Getting the Business into Business Oriented Data Modeling Practical Techniques & Examples

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Getting the Business into Business-Oriented Data Modeling Practical Techniques and Examples

Table of Contents
DataModeling:NotOnlyaTechnicalEndeavor...................................................................................................... 3 BusinessOrientedDataModeling:RestrainingFactors.......................................................................................... 4 TechniquesandA tudesforSuccessfulBusinessOrientedModeling..................................................................5 CaseStudy1DataModelsHelpRegulatoryAgencyLaunchNewProgramandProcesses..................................7 CaseStudy2GlobalTechnologyCompanyImprovesMarke ng&SalesProcesseswithDataModels..............8 CaseStudy3HROrganiza onDeterminesFutureofBusinessSo warethroughDataModeling......................9 Conclusion:CommonSuccessFactors................................................................................................................... 11

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Getting the Business into Business-Oriented Data Modeling Practical Techniques and Examples

Introduction
Data modeling is o en seen as a technical discipline used only by data professionals for database design. In fact, it is o en seen as the same thing as database design. However, with the right perspec ve, techniques, and tools, data models have also proven useful to nontechnical stakeholders. Business leaders and subject ma er experts nd that wellstructured conceptual models provide a new way to see and understand their business and make business policy decisions. Business analysts use data models to discover requirements that would otherwise be missed en rely or not discovered un l much later.Threekeystomakingdatamodelsrelevantforthesebusinessprofessionalsare: Knowinghowtofocusonthebusinessbeforefocusingonbusinessdata; Understanding the dierences between conceptual, logical, and physical models, and how they each serve dierent needsandaudiences; Havingspecictechniquesandsuppor ngtoolsthatareappropriatefornontechnicalstakeholders. Thiswhitepaperillustratesthesepointsandprovidesspecicguidelinesandtechniquesforabusinessorientedapproachto data modeling. Examples demonstrate how business professionals have appreciated and used data models, and how these modelshavehadaposi veeectontheirbusiness.

Data Modeling: Not Only a Technical Endeavor

Datamodelingisnotonlyatechnicalendeavor,anditwasalearningprocessformeinmycareertocometothisrealiza on. Some me around 1980, I built my rst logical data model. It looked a lot like an IMS hierarchical database, which isnt surprising at the me I was an IMS DBA just moving into the Data Administra on func on. My new manager in the Data Administra on group wanted the logical data model for a system Id just worked on, and I assumed that as long as I didnt show all the arcane technical details like keys and pointer op ons, that would be good enough. It wasnt. I just didnt get that a data model could be anything other than the database design. Some thirty years later, thats s ll a widely held and problema cassump onoutsidethedatamanagementcommunity. Eventually, I learned that a logical data model was dierent from a physical database design, and much later than that I learnedthataconceptualmodelwasverydierentfromalogicalmodel.Makingthatini alphysicallogicaldis nc onwasa struggle because methods at the me were s ll very focused on technical design and performance issues. Business oriented approaches to modeling and design were emerging, but werent yet widespread and were o en s ll mired technicalindetail.Iknewtherehadtobeabe erway,butIjustdidntknowwhatitwas. The aha moment came at a data administra on conference in 1983 when a speaker put out the controversial idea that mostofourdatadesignmethodswerenotonlycomplexandlaborintensive,theypreventedtheinvolvementofthepeople with the most knowledge the business people themselves. He claimed that data structures were directly derivable from the experience of the business people and described some methods that I later realized drew on highlevel En ty Rela onship modeling. On the way to that conference I happened to pick up In Search of Excellence1 at an airport bookshop. It crystallized my sense that the methods Id been using were missing the mark they completely went against core principles from that landmark book, especially a bias for ac on, close to the customer, and produc vity through people (direct involvement of all levels.) What I learned at the conference seemed a lot more excellent than what Id beendoing,andIreturnedhomeeagertoexperiment. By then, I was working as a consultant, and my client was a Data Administra on group that was just as eager as I was for change. They encouraged me to put the ideas into ac on, and provided the opportunity. In the end, the techniques were more successful than we imagined possible, but we started small. Ini ally, we helped out at the beginning of projects by facilita ngsessionstoclarifyscope,terminology,andbasicpolicies,rules,andrequirements.Wedidnttalkaboutdataor data modeling", instead focusing on things you care about, what you need to know about those things, terms and deni ons,howthesethingsrelatetooneanother,rulesandpolicies,andsoon.Wetookpainstoavoidhavingitlooklike
1

