PRE-CONFERENCE TUTORIALS • 7 November 2005

How to Evaluate, Select, and Implement Metadata Management Solutions
Stu Carty, President & Founder, Gavilan Research

Are you planning to evaluate, purchase, or build a metadata management solution? Do you need an overview of the metadata solutions market? This half-day workshop will help you to get organized for your metadata solutions project! The workshop will discuss the key issues, needs, requirements, usage trends, and evaluation criteria that Global 5000 companies are using today to effectively evaluate and cost justify metadata software solutions. The workshop will provide real survey results on the latest metadata vendor tools – software products, capabilities, comparisons, best-fit, features, strengths, and weaknesses. The workshop will help answer these important questions:

• What issues are Global 5000 companies currently struggling with concerning enterprise metadata management?
• What evaluation criteria should be used to effectively evaluate a metadata management solution in 2005?
• What tools can be used to better communicate with the metadata vendor community to choose the best possible solution for your company?
• What are some of the key implementation tactics you can employ to gain immediate use, acceptance, and ROI for your metadata management solution?

The workshop will discuss “best practices and approaches” in developing or reassessing their enterprise metadata strategies and successfully implementing and selecting metadata solutions & software.

Featured Speaker:

Stu Carty Gavilan Research

Can Service Oriented Architectures be Developed Without Metadata?
Rick F. van der Lans, R20/Consultancy B.V.

High on the agenda of many organisations today is integrating systems. The hippest technology for integrating independent systems is the SOA (Service Oriented Architecture). In a SOA the functionally of existing applications is wrapped as (web) services. Those services are based on standards such as SOAP and XML. The services will become the foundation for a new group of applications and will become the basis for business process management.

A SOA is not designed in one day. Conceptually and technically these are complex architectures. Decisions regarding the interfaces of the services must be made. A global architecture must be designed. How will existing applications, which at first were not meant to be integrated, be linked to the SOA? How are service level agreements specified? Most of those design decisions relate to metadata. Designing and running a SOA without a clear understanding of metadata is impossible. Therefore, this workshop explains the importance of metadata for a SOA and explains what the special metadata aspects are of a SOA.

• What are the basic building blocks of a SOA?
• For each service producer and service consumer pair a contract is required. The metadata in a contract involves data definitions and service level agreements.
• How do you design a SOA and what is the importance of metadata?
• What are basic services, composite services, generic services and business process services – how do they work together?
• Connecting to external services requires in-depth understanding of the metadata hidden in the interface

Featured Speaker:

Rick F. van der Lans R20/Consultancy

Acquiring, Storing and Using Your Metadata
Douglas Stacey, Area Leader, Allstate Insurance

Effective metadata management is much more than just a matter of identification and collection. The whole point is that people in the organization, such as users, analysts and developers, actually USE the metadata you’re making available to them. The speaker and his team at Allstate received the Wilshire Best Practices Award for “Outstanding Data Warehouse Metadata Implementation.” This workshop will provide a case study of how they make metadata work at Allstate, including putting metadata to work, capturing and storing metadata, and the concept of domains. A demo of Allstate’s MetaData Viewer tool will be given.

• Metadata in action
• Metadata for the warehouse environment
  • Metadata generation: what files are generated and their contents?
  • The process of getting the file into the warehouse environment?
  • Query demo using metadata
• Metadata 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 and examples for calculating ROI
• Metadata for Metrics

Featured Speaker:

Doug Stacey Manager, Data Management Allstate Insurance

Data Model Patterns: Metadata
David Hay, Essential Strategies

Introduction: As data modellers, we often go into a strange industry, and, thanks to our techniques, within a month or so, we understand even arcane aspects of that industry. The one industry that we seem to have forgotten is our own: Information Technology. Now that we are beginning to take on the issue of metadata, suddenly a data model of what goes into building an information system is supremely important. After all, modelling metadata is modelling the nature of information systems themselves.

While there have been numerous books written about the advantages of addressing metadata and even about how to go about it, precious little has been written on what exactly the stuff is. This is a pity, since most of the controversies that have plagued our industry for the last 10 years can easily be put to rest with proper understanding of the metadata perspective on them.

