The last post concluded by considering the need to get input from different interest groups when designing systems for existing or new applications. When we have a data modelling assignment, we often discuss requirements with a limited set of contacts within the client company. Data modelling is considered a little too arcane for most people, [...]
When working with new processes or projects, the main tasks are to deliver what is necessary, while constraining the scope. This is the goal in any engineering project, but it is less clear-cut for more abstract items like software, particularly when there is no definable package of tools to be replaced. […]
Introduction Once again, let’s acknowledge that modelling new processes is a much more risky business than modelling an existing process. Why, you may ask? The fundamental reason is our human desire to gild the lily. When a building, bridge, vehicle or other physical object is being designed, we have the same tendencies – the first [...]
In any data modelling, the first, most significant question, is whether we are trying to improve an existing process or model a new process – a process which does not yet exist. The approach to each is fundamentally different. […]
We have now looked at the background of data modelling and where it all began. Clay tablets, lists, books and now databases. But behind all of these is the need to model the data in a way that makes it easy to use. In this way, data modelling is both a simple and complex area [...]