Peters,ThomasJ.,andWatermanJr.,RobertH.1982.InSearchofExcellence:LessonsfromAmericasBestRunCompanies. NewYork:Harper&Row

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Getting the Business into Business-Oriented Data Modeling Practical Techniques and Examples a technically oriented technique imposed by the IT func on we were just discussing your business. These sessions were very helpful in clarifying scope and requirements, but business par cipants recognized another benet they understood their own business be er than they had before because of seeing it in a new way. They were used to seeing themselves in termsoforganiza onalunits,job tles,procedures,processes,andsoon,butnoonehadseenaviewstrippeddowntothe thingsweneedtoknowabout. Eventually, this success led to enterprisewide, conceptual modeling engagements that spanned mul ple departments and divisions of the company. The term hadnt been coined yet, but this was crossfunc onal work. These modeling eorts were so successful at improving communica on within and across organiza ons that unsolicited requests for more of the samecameinfromthebusiness.Imaginethatbusinessprofessionalsaskingfordatamodeling! The next large organiza on I consulted for embraced data modeling even more enthusias cally, and created enterprise models for areas such as Customer and Product. Again, the themes of be er understanding and be er communica on emerged, as they so o en do when businessoriented modeling is prac ced. But it wasnt just a feelgood exercise. Be er systems and databases were developed as a result of these coherent, overarching models. The company was wellposi oned when data warehousing and business intelligence emerged because they already had an integrated view of their data with consistent naming and clear deni ons. The outcome I received the most sa sfac on from was that someoftheVicePresidentskeptconceptuallevelEn tyRela onshipDiagramsontheirocewalls,andactuallyusedthem to guide discussions and understand policy decisions. Imagine that corporate execu ves with data models on their oce walls. These examples demonstrate that it is indeed possible to have business people fully engaged in developing and using data models, including frontline workers, subject ma er experts, and all levels of management. This not only beneted the enterpriseinwaysthatmightnotbeexpectedfromdatamodeling,suchasimprovedcommunica on,butitalsoledtovery prac calbenetsaswell.Directbusinessinvolvementgreatlyincreasedthequalityandlongevityofthosedatamodels,and therefore the quality and longevity of the systems and databases using them, leading to long term cost benets. Unfortunately, this isnt the case in every organiza on. In the following sec on, well look at factors that interfere with the wideruseofdatamodeling,andatspecictechniquesandguidelinesthathavehelpedatmanyenterprises.

Business-Oriented Data Modeling: Restraining Factors

As weve demonstrated, data modeling can be a powerful technique, and appropriately used, it is also a fundamental technique,becauseitfocusesonthefundamentalthingsofinteresttoanenterprise.Thesethingsaretheen esthat: Theenterpriseneedsinforma onabout Businessprocessesoperateon Applica onsmanipulate Businessrulesreference Recordkeepingsystems(e.g.,databases)recordinforma onabout

When you think about it, it is almost impossible to describe an informa on need, a business process, an essen al piece of func onality(arequirement),orabusinessrulewithoutreferencetoanen tyorsomeothercomponentofadatamodel.In our prac ce, wed never consider doing business process change or applica on requirements work, for instance, without developing at least a conceptual data model. Its staggering, then, that data models arent more widely used to develop a common understanding of things before expressing the informa on needs, processes, requirements, and so on that referencethosethings.Whywouldthisbeso? There is a combina on of factors that interfere with a businessoriented approach to data modeling and its use outside of technicalarenaslikedatabasedesign,butveregularlystandout: 1. Thebeliefthatdatamodelsareonlyusefulfordataproblems,suchasdocumen ngdatarequirementsor designingdatastructures.Thisviewhasdevelopedslowlyovertheyears,ascompanieshavedri edawayfroma

