DAMA + Wilshire Meta-Data Conference - Data Strategy Track
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)
This interactive workshop focuses on a change element usually ignored by classical change management: the often-difficult personal transitions that individuals go through when required to change. We will discuss helpful frameworks and models that information management professionals can use to lead large or small change projects. Drawing from lessons learned at the frontline, the workshop blends best practices from marketing and human psychology. Examples will come from IRM and IQ change projects.

Topics include:
  •  Critical success factors for effective change
  •  Understanding and reducing resistance
  •  The adoption of change
  •  The ingredients of successful change communication.
As every data professional knows, the toughest part of the job is engaging the business: understanding their requirements, winning their support, and meeting their expectations. These are consulting skills – and even if you’re "only" providing services within your own organization, you’re a consultant – like it or not! And many of the techniques that the best external consultants use are equally relevant to you. In this workshop, Graeme will share principles, techniques and tips learned from 20 years of building and managing a successful consultancy.

He’ll show you how to:
  •  Gain a deeper understanding of business needs and priorities
  •  Define high-value projects and gain business buy-in
  •  Negotiate and manage expectations
  •  Deal with problems – and difficult people
  •  Build effective long-term relationships
This is a heavily interactive workshop, with time set aside for discussion of case studies and issues raised by attendees. We should add that external consultants, particularly those working independently, have also found Graeme’s consulting skills workshops valuable!

Do you really know who your customers are? Do you really understand what they perceive as valuable. We with engineering and science backgrounds too often take for granted that what we produce has obvious value. Our customers see us working hard, but may not understand why we labor the way we do. Nor should they! Our leadership should be in a service role, and to provide good service, we need to understand what they value. This session will overview hand-to-hand marketing in the trenches as actually developed in one company. We’ll borrow concepts like segmentation analysis and strategic market planning to show how you can improve the perception of your data management organization. By focusing efforts and concentrating limited, precious resources, you’ll be able to incrementally and continuously upgrade the services you provide.
  •  Taking inventory of customers and services
  •  Segmentation analysis
  •  Getting intimate with your customers
  •  Deciphering market surveys
  •  The strategic pivot point
  •  Ranking possible initiatives
  •  Rolling out your campaign
"Why can't we be friends? - DM shaking hands with Testing and Security" Why can't these data areas get along when working on projects together? This session covers how developing relationships with the testing and security areas can strengthen all three areas. This cooperative versus competitive stance helps get work done, policies and practices implemented,and more importantly, followed.

Sections include:
  •  Moving from foes to friends - Making the first steps.
  •  Understanding viewpoints of each area and key objectives. How to identify common agendas and next steps forward.
  •  Legislation, regulation, substantiation and gaining momentum. How to incorporate the mandates and the "nice to haves" from all three areas into a comprehensive data strategy.
Approaching executive management with a united front and the teeth needed for follow-thru.

Break down the walls surrounding those who work with data by making friends and influencing the people who handle all aspects of data.


Our business users are tired. They shun meetings and decline participation in planning sessions. They’re tired of protracted JAD sessions. This leaves business analysts and data stewards wondering, “How do we engage stakeholders in a fresh way? And how do we make business requirements useful to BI developers?”

Join Fernando, a seasoned business analyst and data architect, to understand the new wave in business requirements gathering. He’ll discuss how to light a fire under end users, and present a process for keeping them engaged. He’ll also present a Table of Contents from a real-life requirements document that served as the springboard for delivery of a successful and highly strategic BI program.

Attendees will learn:
  •  The different types of requirements, and why each is important
  •  Why requirements gathering techniques are changing
  •  How to engage business stakeholders—and keep them engaged
  •  The components of a usable requirements document
  •  Key roles: Who should do what
The Scooter Store was able to do what many organizations have not been able to do: develop a data architecture that enables and uses “Universal Data Models” in which new applications can re-use and share common, integrated data structures. How did they do this and what were their challenges? What type of environment was needed to achieve shared data models at The Scooter Store?

This presentation will share experiences and techniques that The Scooter Store used to facilitate shared information and re-usable models. For example, Ken Bates from The Scooter Store will share how his team developed the architecture to share re-usable models. The presenters will explain the cultural and political factors that were key to this success and discuss specific stories that illustrate the collaborative culture that enabled re-use and data integration.

