Reading, Watching and Listening

Are You In A Bad Relationship? Get some R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Karen Lopez - karen@Infoadvisors.com — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:36:00 GMT

by Rob Drysdale, InfoAdvisors

I've been seeing a lot of articles and blog posts about the relationship between the business and IT. Last year while attending Enterprise Data World it was interesting how many people were talking about how dysfunctional their relationships are with the business. So it got me to thinking that we should put more of an emphasis on it and talk about it. So I'm speaking about it at EDW 2010 in my session on Sunday, March 14th. I've called it "Getting What You Deserve: 7 Steps to Gain Respect in Your Organization". But I've noticed that there are other topics and discussions around this and I think that's great because it's so important. In particular, I noticed that Graeme Simsion will be talking about "What The Business Wants" during a keynote session.

We all need to think about the relationships we have at work and what are we doing about them to make them better. I think too much energy and effort is wasted because both sides aren't working in harmony. This is just a quick post to put the topic out there, but I'll be doing a couple of blog posts in the next few days about where I think some of the problems are and what we can be doing about it.

We're looking forward to seeing everyone at EDW 2010 next week in San Francisco.

NoSQL overview for all us "SQL" folks

Karen Lopez - karen@Infoadvisors.com — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:30:00 GMT

Brian Aker of MySQL fame gave a 10 minute lighting talk about about the NoSQL movement at the Nov 2009 OpenSQLCamp in Portland, OR.

If you have not heard the term NoSQL, you might want to peruse these articles first to catch up on the lingo:

NoSQL on Wikipedia

MapReduce on Wikipedia

ACID on Wikipedia

And just so that you know, NoSQL isn’t really about SQL, but about non-relational databases.

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Brian Aker on NoSQL

If you’d like to see the slides better, they are available here:

No SQL Talk

View more presentations from brianaker.

As I hear more about NoSQL, I know that there are some great thoughts there, for certain types of data storage needs. So I’m not anti-NoSQL (I believe that’s a double negative). I’m hoping to chat about NoSQL ideas at Enterprise Data World next week.

Technorati Tags: NoSQL,SQL,MySQL,#EDW10

Advanced Data Modeling course is now available online

Karen Lopez - karen@Infoadvisors.com — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 03:29:23 GMT

I received this notification recently from my friend Gord Everest. It’s a bit late in posting (the first class was last week), but it’s good to know that advanced courses are making their way online.

Finally, the premier course in database design at the University of Minnesota is available online to the IT/IS professional community.

If you are a practicing (or aspiring) data architect/modeling professional, you owe it to yourself to check into this educational opportunity. Both new students and experienced working professionals have found this course to be very worthwhile. It can be a real boost to your career. Students report back that they soon became a recognized expert to whom other data modelers would come for help. They are able to recognize poorly designed databases, and to develop good conceptual data models (a stage before ER/Relational modeling). The course also covers how to conduct database design project meetings, and present data models to business users so they can understand them.

The course consists of 15 weekly lectures of 2 credit hours each, along with practical design exercises/assignments and quizzes. It is actually recorded in conjunction with a face-to-face class. Unlike more traditional online courses or webinars, here the online delivery results in a more effective and engaging learning experience. Being able to view the lectures anywhere online at work or at home gives you considerable flexibility in arranging your schedule each week.

Taught by Dr. Gordon Everest, this course has been well received by students and data management professionals alike. Student ratings are consistently high. The concepts and techniques are difficult to learn by reading a book alone. The class first solidifies your understanding of the traditional ER/Relational database design approach. Then you learn a much better way to do data modeling using Object Role Modeling (ORM).

The course begins 2010 January 21 and runs for 15 weeks in lock step with the live course. For further information go to: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~geverest/DModCourse.html

There you will find details of costs, how to register; course conduct, content, and schedule; the instructor bio; readings list; and information about the approach to online delivery. For any questions, send an email to: geverest@umn.edu .

FOR DAMA:

If you are planning to be at the DAMA Enterprise Data World conference March 14-18, you will have an opportunity to hear Dr. Everest conduct a workshop entitled “Normalization: the Achilles heel of Data Modeling.”