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Getting the Business into Business-Oriented Data Modeling Practical Techniques and Examples businessorienta ontowardtheviewthatdatamodelsarethesamethingasphysicaldatabasedesigns. 2. Thishasbeenexacerbatedbythewidespreaduseofdatamodelingtechniquesthatarereallyclosertophysical databasedesign,appropriatefortechnicalaudiencesbutinappropriateandirrelevantforbusinessaudiences.A commonexampleisthemodelerwhoisuncomfortableiden fyinganewen tywithoutspecifyingitsprimarykey, ordeningarela onshipwithoutknowingwhatforeignkeywilleventuallysupportit. 3. Alackofawarenessthattherearetwoverydierenttypesofdatamodels,eachwithapar cularlevelofdetailand purpose,beforege ngintophysicaldatabasedesign(orphysicaldatamodels,ifyouprefer.)Theseareconceptual andlogicaldatamodels2.Aswell,thereisli leclarityandconsistencywithinthedatamanagementeldonwhata conceptualmodelis,andhowitisdierentthanalogicalmodel.Atmanyorganiza ons,conceptualandlogicaldata modelsaretreatedasbeingmoreorlessthesamething,wheninfacttherearemajor,specicdierences betweenthem. 4. Thelackofexplicitconnec onsbetweendatamodelingandtheothertechniquesabusinessanalystislikelyto employ,suchasbusinessprocessmodelingorusecases.Asnoted,theseconnec onsareinherentlythere,because processes,applica onfunc ons,businessrules,andinforma onneedsareallexpressedintermsofen es, rela onships,anda ributes,butthisconnec onhasnotbeenmadeobviousinmostofthepublished methodologies. 5. Finally,evenifthepreviousissuesareaddressed,datamodelsareo enmaintainedinaspecializedtoolor repositorythatisinaccessibletoawiderbusinessaudience.Itsbeendemonstratedrepeatedlyoverrecentyears thatiftechnologycanbedeployedtomakeinforma onmorereadilyavailable,peoplewilluseit. Thatlistisableakassessment,buttheresgoodnews.First,simple,easilyadoptedtechniquescanmakeallthedierencein making data modeling more businessfriendly and useful. Second, tools are becoming available that can help get data models seen and used by a wider audience. Two examples come to mind. The new CA ERwin Web Portal makes data modelseasilyaccessibleviaafamiliarwebinterfaceandCAERwinsmetadatabridgescanleveragedatamodelinforma on by exchanging it with business process management, business intelligence, or requirements management tools. If you can make informa on easily accessible by either expor ng directly into the tools that business workers are using, or providing informa oninanintui vewebinterfacethatseasytoaccessandunderstand,theyaremorelikelytoseedatamodelsasan assetthatcanhelpthem,ratherthananadministra veburdenthattheymustendure.

Techniques and Attitudes for Successful Business-Oriented Modeling

Wellnowdescribesomefactorsthatcontributetosuccessfulbusinessorientedmodeling,and,evenmoreimportant,the mindsetthatsupportsthem.Yearinandyearout,inorganiza onsofeverytype,vekeyfactorsrepeatedlyemerge.Abrief overviewofeachwillbeprovided,andinthenextsec onwelldemonstratethemwiththreereallifeexamples. 1Mindset:Itsadescrip onofabusiness Acommonlyheldviewisthatadatamodelisadescrip onofdatarequirementsoristhedesignofadatastructureor somethingsimilar.Thatsperfectlycorrect,butonlyforlogicalorphysicaldatamodels,neitherofwhichyoureallywantto showtoabusinessaudience.Conceptualdatamodels(or,simply,conceptualmodels)aretheonesthatareidealfor businessuse,andtheyshouldntbeseenasdatarequirementsoradatadesign.Aconceptualdatamodelissimplya descrip onofabusiness.Onewaytomakethispointistothinkaboutothertypesofmodels.Whatisasimplebusiness processowmodel,suchasaswimlanediagram?Itsadescrip onofabusiness,intermsofwhatitdoes.Whatisanorg chart?Itsadescrip onofabusiness,intermsofhowitsorganized.Andwhatisaconceptualdatamodel?Itsadescrip on ofabusinessintermsofthethings(theconcepts)thatitdealswith.Itsnowherenearlydetailedenoughtoprovidea blueprintfordatabasedesign,ordocumentalldatarequirements,butitscertainlyenoughtoforgeagreementand
2

Infact,thereisathirdtype,thecontextualdatamodel,whichisaveryhighlevelviewusedprimarilyforscopingpurposes;thistypeof modelisbeyondthescopeofthispaper.

