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This was presented at the Rocky Mountain Oracle Users Group Training Days 2013 in Denver Colorado. Most people think data modeling booooorrring, right? But for a few of us, it is kind of fun. While data architects the world over will all agree that data modeling is a critical success factor to any well engineered database or data warehouse system, many struggle with how to get their organizations to support their efforts. What if you could make data modeling sessions more engaging for the business folks (your customers!)? If you could, the end result would be better data models. Using some common children’s games and other concepts (and creative license on the themes) this session will show you how to make data modeling fun. Be prepared to rethink how you develop data models.
Citation preview
Five Ways to Make
Data Modeling Fun
Kent Graziano
Data Warrior LLC
#RMOUG
Bio
Kent Graziano
● Oracle ACE Director (BI/DW)
● Data Architecture and Data Warehouse Specialist
● 30+ years in IT
● 20+ years of Oracle-related work
● 15+ years of data warehousing experience
● Co-Author of
● The Business of Data Vault Modeling
● The Data Model Resource Book (1st Edition)
● Co-Chair BI/DW SIG for ODTUG
● Past-President of Oracle Development Tools User Group and
Rocky Mountain Oracle User Group
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The 5 Ways
Word Search
Silly Sentences
Jeopardy
Data Model Haiku
Data Model Telephone
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Introduction
A correct data model has value
● Master Data
● BI and Analytics
● Common Vocabulary
Building one is tedious
Few people really want to spend time reviewing
one
There must be a better way!
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Approach
Put up a large version of a data model on the
wall
List of words to find on the model diagram.
● From data model reports
Take turns going up to the diagram to highlight
or circle the words on their list
Form teams, keep score
● Time limit
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Find These Words
Eval Commission Job
Salary Department Country ID
Region Postal Code Start Date
End Date Job Employee
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Rationale
Familiarize people with the diagram
● How to read it
Review main concepts
Confirm entity names
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Approach
Idea from National Geographic Kids magazine
Sentences with missing words
● Nouns
● Verbs
● Adverbs
Start with relationship sentences
● Mess them up – use the wrong verbs
Ask users to validate and correct
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Rationale
Relationship names are important
● Represent real business rules
Relationships naming is hard
Makes people really thing about them
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Approach
The Game:
● Contestants select a category
● “I’ll take Ex-presidents for $500”
● They get an “answer”
● They say what the answer represents by asking a
question
Use entity definitions as the answers.
Users have to guess the entity name with a
question.
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Rationale
See if people can link the definitions to the
entities
Do they even remember the definitions they
wrote or approved?
Fun way to review and get signoff on the
definitions
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Approach
Create a poem to express
● Entity definition
● Attribute definition
● Relationship
Haiku pattern
● 5 syllables
● 7 syllables
● 5 syllables
Use any poetic form you like
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My poor example
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Rationale
Using a specific form requires thought
Forces people to really examine the words they
are using
May have to use different word so must
understand the actual meaning
For Haiku – must be succinct
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Approach
Split the room into two teams
1st person on each team reads (to themselves)
a definition
Whisper it to the next person and they to the
next
Last person writes it down
Compare the results from the two teams
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Rationale
Many people think JAD sessions and review
sessions are of little value
People take bad or no notes
● “I’ll remember”
No one wants to be the scribe
● That may be the most important role!
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Audience?
Technical Team
● Word Search
● Data Model Telephone
Subject Mater Experts
● Silly Sentences
● Data Model Telephone
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Audience?
Business End Users
● Word Search
● Silly Sentences
● Jeopardy
● Data Model Telephone
Modelers
● Silly Sentences
● Haiku
● Data Model Telephone
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Conclusion
Lots of options
Try any or all of these
Make up your own
Can we make data modeling more fun?
● Yes we can!
© Data Warrior LLC
Want better data models?
http://www.amazon.com/Check-Doing-Design-Reviews-ebook/dp/B008RG9L5E/
Hold for Kscope13 slide
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Contact Information
Kent Graziano
The Oracle Data Warrior
Data Warrior LLC
Visit my blog at
http://kentgraziano.com
