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Teaching Data Management - An Overview
Anne Marie Smith
La Salle University
Data Management as Part of MIS
Management Information Systems
Modeling and DBMS Design
Metadata Management
Analysis, Communication, Documentation
Data Management Goals
• Identify enterprise’s core business information needs and effectively use the resulting data
• Manage data as an asset, both within a business unit and throughout the enterprise
• Provide a central focus for establishing and documenting corporate data policy and for managing data resources (human, system, data objects)
• Critically analyze the use and management of data and its related processes
Purpose of Data Management
• Encourage the management of data from both business unit and enterprise views
• Promote the importance of data as a valuable resource– identify, analyze and control critical data objects– flexible usage of data (planning and access)
• Manage creation, use, storage, documentation and dissemination of data across the enterprise– redundancy – data sharing– decision support
Rationale for Teaching Data Management
• Provide a business orientation as foundation for Information Systems methodology
• Offer recognition of value of the analysis and understanding of data and its metadata (corporate assets)
• Establish information requirements definition and instill data management practices into course organization
• Address data quality, data integrity issues• Promote educational use of data management tools and
techniques
Major Concepts in Teaching Data Management
• Architecture (Logical and Physical)
• Information Resource Management – Data Administration
• Logical Data Modeling, Data Dictionary, Glossary, Standards
– Database and Systems Administration
– Decision Support / Data Warehousing
• Information Analysis– Critical thinking, analytical documentation
• Common Data Management Tools and Practices
Roles in Enterprise Data Management
• Data Analyst• Business Analyst• Database Administrator / Database Analyst• Technical Writer / Documentation Specialist• Data Warehousing SpecialistNote: MIS education can prepare students to fill all these roles
Organizational Issues in Teaching Data Management
• Lack of faculty/instructor understanding and support of data management as a discipline in MIS
• Conflicting agendas and lack of information sharing/continuity among MIS instructors
• Lack of data management tool/technique training in MIS faculty
• Absence of enterprise view of organization• Lack of adequate texts focusing on business/logical
data managementAddress these issues as part of curriculum development and implementation
Enterprise Data Management Tools
• Data Dictionary/Repository• Business Intelligence/Business Rules Directory• Data Modeling and DBMS Design • Process Modeling and Systems Design• Data Mining and Business Analysis• Communication and DocumentationEffective use of these tools and techniques can contribute greatly
to the students’ experiences in learning data management
Applying Data Management in the Classroom
• Design course around the actual implementation of data management in a business/organization
• Lectures on data management topics drawn from texts and available articles
• Develop student project– divide students into small teams
– each team functions as a data management consulting company
– team “implements” each topic each week for a fictitious company in need of data management
• Essay tests gauge student’s use of analysis and communication skills, and concept understanding
Continuous Process Improvement
• Establish an strategy for teaching data management strategy in an MIS curriculum and implement review processes based on CPI
• Continuous focus on instructional quality, relevance to the business community and student learning
• Value of MIS instruction increases as confidence in its consistency, management, relevance and quality increase– Data Management is very relevant to current and future
business needs in MIS– read W. E. Deming, and L. English
Communication and Documentation
• All educational activities should require proper use of critical thinking, analytical skills and communication (oral and written) skills
• Development of texts and related material for teaching data management is needed
• MIS instructors should participate in the development of an MIS curriculum that incorporates the teaching of data management in the database areas
Learning Outcomes
• Analytical skills• Critical thinking skills• Investigation and discovery skills• Concepts of data management to complement standard
database administration lessons• Oral and written communication skills• Consulting and concept implementation skills
Conclusion
• Teaching Data Management is essential to the success of an MIS curriculum
• Value of data management in the classroom is related to the university’s commitment to exploring the changing and varied roles of MIS in the business communities of today and tomorrow
• Proper use of tools and techniques can dramatically increase the effectiveness of this approach to teaching Data Management
