Builder.com writer Brian Schaffner has a great article on 10+ things you should know about service oriented architecture (SOA).  I've read a lot of articles on SOA, but Brian has hit on some important ideas that I don't read in a lot of vendor articles.  For instance he writes that SOA doesn't have to include web services and that jumping to SOA can be difficult.

What got my attention, though, is his item number 7:

#7: SOA requires a keen understanding of business data

Because SOA is focused on business processes, it's important to understand the data that's relevant to those processes. For instance, an ordering process has several key data artifacts, such as the order, the customer, the shipping information, the invoice, the payment, and the receipt. What's even more important is being able to describe these artifacts in a standard way so that each service that participates in the process can understand the data equally.

For organizations with an existing information architecture, this may not be a big issue. However, for large organizations with limited or nonexistent information architecture, this issue can be a show-stopper when it comes to implementation. Because large organizations have such a variety of data, it is usually recommended to take an evolutionary approach to defining the information architecture, as opposed to a big-bang approach. This means that instead of spending four years defining the ultimate data model, it's better to spend a small amount of time during service development to define just the data that's relevant to that service. As each service or process is implemented, the associated information architecture can be evolved to include the necessary data artifacts.

He gets it right - no 4-year projects to define the ultimate data model, and that these models are most valuable when developed incrementally.

Of course, his definition and my definition of "small" are probably different, but I believe he and I are in agreement here.

Embaracdero Technologies, maker of ER/Studio, DT/Studio, Rapid SQL, and DBArtisan has been bought out by a private investment firm, Thoma Cressey Equity Partners.

EMBARCADERO TECHNOLOGIES, INC. TO BE ACQUIRED BY THOMA CRESSEY EQUITY PARTNERS IN A TRANSACTION VALUED AT APPROXIMATELY $234 MILLION

Shareholders to Receive $8.38 per Share in Cash

San Francisco, CA, September 7, 2006 – Embarcadero Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:EMBT), a leading provider of strategic data management solutions, and Thoma Cressey Equity Partners, a leading private equity investment firm, today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Embarcadero will be acquired by an affiliate of Thoma Cressey Equity Partners in a transaction valued at approximately $234 million.

Under the terms of the agreement, Embarcadero Technologies stockholders will receive $8.38 in cash in exchange for each share of stock. This represents a 34% premium to the average closing price over the past thirty trading days and a 29% premium to our closing price yesterday. The board of directors of Embarcadero Technologies has approved the merger agreement and has recommended to Embarcadero Technologies’ stockholders that they vote in favor of the transaction.

[Read More]

Thoma Cressey owns other software companies, most notably JDA Software Group.  This purchase also involves the replacement of CEO Stephan Wong.

My Aunt Peggy is a finalist in a Dell USA contest for designing a back to school notebook skin.  Her design, a picture of a teacher with Yo and E=mc² is one of ten finalists.  If her design wins, she gets 10 Grand!

I invite everyone register for the contest and vote for her design - if you like it.  To register and vote, visit

I'm sure she will appreciate your vote!  You can vote once a day between now and the end of August.

Thanks for your help.  Oh, and when you register, you might just win a free computer, too.  So vote early and often.

Garry Gramm pointed me to this wonderful video of research into interface design.  Jeff Han demonstrates a more intuitive and easier way to interact with a computer. 

I've seen a lot of these types of videos over the years.  Most require a device that costs $50,000 or one that makes you look like you've stepped out of a very geeky Flash Gordon film.

In this video, Han demonstrates an interface that allows users to work with both hands. No Palm graffiti here.  One of the more promising aspects of this interface is that is appears to be very intuitive.  It allows the user to work pretty much as they would in the real world.

The interface does include a virtual keyboard.  I've used similar ones before, but since I'm a fairly fast touch typist, I tend to struggle with virtual ones because there is no feedback.  I wonder if that could be incorporated.

I could really see this device/approach being a wonderful addition to a modeling tool.  Heck, I'd love to see it as part of Enterprise Manager and MS Project.  I wonder, though, just how inexpensive it is given its size.

What do you think?  Would this make your modeling life easier?  Do you think you will find this device on the shelves of your local Best Buy? Would you be able to justify the cost of an additional input device?

Michael Gorman, of Whitemarsh Information Systems, has published a whitepaper on data names and other data modeling and issues:

Managing Data Names, Value Domains, Abbreviations, and Definitions. This paper, along with the other two short papers are critical reads for all those involved in data management. http://wiscorp.com/sp/sp03.pdf

In his paper, he also includes great references to data naming standards.  Check it out.