UN/CEFACT Core Components as the basis for structured business communication by SMEs, employing auto-generated, user adjustable forms

In this paper a methodology is presented to generate webforms for business documents directly from XML schemas. XML Schemas that are based on the UN/CEFACT Naming and Design Rules may be maintained by industry organizations or negotiated bilaterally between trading partners. In details, schemas may differ per business partner and process implementation, and change over time. The usability of screen forms is very much dependent on their lay-out and on features like captions, pre-filled values, interactive integrity checks and element sequence. Business process characteristics, but also company policy and individual user preferences, determine the way features should be implemented. Present form implementations show a huge maintenance burden. It is shown in this paper that the hierarchical structuring of UN/CEFACT Core Components can be used to let users and companies annotate the forms, in such a way that annotations are preserved when the XML Schema changes. Maintenance is reduced and can fully be handled by end users. A prototype has been produced to proof this concept.