March 4, 2007

3:30 PM - 6:45 PM

Level: Introductory/All Levels

Diagrams play a critical role in data management practice: they are used to document information requirements and architectures and communicate these to stakeholders throughout the organization. Despite this, data management professionals typically receive little or no training in how to produce “good” diagrams. As a result, they are forced to rely on their intuition and experience (which is often wrong), and make layout decisions that distorts information or conveys unintended messages. The unfortunate but inevitable consequence of this is that most diagrams used in data management practice communicate very poorly. Although they are intended as a way of communicating with end users and senior management, they more often act as a barrier rather than an aid to communication. This workshop describes a set of principles for producing “good” diagrams, which are defined as diagrams that communicate effectively. These are based on evidence drawn from a wide range of fields, including visual perception, cognitive psychology, graphic design and diagrammatic reasoning. The principles apply to all types of diagrams, from formal diagrams used in application development and enterprise architecture to informal diagrams used in presentations and reports.

What you will learn from this workshop:

• What is meant by a "good"diagram and how this can be measured
• Common errors in diagramming practice and how to avoid them
• The language of graphics: learn the full "vocabulary" of techniques for graphically encoding information and how to use them effectively (laws of graphical composition)
• Graphical information processing: learn how the human mind processes graphical information and how to use this knowledge to develop diagrams that optimize understanding (laws of perception and cognition)
• Principles for producing effective diagrams: practical guidelines for producing diagrams that communicate effectively with all stakeholders, especially those from non-technical backgrounds (i.e. end users, customers and senior management)
  

Daniel Moody is a Visiting Professor in the Department of Information Systems at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. He has a PhD in Information Systems from the University of Melbourne and has held academic positions at universities in the Netherlands, Iceland, Norway, Spain, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Australia. He has held IT management positions in some of Australia’s largest commercial organizations and has conducted consulting assignments in 12 different countries. He is the Australian President of the Data Management Association (DAMA), Australian Representative for the Information Resource Management Association (IRMA) and is listed in Who's Who in Science and Engineering. He has published over 80 papers in the Information Systems field, and has chaired a number of national and international conferences. His research and consulting interests include data modeling, process modeling, data warehousing, decision support systems, information economics, information architecture and health informatics.