While researching how people plan on using the new data at Data.gov, I came across this competition sponsored by Google Sunlight Labs, O’Reilly Media, and TechWeb.

Apps for America 2 is a contest for developers of applications based on the datasets at data.gov.

There are cash awards, with first place winning $10,000 USD.  There’s even a Super Bonus Visualization Prize of $2500 for the best visualization of data.

Criteria

Awards will be judged based on the following criteria:

1. Transparency: Does the app help citizens see things they couldn't see before the app existed?

2. Permanence: Will the app be usable over a long period of time? Does the idea have survivability?

3. Design & Visualization: Does the app look great? Does the app visualize data in a new and interesting way?

Get those apps cranking.  I’d love to see a really great application come from the data community.

Apps for America 2: The Data.gov Challenge

Technorati Tags: Data.gov,contests,Data visualization

Peter Aiken, Jim Harris and I will be discussing the highlights and important data management trends from the recent DAMA / Wilshire Conferences Enterprise Data World held in Tampa in April via a webcast hosted by Wilshire Conferences.

This free webcast is taking place on Wednesday, 27 May at 1 PM Eastern.  Registration is free.

Wilshire Conferences WebEx Enterprise Site

The US Federal CIO Council has developed a website for accessing raw datasets, data extraction, and data mining tools.

About

The purpose of Data.gov is to increase public access to high value, machine readable datasets generated by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government.

As a priority Open Government Initiative for President Obama's administration, Data.gov increases the ability of the public to easily find, download, and use datasets that are generated and held by the Federal Government. Data.gov provides descriptions of the Federal datasets (metadata), information about how to access the datasets, and tools that leverage government datasets. The data catalogs will continue to grow as datasets are added. Federal, Executive Branch data are included in the first version of Data.gov.

Participatory Democracy

Public participation and collaboration will be one of the keys to the success of Data.gov. Data.gov enables the public to participate in government by providing downloadable Federal datasets to build applications, conduct analyses, and perform research. Data.gov will continue to improve based on feedback, comments, and recommendations from the public and therefore we encourage individuals to suggest datasets they'd like to see, rate and comment on current datasets, and suggest ways to improve the site.

Goal

A primary goal of Data.gov is to improve access to Federal data and expand creative use of those data beyond the walls of government by encouraging innovative ideas (e.g., web applications). Data.gov strives to make government more transparent and is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. The openness derived from Data.gov will strengthen our Nation's democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government.

Currently there are catalogs of data in the following areas available:

• Environmentally-relevant data (copper smelters, energy usages, brownfields, soil geochemistries, clean air statuses, weather trends, earthquakes, etc.)
• Demographic data (earnings, ages, etc.)
• National income and accounts (Gross Domestic Products, income levels, etc.)
• Regulatory alerts
• Patent applications and grant information

Datasets are available in XML, CSV/TXT, KML/KMZ and ESRI, and Map formats. For example, the following is a map based on Google Maps of the location of copper smelters:

In addition to datasets, there are several widgets and tools:

• FBI Widget (links to FBI information)
• H1N1 Flu Widget
• Employer Sponsored Insurance data extraction tool
• US Federal Spending by Agency data extraction tool
• Alerts Widgets
• Recall Widgets
• …too many to list.

It appears that the datasets available now are heavy on the earth sciences areas, but according to the FAQ, more datasets will be available.  There’s even a place to request new datasets.  Most surprising, to me, is the fact that the site offers the ability to rate the utility, usefulness, and ease of access for the data.  I wonder how many of us are providing that feature to our users?

The FAQ also gives short definitions of “data” and “metadata”.

I selected the Interactive Access To National Income and Product Accounts Tables and found a great deal of interesting metadata about this dataset, including:

• Agency that provided the data
• Release date
• Date updated
• Time period
• Frequency
• Description
• Keywords
• Unique ID
• Geographic coverage
• Collection Mode
• Data Dictionary
• Information Quality instrument
• Data Quality Certification
• Privacy & Confidentiality
• Technical Documentation

This data was available as a CSV and an XLS file.

I’m thinking there are going to be many new mashups circulated based on these datasets in the future. It appears that many of the datasets were already publicly available, but having a single go-to site for finding data and metadata is the right thing to do. 

Since this site proposed to be the source for government transparency, I’d love to see datasets about IT project costs, benefits, and risks, as well as project statuses.  I’d also like to see government enterprise architectural models provided as additional metadata.

What datasets would you like to see?  What formats do you think should be supported?