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Getting the Business into Business-Oriented Data Modeling Practical Techniques and Examples understandingofkeyconcepts,whetherornotweknowyetwhatthespecicdatarequirementsare.(Later,whenwe concentrateondataweneedaboutthosethings,wearemovingintologicalmodeling.) Toprac cethisdescrip onofabusinessperspec ve,deliverapresenta onofaconceptualmodeltoyourcolleaguesand use only business terminology, not data modeling terminology. Remember, business people intui vely work with models all the me, as when they create a diagram in PowerPoint to illustrate a concept. We see again and again that they intui vely getdatamodels,aslongasyoudontstartwitharcaneterminology.Onceabusinessaudienceiscomfortablewithmodels, youcanbeginintroducingdatamodelingterms. 2Haveaclearunderstandingofthedierencebetweenconceptualandlogicalmodels Ifyousurveyagroupofdatamodelers,youndawiderangeofopinionsonwhat,exactly,aconceptualmodelis.Many modelersbelieveitsessen allythesameasalogicalmodel.However,therearerealandimportantdierencesa conceptualmodelisfocusedoncorebusinessconcepts,whilealogicalmodelfocusesonthedetailsofthestructureneeded tomaintainrecordsaboutthoseconcepts.Aconceptualmodelisverydierentfromalogicalmodelinthefollowingways: Aconceptualmodelisabusinessorientedoverviewthatfocusesonthemostimportantthingsorconceptsina business,whilealogicaldatamodelfocusesoncapturingalldatarequirementsandstructuralrules. Alogicalmodelisattheleveloffullynormalized,fullya ributed,andfullyproper zeden es; Alogicaldatamodelwillhave,onaverage,ve mesasmanyen esastheconceptualmodel.Why?Becausethe logicalmodelisfullynormalized,whiletheconceptualmodelshowsonlythefundamentalthingsofinteresttothe business.Akeyguidelineeveryen tyinaconceptualmodelwillbesomethingthatthebusinesstalksaboutona dailybasis. Theprecedingpointsmeanthatthelogicalmodelhascomponentsthatjustwontberelevantinaconceptualmodel primarykeys,foreignkeys,allofthea ributes,a ributeproper es,rela onshipop onality,andothertechnical details. 3Usegraphicprinciplesonyourdatamodeldiagramsthatsupportunderstanding Earlierwecompareddatamodelstoorgchartsandprocessowmodels.Thinkabouthowthoseareinvariablydrawnwith asenseofdirec on.Orgchartsarealmostalwaysdrawntopdown,asahierarchy,andprocessowmodelsaredrawnle toright,accordingtosequenceanddependency.Weshoulddrawdatamodelsexactlythesameway,withasenseof direc on.Thatcouldbebo omtotop,le toright,butexperimentsprovethatthevastmajorityofbusinesspeoplewill preferadatamodeldrawnsuchthatdependencyowsfromtoptobo om.Thatis,atthetopofthediagramwillbethe independenten es,andbelowthattheirchildren(characteris candassocia veen es)andthentheirchildrenbelow that,andsoon.Thismakesiteasyforthebusinesstofocusonthemostfundamentalthingsrstbeforeworkingdown throughlayersofdetail.Bycontrast,thevastmajorityofdatamodelsareapparentlydrawnaccordingtosomeother principlenocrossedlines,orimportanten esinthemiddle,orjustpu ngtheen eswheretheyt.OneofmyERwin datamodelingblogs,TopDownHowToexploredthistopicindetail3.Figure1showsanextractofasimplediagramfrom thatpostillustra ngamodeldrawntopdown. Figure1 "TopDown"DataModel
3