--
-- Gordon Everest - Visit my new website:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~geverest
----------------------------------------------------------
Gordon C. Everest, Professor Emeritus and Adjunct
Database- Design, Administration, and Management
University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management

Technorati Tags: Advanced Data Modeling,Course,Distance Learning

I So Hope I Don’t Sound Like this: Turbo Encabulor

Karen Lopez - karen@Infoadvisors.com — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:50:00 GMT

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I work really hard when I present to business users to avoid the normal IT bafflegab / dujamakicey lingo, but I know that we struggle with this.

When I present at groups like DAMA (dama.org) , I sometimes get feedback that I’ve used a term, such as ERD or LDM that might not be clearly understood by everyone in the crowd. This is a tough call, as I want to make some assumptions about the audience at DAMA meetings so as to balance time allotted against the desire to deliver content that is useful for data architects. It’s very painful to have a presenter speak at a DAMA or IRMAC meeting and have him spend half the time explaining what a database is and what a data model is.

So while I do encourage attendees to ask if I use a term or concept that is unfamiliar to them, most won’t ask.

Remember to watch your turbo encabulators when collaborating with others. We are all guilty of this.

Thanks to @ldbjorh for the link to this video.

Technorati Tags: Video,turbo encabulator,jargon,TLA,business users

More on Business Requirements from Mr. Blandings

Karen Lopez - karen@Infoadvisors.com — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:40:00 GMT

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Another video clip from Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House.

I’ve worked with people who spend time with business users and can only hear “Red, Green Blue, Yellow, White. Check” after business rules have been explained many times. It’s no wonder business people think that we don’t listen.

Models are such a great resource for the business because we can show them that we heard what they said. Or that we didn’t. At least that issue comes up much earlier.

Technorati Tags: Mr. Blandings,requirements,enterprise architecture,data model

My Favourite Requirements Elicitation Scene from 1948 Mr. Blandings film

Karen Lopez - karen@Infoadvisors.com — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:34:15 GMT

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As I posted previously, I think that Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House is the perfect classic film for enterprise, data, and process architects. In this scene, Myrna Loy and Cary Grant work with an architect in reviewing his models for a new home in the country.

Of course, they don’t have a lot of money to spend on their new digs, but they sure have lots of requirements. It appears that most of the film is available for viewing on YouTube, but I still highly recommend you add a copy to your personal library. It’s that good.

Technorati Tags: Mr. Blandings,film,requirements,data modeling,enterprise architecture

A Particularly Snarky Interview with Joe Celko

Karen Lopez - karen@Infoadvisors.com — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:52:29 GMT

Over on Simple-Talk, Richard Morris interviews Joe Celko, famed author and speaker on database design issues. In this Geek of the Week interview, Mr. Celko goes all out snarky (and I use that word as a compliment, by the way) on topics of careers, Microsoft, data modeling and Zen practices.

Some interesting responses:

I might have tried to weather the slump in the Porno industry until it went digital. In the mid 1990's, I should have set up a dot-com scam and retired early. I

I am proud of my series of SQL books and that is on top of the list. It is nice to get fan mail for decades from people you don't know thanking you because you gave them a solution to a problem. And considering how bad my retirement plan is, the Royalties are also very nice.

But looking back over all the decades, the two projects I am most happy about are the State Crime Lab database (pre-SQL, under budget, ahead of schedule) and the State Prison System data analysis. I have commercial clients where I made a difference, but those two projects showed immediate results and saved human life.”

and

“I would say they are:

Data modelling skills since a bad model cannot be saved by the front end or clever DDL and DML code.

Knowledge of Appropriate Standards. Inventing your own data encodings and procedures is like inventing your own spoken language. You will never communicate with anyone else.

Flexibility and constant education, not being wed to one solution or company. IT is a trade where everything you know is wrong in a few years. And every few years you have a new problem that does not match the old tools. “

I’ll leave it to you to go find what questions led to those responses.