This presentation is of a comprehensive “enterprise data model” of the systems development world, and as such provides a scheme for an idealized metadata repository. It is organized in terms of John Zachman’s Architecture for Enterprise Development, which means that it goes beyond just data. The complete model also describes process modelling, people and organizations, locations, timing and events, and motivation. It addresses the perspectives of business users, architects, and system designers.

Featured Speaker:

David Hay President Essential Strategies

Deming’s Theory of Management
Dr. Joyce Orsini, Director, The W. Edwards Deming Institute

Quality improvement has four parts:

• Improvement of product and service
• Improvement in processes that produce product and service
• Innovation of product and service
• Innovation in processes that produce product and service

All are essential for a company to stay in business. Dr. Orsini describes how to achieve each.

Dr. Orsini compares and contrasts a systems approach to management with many of the destructive practices found in organizations today. Layoffs, poor workmanship, and low morale are not inevitable. They are a sign of poor management. Through the participative Red Bead exercise, you experience many of the poor management practices that destroy people’s ability to do good work and take pride in it. Through this simulation, Dr. Orsini helps participants draw inferences to their workplaces with suggestions for improvement. She focuses on barriers and losses from ranking and rating people and inter-relationships between people in an organization.

Dr. Orsini discusses Dr. Deming’s recommendations for better management in an applied framework with examples from business. She illustrates how knowledge of psychology, statistical variation, systems thinking, and theory of knowledge result in a powerful, integrated management system.

• Profound knowledge for transformation
• Strategies for improvement
• The Red Bead exercise
• Leadership
• Faulty practices; better practices

Featured Speaker:

Dr. Joyce Orsini Director The W. Edwards Deming Institute

Ensuring Global Address Quality
Graham Rhind, Proprietor, GRC Database Information

An in-depth tutorial providing insight, practical information and concrete solutions for global name and address data management, global data storage, processing and collection. Using real world examples it covers aspects of data management including personal names, addresses, postal code issues and language issues, clarifying the topics and providing answers to ensure optimum data quality. This tutorial tackles data management from the viewpoint of the data rather than approaching it as a technical issue.

• Provides a comprehensive grounding for understanding global data issues and global data diversity.
• Improves understanding of the need to manage global data better and the ways that data quality affects customer satisfaction.
• Provides clear, practical and proven solutions to improve global data quality, saving a fortune in data cleaning costs and lost customers.
• Approaches data management in a non-technical manner ideal for marketing or customer-service personnel.
• An excellent primer on the fundamentals of global data quality.

Featured Speaker:

Graham Rhind Proprietor GRC Database Information

Everything you Wanted to Know about Data Modelling but were Afraid to Ask
Graham Witt, Group Data Architect, Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Graeme Simsion, Senior Fellow, University of Melbourne

Part 1 Concepts and Techniques

This tutorial, together with Part 2 (afternoon tutorial) covers the art, science and craft of data modelling from top to bottom and start to finish. The two half day tutorials are self-contained: you can attend either or both. Novice participants will take away an understanding of what is involved and experienced participants will have a chance to get answers to the tricky questions that have arisen during their data modelling assignments (come prepared with your questions). Topics Covered in Part 1 include:

• Testing the Foundations
• Demonstrating the Value of Data Modelling
• Evaluating and Comparing Data Models
• Extensions and Alternatives
• Advanced Normalisation (BCNF/4th/5th/6th)
• Modelling the Time Dimension
• Modelling Business Rules
• Modelling for Data Warehouses and Marts
• Ask the Experts (2 man panel)

Featured Speakers:

		Graham Witt Group Data Architect Commonwealth Bank of Australia
		Graeme Simsion Senior Fellow University of Melbourne

Half Day Tutorial
14:00-17:30

Everything you Wanted to Know about Data Modelling but were Afraid to Ask
Graham Witt, Group Data Architect, Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Graeme Simsion, Senior Fellow, University of Melbourne

Part 2: Data Modelling from Start to Finish

This tutorial covers the stages in data modelling from project planning to physical design. It is designed to be taken either alone or in conjunction with Part 1 (Concepts and Techniques). Topics covered in Part 2 include:

• Organizing the Data Modelling Project
• Determining and Documenting Business Requirements
• Stages in Data Modelling (Conceptual/Logical/Physical)
• Clarifying responsibilities – Modeller and DBA
• Strategies for Model Development
• Getting the Model Reviewed – The Assertions Approach
• Ask the Experts (2 man panel!)