h p://erwin.com/expert_blogs/detail/topdown_howto/

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Getting the Business into Business-Oriented Data Modeling Practical Techniques and Examples 4Appealtoalllearningstyles:Visual,Auditory,andKinesthe c Its widely recognized that individuals have a preferred learning style, the mode in which they best receive and retain informa on.Theseare: Visualdiagramsorotherschema cdepic ons Auditorywords(narra ves)whetherwri enorspoken Kinesthe ctangibleexamples,suchasscenarios During development of a model, all three of these should be employed. As data modelers, though, our basic mode is visual (theEn tyRela onshipDiagram)andmodelerso endontuseanyothertechniques.Themostexperienceddatamodelers, however, extensively use auditory modes early in the data modeling process, even before they start diagramming. The kinesthe c perspec ve can be incorporated by using scenarios (like test cases) or props such as report or screen layouts. Once, at a car insurance company, we struggled with how to depict the rela onship among people, policies, and vehicles. Only when weintroduced scenarios could we get the necessary informa on from the business John andBeth jointlyhold apolicyona2002FordTaurus.Johnisatfaultforanaccidentwhileheisdrivingthevehicle.Apenalty(apremiumincrease) willbeapplied.Whowillpaythispenalty? Even though each person has a preferred style, everyone benets when all three are employed, so both the development and the presenta on of data models should employ them all. By the same token, a data model in a repository such as ERwins, can be presented in the format most suitable for a par cular use. Some people might prefer a spreadsheet of data elements,someoneelsemightprefertoseethelineageofcertaindata,andsomeoneelsewillpreferadiagramshowingjust theen esandrela onships. 5Usingconceptualmodelsasafounda onforprocessandrequirementsanalysis This is a large topic, worthy of a white paper of its own, but the basic idea is straigh orward and we have touched on it alreadyprocessesandapplica onsactontheen esinadatamodel.Oncetheseen esareiden ed,itbecomesmuch easier to discover what processes act on the en ty, or what services and use cases manipulate the en ty. For example, in a Loans Management se ng at a bank, some of the most important en es were Customer, Loan, and Loan Payment. Knowing this helped the team rapidly and more completely iden fy the necessary processes, services, and use cases, includingthefollowing. BusinessprocessesAcquireNewCustomer,GrantLoan,CollectLoanPayment,etc. ServicesRegisterLoanApplica on,OpenCustomerAccount,IssueLoanInvoice,etc. UseCasesCustomerRegistersLoanApplica on,CSRRegistersLoanApplica on,etc. The key point is that its hard to describe process or func onal requirements without referring to en es in a data model. Having a data model thats easily understood and accessible makes it substan ally easier as well as more complete and consistent. Lets now look at three examples that demonstrate how data modeling has been made useful to business audiences, includingbusinessprofessionals,businessanalysts,andbusinessprocessspecialists.

Case Study 1 Data Models Help Regulatory Agency Launch New Program and Processes
Aregulatoryagencyresponsibleforthesafetyofindustrialandtechnicalinstalla ons(e.g.,industrial/commercialhea ng plantsandoileldopera ons)wasimplemen nganewprogramthatwouldallowpar cipa ngclientorganiza onsto

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Getting the Business into Business-Oriented Data Modeling Practical Techniques and Examples managetheirownsafetyprograms.Ineect,theywouldbecomeselfinspec ng.Theagencyssafetyinspectorswould placemoreemphasisonassuringthataprogramwasinplaceandbeingfollowed,andlessoninspec ngtheequipmentand itsinstalla on. Asiso enthecasewithnewini a ves,inbothpublicandprivatesectors,therewasntclarityonsomeofthefundamental policiesandrules.Infact,itemergedthatitwasntjustanswersthatwerelacking,butthatsomeoftheques onshadnot yetbeendetermined.Thatmeantitwasntclearhowthenewbusinessprocessesshouldwork,norwasitclearwhat changeswouldbeneededtothesuppor ngapplica ons,oreveniftheycouldbechangedtoaccommodatethenew program.Datamodeling,althoughwedidntini allycallitthat(arecurringtheme)wascentraltoaddressingtheseissues. Ourrstgoalwastoclarifyvocabulary,bydiscussingthebusiness,withnoreferencetodataordatamodeling.Ofcourse,we wantedtolearnaboutthebusiness,butthiswasalsoawaytodeterminewhatthemostimportantthingswereforthe newprogram.And,ofcourse,thesethingswouldbecometheen esinaconceptualmodel.Westartedwithaseriesof onehourtelephoneinterviewswithkeyplayersfrombothheadoceandeldfunc ons.Someofourques onswere: Couldyoupleasedescribetheessenceoftheprogramfromyourareasperspec ve? Whatdoyouseeasthebenetstotheagencyandtotheclients,andhowwilltheybemeasured? Howwillyourgrouppar cipateinthenewprogram,andwhatwillbedierentfromcurrentopera ons? Whatnewinforma onwillberequiredtooperateandmanagetheprogram?(Thiswasasclosetoadataques on aswegot.) Arethereanyspecicissuesorobstaclesyouforesee? Ofcoursewecapturedtheanswers,butwealsonotedeveryterm(noun)theyused,whetheritwaslikelyathing,afact aboutathing,ametric,asystem,anorganiza onorjob tle,oranythingelse.Fromexperienceandcontext,itwasrela vely easytoiden fythecoreterms(en es)andseethatthereweremanysynonyms.Forinstance,termssuchassite, loca on,opera on,andfacilitywereusedtodescribeoneoftheclientsongoingopera ons.Clientswerevariously referredtoasclient,customer,operator,applicant,andsoon. Oncewehadagreementonthefundamentalthingsoftheorganiza on,wemovedontolookingattherela onships amongthesethingsbydevelopinganen tyrela onshipdiagram,butwithamoresubtleapproach.Thistooktheformof businesspolicyques onssuchasdoesaProgramapplytoaClient,andthereforealloftheirFacili es,ortoaspecic Facility,ortoasubsetofaFacility?Itemergedthatques onssuchasthishadntbeenconsidered,sowewereactually helpingtheorganiza onclarifytheprogramspolicies.Datamodelinghelpedtheagencyformulatethefundamentalsofthis importantnewprogramandintroduceitwithoutcostlyorembarrassingdelaysandmissteps.