Technorati Tags: data modeling,DBA,Zen,SQL,Joe Celko

Anith Sen: Five Simple Database Design Errors You Should Avoid

Karen Lopez - karen@Infoadvisors.com — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:11:00 GMT

Anith Sen, A SQL and database design guy based in Tennessee, has a well-written blog entry over on Simple-Talk about database design errors.

What I liked about Sen’s post is that he has taken great care to show data and table structures that appear to have some real world complexities to them while still being simple examples. I don’t know many bloggers who do this. Most examples seem to be slathered with “PersonName”, “ZIPCodes” and “tbl_EntityName” data modeling errors that distract me from the points being made. He includes data, table structures, and SQL. Kudos.

The 5 errors discussed are:

Common Lookup Tables
Check Constraint Conundrum
Entity Attribute Value Table
Application Encroachment on DB Design
Misusing Data Values as Data Elements

Personally, I don’t agree that all of his examples are errors, per se, but I do agree that they are anti-patterns for most uses. My usually mantra of “all design decisions come down to cost, benefit, and risk” should apply. If we take, for instance, his example of statuses in a common code table, he seems to imply that all generalizations of status are inappropriate. I do agree with his reasoning as to why the pattern is costly, but I don’t see any reason why all statuses need to be in separate tables. I don’t believe all codes should be in one big table, either. Hence, my invocation of cost, benefit, and risk still applies.

A great article, though. Well worth your time to read and absorb.

Technorati Tags: database design,data modeling,antipatterns,errors,entity attribute value,lookup table,check constraint

Good, Non-technical Intro to Semantic Web

Karen Lopez - karen@Infoadvisors.com — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:36:00 GMT

Manu Sporny, Founder/CEO of Digital Bazaar, Inc, has posted a great YouTube video that explains the promise of the Semantic Web.

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This is one of the best non-technical introductions I’ve seen, plus I love the examples used. I believe that we “traditional” data professionals can make important contributions to the semantic web by lending our experiences, knowledge, and skills in the area of defining “THINGS” as the video call the concepts of data. For the most part, the examples I’ve seen used in semantic web and ontology presentations make the same mistakes that people were making when data modeling and data design were first being done. We should be learning about these new technologies now to better support the efforts when projects start at our companies.

Technorati Tags: Semantic Web,Ontologies,Data Modeling,Data Architects,Video

Enterprise Data World Highlights Webcast

Karen Lopez - karen@Infoadvisors.com — Fri, 22 May 2009 17:10:03 GMT

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

Technorati Tags: EDW09,Enterprise Data World,Wilshire Conferences,DAMA,webcast

Data.gov is Live: Access US Federal Data

Karen Lopez - karen@Infoadvisors.com — Thu, 21 May 2009 22:13:55 GMT

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

Technorati Tags: data.gov,USA,Federal Data,Metadata,Information,transparency,government

Better Data Quality From Your Web Form

Karen Lopez - karen@Infoadvisors.com — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:11:08 GMT

Graham Rhind, a noted expert on international data, has written an ebook on designing and implementing better web forms for better data quality.

This 76-page ebook is free for download and use, something I greatly appreciate. The fact that he has taken the time to document his experiences and recommendations, then provided this advice to the community reflects highly on his professionalism and desire to stamp out bad design.

I've blogged before ( Belief versus Truth, Real world vs. "Business" Rules) about my frustrations in trying to do business with organizations who insist upon data rules that make no sense. Graham has, in this ebook, done a wonderful job describing the problems faced with poor web form design. However, I believe his work can be easily applied to other design decisions such as database design, UI design and even paper form design.

Contents list:

Author's note, acknowledgements and disclaimer

About the author

A state of denial and beyond frustration

The solution

Data quality and your form

Knowledge

Data storage

Personal names

Mailing address or street address?

Dynamic data collection forms

Data validation

Rapid addressing

Multilingual or unilingual? Languages

Clarity

Element layout and tab order

Required fields

Drop downs and other multiple-choice form elements

Move the onus of formatting from your customer to your form: avoid overtaxing your customers

Feedback - holding a dialogue with your customer

Check your spelling!

Test the form!

