DAMA INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM & WILSHIRE META-DATA CONFERENCE
May 2-6, 2004 – Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles, CA USA

WORKSHOPS

Are you new to Data Modeling? Would you like to review the basics? Then this is the Workshop for you!

‘Data Modeling Basics’ combines lecture, illustration and interactive discussion to provide the novice (or rusty beginner) with all the details necessary to understand the elements of a data model. In addition, the model’s accompanying documentation will be discussed, as well as ‘Best Practices’ for building, reviewing and delivering the logical data model ‘package’ to management and/or the physical team. Participants will gain an understanding of the models and the modeling process, allowing them to participate with confidence.

• A few words about gathering knowledge – Interviews & Group Facilitated Sessions
• Introduction to the IDEF & IE Methods
• The Model Objects – Entities, Attributes & Relationships
• Keys – Who am I?
• Cardinality – The (sometimes challenging) parent/child relationship
• Recursion, Generalization Hierarchies, Referential Integrity & Normalization (Big words for simple concepts)
• And let’s not forget Standards & Procedures!

W2
Abstraction: the Data Modeler’s Crystal Ball
Steve Hoberman
Global Reference Data Expert
MasterFoods USA

The data modeler is responsible for not only correctly representing the current requirements of an application, but also for predicting the future and anticipating where additional design flexibility might be needed to accommodate yet unknown requirements. Abstraction is a good design tactic to accommodate this need for flexibility. Abstraction is a method to bring flexibility to your logical and physical data models by redefining and combining some of the data elements, entities, and relationships within the model into more generic terms. This workshop explains the concept of abstraction and presents techniques for when and how to abstract. It will cover a number of actual examples, both successes and failures.

• An explanation of abstraction
• The Abstraction Safety Guide
• The good and bad of abstracting
• Abstraction and subtyping
• Capturing business rules and definitions through Meta Data Entities
• Exploring actual implementations of abstraction
• Reducing design time through reusable abstraction components
• Universal data models - friend or foe?
• Several short (but fun!) workshops applying abstraction

This is a very exciting topic that is relevant to anyone involved in the design process, including data warehouse, operational, and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) realms.

W3
Enterprise Architecture Principles and Values -
Straight from the Source!
John Zachman
President
Zachman International

For those who understood the value proposition, Enterprise Architecture has always been important. Yet it is only relatively recently that the concepts and benefits of Enterprise Architecture have started to be embraced by a significant number of organizations at a senior level. Perhaps, like the Internet - which existed for almost 25 years before it finally captured widespread attention - the time for Enterprise Architecture has finally arrived!

Given this resurgent interest, who better to explain the principles behind Enterprise Architecture than the man himself, John Zachman, the originator of the "Framework for Information Systems Architecture" During this workshop John will explain how and why Enterprise Architecture provides value, and the four reasons why you "do" Architecture including alignment, integration, change management and reduced time to market. Without Architecture, there is NO WAY you can do any of these things. This presentation begins with a brief definition of what Enterprise Architecture is, and then develops the logic as to its value to the Information Age Enterprise.

W4
Process Orientation for Data Management Professionals:
Proven Techniques for Achieving Support and Relevance
Alec Sharp
Consultant
Clariteq Systems Consulting Ltd.

In the years since the tech meltdown, there has been a huge surge of interest in everything to do with "Business Process." Unlike the near-hysteria of the BPR craze in the early 1990s, the current interest is much more reasoned and pragmatic. It's driven by disappointment with investments in new IT platforms, ERP, e-business, and the "webifying" of everything. Now, there is a general feeling that by refocusing on business processes, we can achieve the benefits promised by the silver bullets of recent years. To maintain relevance, Data Management professionals must have an understanding of what constitutes "business process orientation." This presentation will cover proven techniques for introducing a process-oriented focus, and dealing with the associated issues. The central methods and techniques will be described, and the presentation will also highlight:

• How "re-engineering" become a respectable term again
• Proven presentation techniques for getting management attention
• How to discover true business processes and clarify their scope
• Why "make it visible" and "make it blame-free" are such important ideas
• Why effective process modeling is completely different than effective data modeling
• Examples of process-focused projects that supported data management goals with key learnings

W5
A Data Stewardship "How-To" Workshop:
De facto, Discipline & Database
Robert Seiner
President & Principal/Publisher
KIK Consulting & Educ Services/TDAN.com

Responsible organizations recognize that maximizing the value of corporate data, and complying with government mandates and the Corporate Responsibility Act of 2002, will involve the implementation of data stewardship and data governance programs that control how data is generated, manipulated, recorded and reported. These new sets of rules and regulations require formalized accountability for data management and data integration across the enterprise. The business and technical value of data stewardship is viewed as insurance, driven by financial reporting, data integration requirements, accounting needs and the audit-ability of data and data focused processes.