Case Study 2 Global Technology Company Improves Marketing & Sales Processes with Data Models
ThissecondexampleillustratesaphenomenonthatmycolleaguesandIareencounteringincreasinglyo enaclientretains ustohelpwiththeirbusinessprocessesbutitturnsoutthattherealproblemisinthedata.Thatwasthecaseatoneofthe worldsbestknowntechnologycompanieswheretheywerefacingextremelyseriousproblemsintheirmarke ngandsales processes.Theyweresurethatwhattheyneededwasredesignedprocessesandimprovedapplica onfunc onality,butwe quicklydeterminedthatthefundamentalproblemwasdatarelated,notprocessrelated.Muchoftheworkintheprocesses involvedreconcilingsome300dierentandinconsistentdatasources.Youcouldarguethatthisis,infact,aprocess problemtheyhadnodatamanagementprocesses!Fairlyquickly,wehadagreementthattheirbusinessprocesseswere

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Getting the Business into Business-Oriented Data Modeling Practical Techniques and Examples nevergoingtoworkproperlyun ltheyhad,ataminimum,afounda onofconsistenttermsanddeni onsuponwhichwas builtanoverarching,conceptualdatamodel,whichinturnwouldguidefuturedevelopmentofprocessesandapplica ons. Inthree,halfdayworkshops,wedevelopedandvalidatedtherequireddatamodel,andusedthattoputinplacea transi onaldevelopmentplan. Inthepreviousexample,weworkedprimarilywithrepresenta vesfromthebusiness,butinthiscaseweworkedwitha teamofexperienced,technicallyorientedbusinessanalystsandprojectleaders.Theyknewthesystemsinsideout,butit soonemergedthatthisstrengthwasalsoaweaknesstheywerealmostunabletodescribethebusinessexceptintermsof howeachofthecompanyssystemssawthebusiness.Withthatmanyinconsistentsystems,itisnowondertherewasno consistentviewofthebusiness. Asusual,therststepwastoestablishafundamentalvocabulary(theen es,)sowebrainstormedwiththegroupfor terms,andbackedthatupwithtermsculledfrombackgrounddocuments.TheubiquitousPostitwastheprimarytool. Ge ngideasfromthegroupwasnotaproblemthechallengewasge ngallofthetechnicalreferencesout.Wepushed andpushedun lwehadasetofpure,businesstermsCampaign,Order,Client,Account,Team,ExternalEn ty(Personor Organiza on,)Role,Ac vity,Supplier,andmanyothers. Thatwasenoughofachallenge,butthingsgotreallyinteres ngwhenwestartedformula ngdeni ons.Inthiscase,we hadtoiteratebetweendeningthetermsanddrawingadatamodel.Threekeyndingsillustratewhy: Customerturnedouttonotbeadis nctthing,managedbythebusiness,eventhougheveryonetalkedaboutthe Customer.Rather,itwasaviewbasedonselec ngcertainExternalEn esand"Accounts. Prospectwasspokenofasadis nctthing,butitturnedouttobeastatusofanAccount. TheTeamworkingforaCustomer,onaCampaign,oronanOpportunityalsoturnedoutnottobeadis nctthing itwasasetofPersons,eachplayingaRolewithrespecttosomeotheren tysuchasanOpportunity,Order,External En ty,Account,orLead. Theseandotherdiscoveriesbroughtthecentralproblemintosharperfocustherewasnodis nctthinglikeaCustomerora Teamworkingitswaythroughthebusinessprocesses.Rather,thetokeninaprocesssuchasAssessTeamPerformance wasessen allyareport,thedeni onofwhichvariedwidely.Onlythroughfocusingontheconceptualdatamodelwasthis realized. Twocommentsbytheseniormanagerinchargehighlightedthevalueoftheapproach: Youaccomplishedmorethisweekthanwehadintheprevious8months. Thisistherst methisteamhasdescribedthebusinesswesupportwithoutreferencetosystems.