An example

The dynamic world - maintenance

Dos and don'ts in your web form - a checklist

Do

Don't

It is possible that many of the forms and data collection devices were forced down the path of bad design due to a poor or incorrect data model. I've reviewed plenty of models that require ZIPCodes with only digits, name fields that are only 25 characters long, or honorifics/titles that allow only Mr. or Mrs. as their valid choices.

I've also seen beautifully correct data models that are widely ignored by developers who produced odd, misleading, and dangerously incorrect form fields anyway. This is yet another example of why professional data management requires that resulting as-built artifacts be reviewed for compliance to the original design. All other professions have this requirement, yet somehow the data management profession seems to always skip this critical step.

I highly recommend that you immediately download Graham's book, then start reviewing your models and modeling standards to ensure you aren't making the same mistakes he demonstrates. I know I'm doing that today.

Go get it. Leave your comments here at InfoAdvisors.com about any additional items you've seen in bad data model or form design.

Practical International Data Management by Graham Rhind

Technorati Tags: data quality,ebook,Graham Rhind,web form,design

Vintage Video High Tech India - 1989

Karen Lopez - karen@Infoadvisors.com — Thu, 07 May 2009 11:13:59 GMT

This Internet Chronicles vintage video hosted at the Internet Archive covers software development in India, including a focus offshore development.

Of course, the video has numerous shots of the stereotypical divide between hi-tech and more traditional Indian life.

According to the video, the earliest technical companies to establish operations in India:

Texas Instruments
Digital Equipment
Bull Computer/Honeywell

Overall, not a list of companies with endurance.

Of interest, part of the video focuses on IBM's pulling out of India after initially establishing operations there. Part of the reason for this was blamed on the fact that Unix was the most important focus of India's tech industry.

The video also mentions something that I've blogged about before: that 70% of the Indian staff are engineers - traditional engineers, not software engineers. I continue to struggle with teams who are weak on systems analysis and software development methods for this reason, although I'm sure that the percentage of those with only a traditional engineering education is lower 20 years later.

I had to chuckle at the comment that one of the problems with working with staff in India is unreliable phone communications. I still experience that problem on offshore projects (although I suspect that it's my team members choosing not to talk to me about certain topics...).

From the news:

HP Deskjet printer for $1195
National Education Association calls for a computer for each teacher by 1991.
Researchers at Purdue have developed a program that teaches students about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

Internet Archive: Free Download: High Tech India - Part One

Part Two

Technorati Tags: India,Offshoring,Software Development

Use a Spreadsheet for a Database: circa 1986

Karen Lopez - karen@Infoadvisors.com — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:48:38 GMT

In another vintage Computer Chronicles video from the Internet Archive, see how to use a spreadsheet as a database via macros.

It appears that using a tool substitute instead of the proper tool started from the beginning of the PC days.

What I found most interesting was the initial discussion on why one should use macros. I've found resistance to creating or tweaking macros that come with modern modeling tools. I use macros regularly because they save me time and allow me to accomplish in a few minutes something that would take hours or days to complete.

As with the previous vintage videos I've posted, the news stories at the end of this video are interesting, too.

Wall Street news about software companies
Networking of up to 10,000 computers
Career advice (get a PhD in Computer Science and earn up to $100k

Internet Archive: Details: Guide to Macros

Technorati Tags: Vintage,video,Macros,dBaseIII,Lotus 123,Symphony

Reading, Watching and Listening

Are You In A Bad Relationship? Get some R-E-S-P-E-C-T

NoSQL overview for all us "SQL" folks

Advanced Data Modeling course is now available online

I So Hope I Don’t Sound Like this: Turbo Encabulor

More on Business Requirements from Mr. Blandings

My Favourite Requirements Elicitation Scene from 1948 Mr. Blandings film

A Particularly Snarky Interview with Joe Celko

Anith Sen: Five Simple Database Design Errors You Should Avoid

Good, Non-technical Intro to Semantic Web

Enterprise Data World Highlights Webcast

Data.gov is Live: Access US Federal Data

About

Participatory Democracy

Goal

Better Data Quality From Your Web Form

Vintage Video High Tech India - 1989

More Vintage Database Video: Business Applications Part 4

Use a Spreadsheet for a Database: circa 1986