Data Model Patterns Conventions of Thought.pptVIP

Copyright (c) 2007 Essential Strategies, Inc. Describing the World:Data Model Patterns Some of you may know me . . . Back in 1995, I published this book . . . It was the beginning of a movement . . . Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson, John Vissides, Design Patterns Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software, 1995. Software patterns Martin Fowler, Analysis Patterns: Reusable Object Models. 1997. Object-oriented design patterns Len Silverston, The Data Model Resource Book: A Library of Logical Data and Data Warehouse Models. 1997. “Universal data models” Different kinds of patterns . . . And so now . . . Levels of Abstraction . . . Semantic data models can be drawn at many different levels of abstraction: Most general – Robust, generally applicable. By definition, anything published as part of the Federal Data Reference Model must be relatively abstract to be widely applicable. This makes them harder to relate to specific situations. Most concrete – Easiest to understand for people in the fields being described. This makes them more vulnerable to changes in the business, however, and harder to apply generally across companies and agencies. Abstraction Level 0: A Template . . . This is a standard structure for basic elements of Enterprise Model. It is about the structure of “things”, such as physical assets, people, activities, and so forth. The structures are then replicated in the more concrete Level 1 “Enterprise model”. Abstraction Level 1: The Enterprise Model . . . This model should apply to 90% of all companies (and government agencies. Company specific configurations can be specified as data in the …PARAMETER and …TYPE entities. Abstraction Level 1: The Enterprise Model . . . Enterprise Model Components – Basic models describing: People and Organizations (Who?) Geography (Where?) Physical Assets (What?) Activities (How?) Date Attributes and Date Entities (When?) Composites (Why?) Facilities (to create things) Contracts (to sell things