************************************************************ DSS News D. J. Power, Editor May 9, 2004 -- Vol. 5, No. 10 A Bi-Weekly Publication of DSSResources.COM ************************************************************ Featured: * Report from DAMA + Meta-data Conference * DSS News Releases ************************************************************ Put your ad here! Reach hundreds of people interested in DSS with information on your product Email power@dssresources.com for details ************************************************************ Report from DAMA + Meta-data Conference by Dan Power On Monday May 3, 2004 I journeyed to Los Angeles for the Wilshire Meta-data and DAMA International (www.dama.org) joint conference. DAMA is the Data Management Association International. The conference is advertised as "the largest and most authoritative vendor-neutral data management conference in the world". After attending, I concur. DSSResources.COM was a media sponsor of the joint conference, but my knowledge was limited to reading well-designed glossy marketing brochures and visiting the conference and DAMA websites. Despite some travel delays, I was able to catch the last part of a Monday tutorial taught by consultant and well-known author Sid Adelman and a night school talk by Gordon Everest, Professor at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. The number of academics in attendance was small (probably due to the cost), but the atmosphere was decidely one of continuing education and curiosity. In the next few paragraphs, I'll highlight the presentations that I attended and couldn't attend (but wish I could've). Most of the time there were 7 or 8 concurrent sessions and I gravitated to those that focused on materials relevant to designing and building data-driven DSS and to making operations data understandable to business users with metadata. The IS practioners from the trenches were out in force and the sessions I couldn't fit in ranged from data modeling, metadata and database administration to data architecture and every aspect of data management. I recommend that readers check the entire agenda at URL http://www.wilshireconferences.com/MD2004/ . I wasn't able to attend any of the Sunday sessions that included 10 afternoon workshops by experts like John Zachman, Bob Seiner and Fabian Pascal and six night school sessions that ran from 7-8pm. Monday featured 10 day long tutorials. I attended the last session of Sid Adelman's tutorial, but all of the topics sounded interesting. John Ladley focused on the data warehouse and information management and David Marco reviewed managing meta data. Joe Celko reviewed the basics of data and databases (knowing Joe a little bit I'm sure he had an in depth presentation). So what did Sid Adelman have to say? My notes focused on highlights from the last few hours of Sid's tutorial that started at 8:30am, but all of the attendees received a CD with his slides (the CD included almost all of the presentations). I've reviewed many of the slideshows and the CD is a great resource. Returning to Sid's tutorial about "How to develop an enterprise data strategy". Sid had 149 slides in eleven modules and his tutorial included exercises. One highlight for me was Sid's 11 question Business Intelligence Readiness Test. Sid's focus is still on data warehousing in the readiness test. And perhaps data quality and data access is the key to the report and query centric Business Intelligence of most vendors. Module 8 focused on software and evaluation. Module 11 wrapped up the tutorial by focusing on "selling" and communicating the data strategy. Sid is a "data guy" more than a business decision support application guy, but you've got to understand Sid's world view if you want to move on to data-driven decision support. At 5pm Monday, I went to night school. The DAMA+Meta-data attendees were primarily data architects, DBAs, data managers, MIS managers, analysts and data modelers. There were only about 6 professors registered out of approximately 900 attendees. So in a spirit of commaraderie I went to Prof. Gordon Everest's presentation. In a perfect world I would have attended them all (I'll review the slideshows instead). Gordon discussed conducting database design project meetings. He strongly advocates an extended, participative design process. He noted an "accelerated approach may be good for eliciting information requirements and setting priorities, not for database design". Gordon advocates an external facilitator with an internal "scribe" to assume ownership of the meeting minutes and design decisions. Gordon's presentation was only attended by about 35 people, but his audience was attentive and interested. Given the 5pm time slot and competition from Fabian Pascal (the DB debunker) and 6 other sessions ... Tuesday morning started early for me with the ERwin data modeling special interest group session at 7:15am. There was also an Meta Data/XML conversion SIG meeting down the hall. I ate a bagle and listened to Marcie Barkin Goodwin and the early bird data modelers. Following the welcome, Chris Date gave a keynote titled "Database Graffiti: Scribbles from the Askew Wall". Chris is an entertaining speaker and he made some excellent points especially about remembering the history and facts of the relational data model. BUT Chris's presentation was copyright 1997 and he's still bogged down in the object database and data warehousing wars of the early 1990s. Chris Date made it clear he has no respect for Bill Inmon, the data warehousing evangelist. IMHO Chris needs to check that he's not stuck in his own "Askew Wall". A quick coffee break and I