Featured Speakers:

		Graham Witt Group Data Architect Commonwealth Bank of Australia
		Graeme Simsion Senior Fellow University of Melbourne

Enterprise Architecture
John Zachman, President, Zachman International

The objective of this seminar is to build an understanding of the concepts of Enterprise Architecture and develop a sense of urgency for implementing those concepts in a modern enterprise. It is designed for enterprise professionals of every discipline. Although it addresses technology issues, it is not a “technical” seminar but rather covers subjects everyone must understand to operate effectively in the Information Age. The four major components are:

• Environmental Challenges
• Conceptual Foundations
• Practical Implementation Issues
• Recommendations

Featured Speaker:

John Zachman President Zachman International

The Common Data Architecture in Perspective
Michael Brackett, Consulting Data Architect, Data Resource Design & Remodeling

The idea of Common Data Architecture has evolved to the point where it is a robust set of concepts, principles, and techniques for formally understanding and managing an organization's data resource. It transcends all data at an organization's disposal, provides a way to understand and resolve existing disparate data, and promotes formal management of a high-quality data resource through enterprise data architecture. It is the discipline for managing an organization’s data resource within Column 1 of the Zachman Framework. Delegates attending this tutorial will learn:

• Common Data Architecture
• New Concepts and Principles
• Techniques for Managing the Data Resource
• Application of New Ideas

Featured Speaker:

Michael Brackett Consulting Data Architect Data Resource Design & Remodeling

Semantic Data Integration
Michael Scofield, Assistant Professor, Loma Linda University, California

Increasingly enterprises must integrate data from multiple sources into data warehouses or new operational data stores. While copying the data onto a common physical platform is easy, integrating the data so it makes sense (addressing the “semantics” of the data) can be very difficult. This tool-neutral workshop makes generous use of simple examples, and introduces practical techniques for source data evaluation and the continued survival of your design as updates and corrections come from these sources into the future. Key topics include:

• Analyzing Source Data Architecture
• Assessing Full Meaning of Fields
• Evaluating Architecture compatibility
• Evaluating field compatibility
• Designing the target database and ETL
• Ensuring a design survivable over time.

Featured Speaker:

Michael Scofield Assistant Professor Loma Linda University, California

Using Information Management to Sustain Data Warehouse
John Ladley, President, KI Solutions

Many organizations are still grappling with fundamental development challenges and growth issues for data warehouse. This workshop gives practical information-based techniques to Architect and Sustain the DW. Excellent for DW managers, business users, information managers and experienced DW professionals looking to advance their DW to the next level.

• What is the Value Proposition?
• Alignment Definition & Relevance
• Designing the DW to be sustainable
• New Trends for DW & BI Technology

Featured Speaker:

John Ladley President KI Solutions

Politics In Data Management
Len Silverston, President, Universal Data Models, LLC

A key to any data management effort is knowing how to effectively work within the cultural and political environment to enable success. This presentation will share principles and techniques to empower you and allow you to work within a framework that is critical towards achieving data management goals. Participants in this session will gain:

• Understanding of Political and Cultural Factors
• Keys to Develop Trust, Gain Funding
• Effective Governance Procedures
• Preparation for Cultural & Political Challenges

Featured Speaker:

Len Silverston President Universal Data Models, LLC

Leveraging Subject Area & Logical Models to Understand ERP Systems
Steve Hoberman, SAP Functional Analyst, Mars, Inc.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) applications such as SAP, Siebel, and PeopleSoft have been implemented and run in many organizations worldwide. These applications are promoted as self-contained systems, informally known as “Black Boxes”. However, situations arise where we need a detailed level of understanding of the structures within these systems. A series of data models will be used to explain a very complex area within SAP addressing my approach and the benefits derived. This presentation covers the following:

• Unique challenges with ERP Packages
• Building ERP Data Models
• Mapping ERP to non-ERP Elements
• Case Study of SAP Classifications

Featured Speaker:

Steve Hoberman SAP Functional Analyst Mars, Inc.