Case Study 3 HR Organization Determines Future of Business Software through Data Modeling
Aglobalcompanyspentten mesanapplica onspurchasepriceoncustomiza on,butwass llveryunsa sedwiththe supportitprovidedtotheirRecrui ngandHiringprocesses,aswerethefederalregulatorstheywererequiredtoreportto. Wewerebroughtintoadvisetheclientonwhethertostaywiththeir(unsa sfactory)implementa on,ormovetothe recentlyreleasedversionwhichappearedtohaveimprovedfunc onalityaswellas(ofcourse)amuchashieruser interface.

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Getting the Business into Business-Oriented Data Modeling Practical Techniques and Examples `Thedilemma,asitalwaysiswhenapurchasedapplica onisheavilymodied,isthatmigra ngtothenewreleasewould meanlosingmillionsofdollarsworthofcustomiza on.Theclientassumedthatwewouldassessapplica onfunc onalityin theformofagaptanalysisbutthiswasanothercasewheretheproblemlayelsewhereinthedatastructure.Howwe cametothatconclusionisaninstruc veexample. Webeganbyreviewingproblemlogsandconduc nginterviewstodiscoverspeciccomplaintsthatHRprofessionalshad withtheapplica on.Theproblemswerethenclassiedaccordingtoathree ersystemsmodelinwhichweiden ed whethereachproblemwasprimarilyduetouserinterfaceorrepor ng(presenta onlayer),businesslogic(applica on layer),ordata(datamanagementlayer).Wealsorankedeachproblemassevere,moderate,orminimal.Itwasimmediately clearthatmostofthesevereproblems,whicheverlayertheymanifestedin,couldbetracedbacktoadataissue.Webegan tosuspectthattherealproblemwasthattheapplica onsunderlyingdatamodelwasapoormatchwiththebusiness underlyingdatamodel.Neitherhadbeenvisualized,sothatwasnext. Wewereabletoconstructacredibleconceptualdatamodelforthebusinessfromtheproblemstatements.Forinstance,if itsaproblemthatthesystemallowsmul pleHiresagainstasingleRequisi onwecanconcludethatthecorrectmodelis thattherecanonlybeoneHireperRequisi on.Or,thecomplaintthatthesystemfailstoadequatelydis nguishApplicants andCandidatesalsotellsussomethingimportant. Thenextstepwastoconrmourimpressionsofhowtheapplica onsawthebusiness,sowecontactedthevendorto requestadatamodelfortheapplica on.Theywerentevensurewhatadatamodelwas,butthenextdayathickpileofSQL DDLarrivedbycourier.IfonlytheydsentusanERwinmodel!Ittookacoupleofdaysofwork,muchscissorsandglue,and manyforeignkeyreferences(thankgoodnesstheydidnthaveapplica onmaintainedrela onships),butweproduceda graphicofthephysicaldatamodel.Wethenremovedtheobviousphysicaldesignaccommoda ons,producingourbest guessatthelogicalmodel,andthenabstractedthisuptoaconceptualmodel.Reec ngthe1:5guideline,thisreduceda 100en tylogicalmodeltoaroughly20en tyconceptualmodel. Lookingatthebusinessconceptualmodelandtheapplica onsconceptualmodelsidebyside,thedierenceswere remarkable.Thisdierencewasthebestwaytoillustratetheessenceofthesitua on,sowescheduledapresenta onof ourndingsforthecoreteamandseniormanagement.Howweconductedthatdatamodelreviewwaskeytothesuccess ofthisassignment. Ratherthanusethetermdatamodelweopenedthepresenta onbysayinghereshowwethinkyouseetheworld.In fact,wecalleditaworldview,asweo endo.Atoneofthetwolargewhiteboards,wedrewtheboxesandlinesofthe datamodelaccompaniedbyanarra vethatwaspurebusinessWeworkinaglobalorganiza oncharacterizedbycomplex organiza onalstructuresbuiltfromlegalen es,SBUs(StrategicBusinessUnits),Geographies,Divisions,andsoon.Within eachOrganiza onalUnitarePosi ons,eachofwhichmayhaveanEmployeeassignedtoit,orbevacant.A er10minutes orso,onepar cipantpronouncedthistheclearestdescrip onofourbusinessIveeverseenandaskedtohaveour materialsforuseinthenewemployeeonboardingprocess. Avideorecordingofthissessionwouldhavebeenpriceless.Asweunveiledtheworldviewofthecoreapplica on,jaws progressivelydropped.Thedierencebetweenhowtheapplica onsawtheworldandhowthebusinesssawtheworldwas huge.Thehighlightwaswhentheseniorexecu vea endingsaid,Thishasbeenarevela on.A erunsuccessful nego a onswiththevendor,theul matedecisionwastoabandontheapplica onen rely.Thatdoesntsoundlikeaclassic deni onofsuccess,butitavoidedyearsofcon nuedfrustra onandunnecessaryexpense.