headed for Jill Dyche's presentation "From Afterthought to Asset: The Business Value of Data". Jill is great. She radiates confidence, knowledge and enthusiasm. Jill and Baseline are promoting an "Information Center of Excellence" approach to data management. The center staff has 10 major tasks including defining data requirements, working with DBAs to design and deploy data, and understanding how data affects new business processes. Check with Jill for all the details (http://www.baseline-consulting.com/). In the session before lunch on Tuesday, I listened to Craig Mullins discuss database trends. Craig is a technical database consultant with good ideas. He argues the job of a DBA is "getting increasingly more difficult". His trends include: intelligent automation of DBA tasks and a DBA control panel. Following a Lasagna lunch sponsored by Knightsbridge Solutions, I attended Jonathan Wu's presentation "Assessing BI Suites and Platforms for Performance Excellence". Coincidentally, Jonathan is a Senior Principal with Knightsbridge Solutions. Jonathan cited the following definition that he attributed to Gartner Group in the late 1980's "Business Intelligence is a user-centered process that includes accessing, exploring, and analyzing data and developing insights and understanding, which leads to improved and informed decision making." Wu defined business intelligence suites as "software applications that enable individuals to perform: enterprise reporting, ad hoc query and analysis, Online Analytical Processing (OLAP), and analytics/data visualization". He defined business intelligence platforms as "software tools that enable individuals to develop custom BI applications that are: subject matter specific and/or integrated with other applications". Wu identified nine leading BI product vendors: Actuate, Business Objects/Crystal Decisions, Cognos, Hyperion/Brio, Information Builders, Microsoft, MicroStrategy, Oracle and SAS. He discussed each vendor in some detail. Overall, I found Jonathan knowledgeable and interesting. In terms of BI, Jonathan asserted "The purpose is not to install software, it is to provide a solution to the information needs of individuals within the organization". YES, that's the kind of consulting help managers need. At 3:15pm, I briefly checked on Charles Betz's presentation on "Metadata and IT service management". Charlie is a Technical Consultant with Best Buy. According to Charlie, we need an ERP for IT. We had a chance to chat Wednesday. I wanted to listen to David Schlesinger of Intel Corp. discuss data privacy and security. "New data laws require an understanding of who is using what corporate data". David identified and defined eight data regulatory groups: financial, customer, privacy, controlled technical, trade secrets, competitive advantage, non-financial insider information and conflict of interest. By now my patient readers have ascertained the richness and expertise of the program offerings and the presenters. At about 4:30pm I went to the vendor showcase -- talked, listened and ate turkey and roast beef sandwiches and had a glass of wine. About 7:30pm I went back to my hotel room. Wednesday started out early with another bagel and a SIG on Post-Secondary Education in Data Management. Deborah Henderson and Anne Marie Smith, the SIG leaders, are sincere in wanting to work with community colleges and universities. Apparently DAMA-I has had problems working with the Information Resources Management Association (IRMA) on a joint revised curriculum guide. That collaboration ended in January 2004 and DAMA-I plans to issue its own suggestions and work on new certification tests with ICCP. At 8:30am I went to Terry Quatrani presentation "UML for Database Design". Terry is IBM's UML evangelist and a Rational Software alum. The bad news is that 66% of software projects fail because of lack of user input, unclear objectives, incomplete requirements, changing requirements, lack of planning, and communication problems (Standish Group, 2003). The solution for reducing project failure rates is UML. The Unified Modeling Language (UML) "is the standard language for visualizing, specifying, constructing, and documenting the artifacts of a software-intensive system". Terry did a great job reviewing the basics and we need increased use of UML in building all types of DSS. Malcom Chisholm's presentation "A Checklist for Building A Taxonomy" was next on my dance card. Malcom, President of Askget.com Inc., uses the following definition "A taxonomy is a hierarchical classification of a domain of objects that share certain characteristics. The taxonomy categorizes these objects based on relevant characteristics. It serves a particular purpose, and is only useful within the context of that purpose." Malcom reviewed both the definition and business rules approaches to categorization. At 11:15am my path led to Robert Randall's presentation "Defining the Financial Value of Information". Randall didn't offer any new methods, but he emphasized why we must persist in demonstrating how valuable information is to managers. Randall noted that decision support is a corporate driver for defining information as an asset. Other drivers are corporate memory retention, compliance and regulations. "Make sure executives understand the value of information." After lunch I attended an excellent panel discussion chaired by Tony Shaw of Wilshire Group titled "Data Management: The Next Big Thing." Tony is the content guy at Wilshire and he's apparently chaired a similar panel for the past few years. Panelists included Tony, Todd Stephens, John Friedrich, Charlie Betz, Craig Mullens and Neil Raden. So