Finally, I want to see a Data.gov Widget to alert me (perhaps via Twitter) when new datasets are added or updated.

Data.gov

I’ve heard from John P. Zachman that the first vendor product will be submitted for Zachman Certified status.

Zachman International announces today it’s working relationship with Sybase® to demonstrate PowerDesigner® 15 as a Zachman Certified™ – Enterprise Tool for implementing The Zachman Framework™.

Enterprise Architects have been clamoring for consistency in Enterprise Architecture and for ways to implement The Zachman Framework™ for many years. Sybase® has come up with an answer by seeking Zachman Certification in their flagship modeling and metadata management tool for Enterprise Architecture: PowerDesigner® 15.

With PowerDesigner® 15’s great strength in enterprise information management, it seemed a natural fit to evolve that strength into full-scale business planning using Enterprise Architecture and The Zachman Framework™. They have sought certification of their tool to support the Zachman Enterprise Architecture concept of building primitive models in order to derive business implementation composites. “Having a partner like the Zachman group, allows us to accelerate our move into Enterprise Architecture with the world-recognized authority on the subject.” - David Dichmann, Sr. Product Manager, Design Tools, Sybase®, Inc.

Zachman International has long been educating the community about transforming and integrating the primitive models of The Zachman Framework™ into implementation solutions. Many methodology experts have had a hard time envisioning that The Zachman Framework™ is about creating composite models for implementation from design primitives. Without integration and transformation, which allows the building of composite models, The Zachman Framework™ appears to them as a dis-joint set of classes. Now with PowerDesigner® 15 in the first phase of certification, implementation is attainable from a Tool perspective. “For the first time, we are seeing a vendor willing to step up to the plate and take Enterprise Architecture into the Business Design domain as it was originally intended to be, far beyond Information Systems and Technology.” - John A. Zachman, CEO, Zachman International, Inc.

Phase one of Zachman Certified™ – Enterprise Tool designation is directed at the Scope lists (Row 1) and the Inventory models (What Column) with their corresponding integrations and transformation matrices for analysis. This working relationship has allowed Zachman and Sybase® to assist a number of common customers to integrate PowerDesigner® 15 and The Zachman Framework™ to move their businesses ahead in stressful economic conditions.

Sybase® will demonstrate this proof of concept in the Zachman Modeling Workshops in Stockholm in May and Denver in June.

I believe that it is important that Zachman (John A. Zachman) work towards formal certifications of tools and other solutions since there are some vendor staff who have been claiming endorsements/certifications by John.  Having a formal program will clear up market confusion.

Press Release: Sybase® and The Zachman Framework

I will be speaking at next week’s Embarcadero Webinar on working with Industry Standard Data Models (ISDMs).  It’s free – all you need to do is register.  I’d love it if you would join me.  There will be 15-20 minutes for questions and answers at the end, so I’m hoping you’ll have some great questions.

May 27, 2009

11:00 AM PDT / 2:00 PM EDT

Starting With More Than a Blank Page: Modeling With an Industry Standard Data Model

Have you ever considered using pre-existing pattern models to jump start your data modeling projects? Have you considered purchasing proprietary models? Did you know that there are hundreds of models available to you for free or for minimal cost?

Many industry trade associations publish industry standard data models (ISDMs). These models focus on the core and supporting business functions associated with retailing, health care, criminal justice and other industry sectors. They may be provided free to the public or for just the cost of joining a trade association.

In this presentation, Karen Lopez discusses some of the benefits and gotchas of working with acquired models - industry standard models, patterns, and other universal model concepts. This session includes topics such as:

• The costs, benefits, and risks of working with industry standard data models
• The benefits of using industry standards in your package acquisition projects
• Choosing the right process
• Myths in working with pattern models
• 10 Tips for successfully working with third-party models
• What you should know before committing to project plans and estimates
• Lessons learned
• Resources

Find out what other organizations are doing with industry standard data models -- how vendors and industry organizations are partnering to set standards that your organization will want to leverage for better meet the business needs of your solutions.

About the speaker:

Karen López is a principal consultant at InfoAdvisors, Inc., a Toronto-based consulting firm specializing in project, data and process management. She has 20+ years of experience in project and data management on large, multi-project programs. Karen specializes in the practical application of data management principles.

Karen is also the ListMistress and moderator of the InfoAdvisors Discussion Groups at www.infoadvisors.com.

Webinar: Guest Speaker - Modeling with Industry Standard Data Models