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Getting the Business into Business-Oriented Data Modeling Practical Techniques and Examples

Conclusion: Common Success Factors

Theseexamples,justafewdrawnfrom30yearsofbusinessorienteddatamodeling,demonstratethatsimpletechniquesgo alongwaytoge ngthebusinessinvolvementthatissoessen altoeec vedatamodeling.Twofactorsinpar cularstand outinthesethreecases.First,thefocuswasonthebusinessgoals,andtheprojectteammemberswerenotawarethatdata modelingwasatechniquethatwasgoingtohelpthemwiththeirproblem.Theyeitherwerentfamiliarwithdatamodeling, orthoughtitwasatechnicaldisciplinenotusefulforbusinessanalysis.Second,wedidnttrytoconvinceanyonethatdata modelingwastheanswerwejustdidit,almostinastealthfashion.Onlya ersuccessfullyusingdatamodelingdidwe begintointroducethelanguageandconstructsofdatamodeling,topeoplewhowerealreadyrecep vebecauseareal problemhadbeensolved. Torecap,someofthecoretechniqueswehavediscussedinclude:

1. Usethelanguageofthebusiness,nottechnicaljargon.Remember,youredescribingabusiness,notadatabase. 2. Usetherightsortofmodelfortheaudience,i.e.abusinessfriendlyconceptualmodelthathighlightsessen al businessconceptsforbusinessusers,andadetailedlogicalmodelwithkeys,datatypes,nullability,etc.for developersandDBAs.Alwaysthinkaboutwhomyouarespeakingto. 3. Makeinforma oneasilyaccessibletotheaudience.Publishinforma onontheweb,forexample,andconsider usingnonmodelingformatstogetyouraudiencesa en on(spreadsheetstyleinterface,keywordsearching,etc.) 4. Followgraphicprinciplesthatwillmakeyourdatamodeldiagramseasierforallaudiencestounderstand.Makeit evenbe erwithscenarios,sampledata,schema cdiagrams,andotheraids. 5. Makesureyourdatamodelingapproachplaysnicelywithothers.Thekeyistointegrateyourtechniqueswith thoseusedby,forexample,BusinessAnalysisandBusinessProcessImprovementprofessionals.Strivetosharethe informa oninyourmodelssothattheyareusedacrosstheenterprise. Storeyourmodelsinacommonrepositorysothatallyourhardworkcanbesharedandreusedacrossteamsand projects.Shareandsharealike,totrulygetthevalueoutofyoureorts,andmakedatamodelsabusinessas usualtool. Keepthesepointsinmind,andrememberthelessonsfromthecasestudies,andyoullbewellonyourwaytoge ngdown tobusinesswithdatamodeling.

Copyright2012CA.Allrightsreserved.Alltrademarks,tradenames,servicemarksandlogosreferencedhereinbelongtotheirrespec vecompanies. This document is for your informa onal purposes only. CA assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the informa on. To the extent permi ed by applicable law, CA provides this document as is without warranty of any kind, including, without limita on, any implied warran es of merchantability,tnessforapar cularpurpose,ornoninfringement.InnoeventwillCAbeliableforanylossordamage,directorindirect,fromtheuseof this document, including, without limita on, lost prots, business interrup on, goodwill or lost data, even if CA is expressly advised in advance of the possibilityofsuchdamages.

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