what's next? Better business applications that exploit data, more integration, better tools for managing meta data, a DBA dashboard and DBA automation, an ERP for data integration, compliance support, and evolving data management roles. The panel was informative and at times entertaining. Neil Raden is the "Hired Brain". He's smart, a bit of a curmudgeon, but I'd put him on my team for a tough project. Charlie, Craig and Todd are techies with insight. Tony Shaw is Australian and that says alot about his personality. His smile, knowledge and attention to detail say the rest. My last conference session was a keynote by Len Silverston (Universal Data Models). I hadn't heard Len speak before so I was please to find out that he could keep a room filled with 800 people entertained and involved. We were listening, standing up when requested, and we were learning Len's philosophy of the "how" of data integration. According to Len, what is needed to create data integration is much more than tools, methodologies and expertise. Managers need to develop trust, keep sight of the goal (common goals), appreciate different perspectives, and learn from the past (re-use). At about 4pm the Vendor area opened for talk and an "ice cream social". At 7pm I headed for the airport on the Super Shuttle, did some reading and took the "red eye" back to Minneapolis and then on to Cedar Falls. To get the most benefit from DAMA+Meta-Data companies need to send a team of 5-6 people. A number of companies did that including Aera Energy, Allstate Insurance, American Express, Anthem Blue Cross, ASG, US Bureau of Land Management, Capital One, Deere, Eli Lilly, GMAC-RFC, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Kaiser Permanente, Nationwide Insurance, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sharp Informatics, Boeing, T-Mobile, Toyota, US DOD, and Wells Fargo. The conference was well managed and the opportunities to interact with data mangement practitioners was great. For example, while checking email, I was able to quiz Cathy Doss, VP and Chief Data Officer at Capital One, about her use of a Table PC. Cathy was using it with an internet connection and she feels a Table PC is a great productivity enhancer. Over lunch the GMAC-RFC guys briefed on their data management efforts. Neil Raden kept me on my toes and demonstrated once again why I like his thinking and wit. Many thanks to Tony Shaw, Chairman of Wilshire, and Andrew Everett, President of Wilshire Conferences. Also, I want to thank Larry Dziedzic, DAMA-I President, Michael Brackett, Past President, John Schley, DAMA-I VP of Chapter Services, and Denis Kosar, VP Citigroup and President DAMA-I New York. Finally, there were more than 100 presenters at the conference and they all deserve thanks for their willingness to share their knowledge and experiences. THANKS. Please note: The University of Northern Iowa Department of Management provided financial support for Dan Power's trip to Los Angeles for DAMA+Meta-Data. ************************************************************ DSS2004: Decision Support in an Uncertain World July 1-3, Prato, Italy http://dsslab.sims.monash.edu.au/dss2004/index.php ************************************************************ DSS News - April 25 to May 7, 2004 Read them at DSSResources.COM and search the DSS News Archive 05/07/2004 SAIC awarded U.S. Army contract to serve as lead systems integrator for the Guardian Installation Protection program. 05/06/2004 Frost & Sullivan releases latest web conferencing market report: WebEx communications increases to 67% market share. 05/06/2004 Experian-Scorex and Standard & Poor's Risk Solutions host Basel II Accord seminar. 05/05/2004 Melissa Data introduces SOAP interface for data quality web service. 05/04/2004 GMAC Commercial Finance standardizes on Information Builders' WebFOCUS. 05/03/2004 Nationwide Financial(R) tool helps advisors recommend personalized investment solutions. 04/29/2004 Geac closes $250,000 software sale to global communications company in Asia. 04/29/2004 Primus Knowledge Solutions ranks first in new web self-service study. 04/28/2004 MEDai's predictive modeling solution helps care managers significantly impact cost savings. 04/28/2004 Top independent survey again validates MicroStrategy's superiority for data scalability and Web deployment. 04/28/2004 SAS(R) powers better credit decisions for CAPITAL card services. 04/27/2004 New risk management solution supports formalized risk management. 04/27/2004 Improved FileMaker Meetings 2.0 and FileMaker Tasks 2.0 business applications now shipping from FileMaker. 04/27/2004 Venetica partners with IBM to deliver new integration solution for structured and unstructured information. 04/26/2004 Ace Hardware names MicroStrategy enterprise-wide standard for reporting and analysis. 04/26/2004 Teradata is the first to automate the most difficult data mining tasks. 04/26/2004 Databeacon and Infinite Campus help educators meet "No Child Left Behind" act requirements. 04/26/2004 Hyperion Essbase: Powerful analytics drive enterprise-wide performance. 04/26/2004 Hyperion customers deploying dashboards as the face of business performance management. 04/26/2004 New studies set standard for enterprise BI scalability. 04/26/2004 Microsoft acquires ActiveViews' business intelligence functionality. 04/26/2004 PLD Group enriches customer service with Oracle(R) Daily Business Intelligence. 04/25/2004 Intergraph demonstrates customer success with Geospatial Resource Management system. ************************************************************ Subscribe to DSSResources.COM. 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