In this presentation you will learn:
  •  The type of culture that The Scooter Store had that fostered integration
  •  The architecture that was used to share models
  •  The re-usable models can be implemented in a certain type of environment
  •  Various methods and techniques used at The Scooter Store
  •  What worked and what didn't’t work and why

Everything I Needed to Know About Data Management I Learned in Fire School

This presentation draws upon the author's more than thirty years of firefighting experience to create analogies to proper data management techniques. The challenges faced by emergency personnel and those faced by data managers may not seem to have much in common at first. This presentation will discuss how data managers can better deal with issues like strategic planning, resource management, prioritization, real-world limitations and changing tactical situations by studying lessons drawn from the fire service. This demonstrates how to sell data management to executives through the use of metaphor.
  •  What Do These Two Disciplines Have in Common?
  •  Why Do We Need to Know About Old-School versus New-School Techniques?
  •  How Do We Develop a Strategic Plan?
  •  How Do We Develop Support for Our Strategic Plan?
  •  How Do We Adapt the Plan to Available Resources?
  •  How Do We Adapt the Plan to Changing Situations?
The eyes of Business Executive Sponsors glaze over when data management professionals describe our discipline. This demonstrates the use of a metaphor to make a case for a strategic approach to data management. The approach has been very well received.


Many organizations are formalizing the role of the Business Analyst. The IIBA (International Institute of Business Analysis) is a professional organization for Business Analysts. How does the emergence of this role impact data architects and data base administrators? How do Business Analysts work with Data Architects and DBAs? Business Analysts without any technology/data experience must be trained, not only about how to document data requirements, but more importantly, to understand why data requirements are so important. Project teams must be reconfigured to make the best use of this new role. Business Analysts are much more valuable to the team when they have learned how to gather, analyze, organize, and document data requirements. They need standard formats for documenting data and communicating the data needs to the solution developers. Business Analysts have outstanding communication and analytical skills that if properly utilized increase the success of most application development projects.
  • The emerging role of the Business Analyst
  • How the Business Analyst fits with other project team roles
  • Similarities and differences in skills of Business Analysts versus Data Architects
  • Leveraging the skills of the Business Analyst
  • Recommended templates for Business Analysts to document data requirements
Facilitation is a very necessary skill for Information Management professionals, since they are called upon regularly to lead requirements discover sessions, work on projects with different groups of people, and mange the development of common understanding of complex data and processes.

This presentation provides an overview in facilitation techniques needed for conducting workshops and business meetings. It highlights: facilitation concepts, psychological interactions and communication style differences, techniques for a successful facilitator, creating agendas and scripts for facilitating, techniques for handling difficult groups and common interpersonal problems.

The attendee will gain an understanding of the importance of understanding the concepts in group dynamics and how proper facilitation can improve them, the critical success factors of facilitation in the context of information management, offer some suggestions for avoiding common problems, and deliver a successful meeting with appropriate documentation.
  •  Analyzing the goals of non-profit organizations.
  •  Seeking the best practices of related organizations.
  •  Determining the data need to support the goals.
  •  Factoring the data into an operational database or data warehouse.
  •  A case study on leveraging university data.
A key to any data integration effort is understanding the personal, cultural, and political environment and consciously employing proven principles to enable success. The most successful data integration efforts usually share one thing in common: they developed and implemented effective strategies that provided fertile cultural and political ground for success. This seminar will share techniques to help understand key principles and empower participants in meeting objectives and moving toward effective integration. It will provide case histories of successful and unsuccessful efforts, illustrating why some integration programs succeed and others fail. The instructor will share principles and actions that can either help or hinder integration efforts. The instructor will also share various insights, showing pitfalls of where data integration efforts can and have gone off course. There will be interactive exercises where participants can practice handling difficult issues that commonly arise by applying principles leading to effective Integration. Participants of this session will gain:
  •  An understanding of political and cultural factors for which successful data integration teams need to be aware and prepared
  •  Tools and principles to enable data integration such as keys in developing trust, gaining funding, delivering value, facilitating common vision, managing conflict, developing effective integration procedures, building off of other’s work, and gaining buy in.
  •  Real life stories of how culture and politics either killed or fostered effective Integration programs.
  •  Case examples and exercises allowing participants to practice overcoming challenges that Integration professionals often face.
  •  Education and experience in preparing for cultural and political challenges as well as applying powerful techniques for developing more effective environments, in this non threatening, classroom setting.

A number of key innovations in web-based technologies have come to be known collectively as “Web 2.0.” These innovations offer small organizations, consultants, and even individual knowledge workers, new ways to communicate with customers, and improve the performance of their businesses. Through case studies, demonstrations and discussions, this workshop will demonstrate the big ideas and new capacities behind each of these new Web 2.0 technologies, how to be successful with them, and what obstacles to avoid. You’ll learn how to apply the ideas to your own organizational and/or departmental marketing and operational needs.
  •  New forms of online presence
  •  The New New Collaboration
  •  Personal Information Management and the New Desktop
  •  Podcasting for Learning
  •  Implementing Web 2.0

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