA Architecture, Web Services  offered)
>>
>> The OFBiz logic layer is itself a Service-Oriented tool, and all  primary logic in OFBiz is implemented as services. Many of
>> these services can be exposed externally as web services automatically, and  the more complex ones can be exposed as web services
>> (or call web  services) through web services code that maps to them.
>>
>>> - Usability (for final customers, and administrators)
>>
>> Usability is very subjective, but I'll try to answer in a helpful way.
>>
>> OFBiz is often customized for larger organizations, and in those cases  the best usability is achieved by analyzing processes and
>> then  building user interfaces to directly support those processes. This  results in something specific to end-user requirements
>> and is far  better than any OOTB user interface that even the best designers could  create without specific requirements.
>>
>> That is the main design goal behind OFBiz: easy customization since  the only way to get a really good UI is to do so based on
>> very  specific requirements... and those requirements tend to change  dramatically between organizations, in many cases even
>> organizations  in the same industry.
>>
>> The OOTB user interfaces are primarily meant for easy reuse in custom  user interfaces, so they mostly avoid automating any
>> specific process  and are instead meant to fit into any process desired. However, using  the OOTB interfaces is pretty common and
>> is usually best done by  documenting where and how to do common tasks according to the  processes of the organization. In other
>> words, instead of creating a  custom UI when you are on a tighter budget you can simply document how  to use the OOTB interfaces,
>> and while not usually excellent this way  it is quite adequate for smaller organizations and gives them more  functionality and
>> ability to automate things than they would have in  most software, allowing them to avoid large numbers of spreadsheets  and
>> such. Overall this results in tools to keep track and automate  organizational information that are far more efficient and usable
>> that a hodge-podge of various systems.
>>
>>> - Personalization potential
>>
>> Personalization is an extremely general term, broadly meaning behavior  or data that changes according to the user. There are
>> hundreds of  features in OFBiz ecommerce and the OFBiz back-end (manager) apps that  would fit this description.
>>
>> Please feel free to send over more details and I (or others) will be  happy to comment on them.
>>
>>> - Multidevice sites available?
>>
>> It is pretty easy to build sites targeted at different devices, and  there are some available OOTB. If by "device" you mean a
>> specific UI  then the hhfacility component is a good example. If by "device" you  mean specific hardware control (like cash
>> drawers and CC scanners),  then the pos component (point-of-sale) has some good stuff.
>>
>>> - Accessibility considered?
>>
>> In ecommerce the templates are often changed so much that  accessibility ends up more in the hands of the designers and
>> developers who customize the system (so make sure you have a good  service provider!). The OOTB ecommerce templates do a pretty
>> good job  of this by using styled text instead of images, alt-text on images,  and so on.
>>
>> For the OOTB back-end functionality, accessibility is considered, and  to be maintained it must be considered in customizations.
>> These are  primarily web-based applications and to improve accessibility are very  text-heavy, etc.
>>
>>> Thank you for your help in advance.
>>
>> No problem, best wishes in finding a solution that meets your needs.
>>
>> -David
>>
>
>