For Domino 8.5.1, 8.5.2 and 8.5.3 I wrote whitepapers detailing the benefits that XPages gives those who are already on Domino and the reasons for upgrading from the previous version. With the release of Domino 9.0, the format previously used didn’t seem so applicable. Many companies on Domino and Domino developers already had at least some awareness and experience of XPages. After all it had been around since 2009.
So when I was approached to update it, I decided to take a different approach.
There is an overview of XPages. This evidences that point releases have ceased to be just bug fixes, increasing the importance of upgrading. The delivery mechanism has also changed, as I discussed in my contribution to Ed Brill’s Opting In. IBM are now leveraging the community more than ever, using community channels to deliver Extension Library and IBM Social Business Toolkit; leveraging community expertise for XPages Extension Library book; and buying into the use of community forums like StackOverflow. The “recommendations and discussion” section that follows then discusses hardware and software, a developer roadmap and information relevant to Domino Administration and XPages. After the summary, there are two appendices. A diagrammatic developer roadmap is designed to help support developers as they build their XPages experience, giving advice on next steps and resources to support their professional development. An administrator checklist is designed to aid Domino Administrators as they support their developers and manage their servers and clients.
The whitepaper can be accessed from the link below.
The XPages Developer Roadmap is also available as a standalone two-page download, intended for long-term use. From a personal experience, it took me a number of years to progress fully from the start to finish (not that I’m finished!). Training and mentoring, both of which Intec provide, can support that progression. But m y recommendation is always to build skills over time and not try to run before you can walk. It’s certainly true that the way I develop XPages applications now is very different to the way I developed them when I began, and that is not just because of the emergence of the Extension Library. But that has not prevented me developing perfectly good XPages applications throughout.
Hopefully both the roadmap and whitepaper will help support developers, administrators and managers as they progress down the road of XPages.
This is excellent! I particularly liked your developer roadmap.