This half-day workshop focuses on teaching the attendee “How To” develop a pragmatic and practical solution to implement a data stewardship program in their organization. Students of this workshop will learn about the proven components of an effective Data Stewardship program and how to immediately customize a strategy that will deliver results with minimal investment. Attendees will learn …

• How to Frame and Sell Data Stewardship in the Corporate Context
• How to Define Objectives, Goals, Measures and Metrics for Their Stewardship Program
• How to Formalize Accountability / Roles for Data through the “De Facto” Approach
• How to Identify, Implement, Enforce the “Discipline” to Sustain a Successful Program
• How to Build & Implement a Stewardship Repository (“Database”)

W6
Fundamentals of Data Quality Analysis
Michael Scofield
Assistant Professor
Loma Linda University

As large, complex, and mature organizations evolve due to internal and external pressures, they modify their data architectures. New fields are needed, and existing fields in current applications and databases can be tempting to use for other purposes (or multiple purposes simultaneously). Moreover, business processes may not be optimally designed to capture accurate data. We address the challenge of data quality in aging, production databases and data resources. We will also discuss how to present your findings to those in the organization who can improve the quality of your data. Students will learn:

• How data architecture is an important aspect to understanding the meaning of data
• The steps for doing data asset inventory and gathering dynamic meta-data
• Simple techniques for profiling data behavior, and discovering data quality problems.
• Finding anomalies in production data, and how to interpret the results
• Instituting surveillance techniques for detecting data anomalies in the future

W7
New Trends in Metadata:
Metadata is not Just Repositories Anymore
John Friedrich
President
JRFII, Inc.

Metadata, whether models, interface specifications or data transformations, is no longer confined to the Repository. While an Enterprise Metadata Repository, or metadata warehouse, is still an important goal within an organization, it is no longer THE goal. With the recent advances in metadata interchange, integration and real-time metadata interoperability, the parallels with data are clear: organizations need more than just metadata warehouses. This presentation will discuss these trends and their implications, as well as highlight prototype success stories in enterprise metadata integration, business metadata intelligence, and enterprise metadata portals. This session will provide the participant with the following understanding:

• The burgeoning availability of metadata movement capabilities in the market and the standards and agreements that have allowed this development to take place.
• How methodological differences across metadata environments can be bridged
• Metadata interoperability pitfalls and golden opportunities
• Many unforeseen complexities of data lineage portal development

Examples of metadata beyond the repository that will be discussed include:

• A Metadata Hub and Mart providing metadata exchange and configuration management for several development, CASE and data warehousing environments
• A Metadata Portal supporting enterprise data standardization, data lineage queries, and metadata mining/business intelligence
• A metadata-based enterprise architecture environment.

W8
Acquiring, Storing and USING Your Meta Data
Doug Stacey
Team Leader, Metadata Infrastructure Support
Allstate Insurance Company

Effective meta data management is much more than just a matter of identification and collection. The whole point is that people in the organization...users, analysts and developers...actually USE the meta data you're making available to them. In 2003, Doug and his team at Allstate received the Wilshire Best Practices Award for "Outstanding Data Warehouse Meta Data Implementation." This workshop will provide a case study of how they make meta data work at Allstate, including:

• Overview of the meta data environment at Allstate
• You must put meta data to work!
• Capturing meta data
• Storage of meta data
• The repository
• Concept of domains
• Mapping examples and tool
• Meta data viewer: A Demo of Allstate's MetaData Viewer tool
• Meta data in action
• Meta data for the warehouse environment
  • Meta data generation: what files are generated and their contents
  • The process of getting the file into the warehouse environment
  • Query demo using meta data
• Meta data to support run-time applications
  • The Universal Code Translation table
  • Codes deployments
  • The UCT Viewer
• Providing value is the key!
• Return on investment - some thoughts/examples for calculating ROI

W9
Unstructured Data Management
David Raab
Partner
Raab Associates

Businesses are increasingly eager to take advantage of information in unstructured data formats. This session provides a step-by-step process for defining requirements, selecting vendors and preparing to implement unstructured data management solutions. It will discuss common applications for unstructured data, functional requirements for different applications, how today's technologies can and cannot meet those requirements, choosing initial projects, key differences to look for when evaluating packaged software, non-technical considerations that impact vendor selection, and organizing for a successful implementation. Specific topics will include alternate ways to access unstructured data; the central role of taxonomies; strengths and weaknesses of different classification technologies; options in user interfaces; key performance metrics and how to test them; and options for integrating unstructured data with existing corporate systems.

• Basic concepts in unstructured data management
• Selecting applications for unstructured data technology
• Defining requirements implied by specific applications
• Strengths and weaknesses of different unstructured data management techniques
• Matching specific systems with specific requirements
• Running a vendor selection process
• Integration with the corporate data architecture
• Organizational considerations in ensuring a successful deployment

W10
Models, Models Everywhere, Nor any Time to Think
A Fundamental Framework for Evaluating Data Management Technology and Practice
Fabian Pascal
Analyst, Editor & Publisher
Database Debunkings

Even a cursory inspection of current data management practice reveals that the majority of practitioners-–be they novices, or experienced--operate in “cookbook”, product-specific mode, without really knowing and understanding the fundamental concepts and principles underlying their field, e.g. what data means, what is a data model, data independence, etc. This is not entirely their fault: the industry neither provides, nor requires an education—as distinct from training--in data fundamentals, which are ignored, distorted, or incorrectly dismissed in daily practice as “just theory” and, therefore, without practical value.

The consequences are very costly: the IT industry operates like the fashion industry, because practitioners are unable to see through the fads proliferated by marketeers, “experts” and the trade press. The purpose of this seminar is to provide a fundamentally correct way to evaluate data management technologies, products and practices, and to demonstrate its practical value by applying it to XML. Objectives include:

• Provide a general framework for evaluating technologies, products and practices rigorously and systematically for functionality, soundness and ease of use
• Inculcate knowledge and correct understanding, appreciation and use of critical data fundamentals in daily practice
• Instill ability to overcome, work around, and minimize negative consequences of the industry’s mode of operation, and see through fallacies and misconceptions prevalent in the industry
• A fundamental assessment of XML as a data exchange and management technology

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