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Conceptual Data Model
Need a conceptual data model for
an
information management strategic plan and want some practical
timesaving suggestions?
What is a business model?
Think of a business model as the answer to:
- What does the organization do? (business
functions)
- Who does it? (the key organizational units)
- Where do they do it? (location) and
- What information is needed to support the
business?
Why is it
important?
It is vital to gain an understanding of business functions and
information needs before we can develop an information management
strategy.
Suppose you walk in to your local hardware store to buy some nails—The
owner has to perform all of the normal business functions such as:
- Finding the nails (inventory look-up);
- Providing an invoice (billing);
- Giving you the bag of nails (shipping);
- Collecting money (accounts receivable);
- Updating accounts (accounting);
- Ordering more nails so he will have some the
next time you return (inventory control)...OK--you get the
point.
But
wait!—Suppose
he also thinks—“When John and Mary bought these nails, they both bought
this super hammer which they felt really helped make the job easier”
Therefore, the hardware store owner quickly thinks of how many “super
hammers”
he has in stock, decides how much he can discount for you because he
wants your continued business, and makes you an offer you can't refuse.
You are happy you got a good deal and the store owner is happy that he
made an additional sale (and hopefully keep you as a return customer).
Did you
notice something? We now introduced
several new
business model functions:
- look at customer purchase profile;
- look up inventory;
- calculate discount;
- decide offer; and
- make offer to customer
This example is easy—the store owner may have all the answers in his
head. In real life, with much business being conducted over the
Internet, it is vitally important to have this type of information
available to support the business functions.
Remember—information
management is all about:
- Getting the right information;
- In the right hands;
- At the right time;
- To make the right decision
You cannot do this if you do not understand the business functions and
the information needed to support them.
What
is a function model?
A function hierarchy model diagram decomposes business functions. Do
not
allow yourself to be “bogged down” in too much detail at this stage.
Generally, three layers of functions are sufficient for strategic
planning.
- Level
1—provides
a one-statement look at the
entire organization.
- Level
2—will
decompose the first level into
things like; provide accounting services, provide inventory control; and
- Level
3--decomposes each level two
function into even more detail.
The
business function
model provides a “picture” of what the organization
does, in sufficient detail, to ensure common understanding for business
users, technical teams and
management
What
is a conceptual data model?
A conceptual data model is part of the business model and shows
key business entities and their
relationship to one another.
- The customer
buying the nails might be
considered an entity and the order
that was given to the store owner
might be considered a second entity.
- Relationships between these two entities might
read “customer places
one or many orders” and “an
order must be placed
by one and only one customer”
Do not go into too much detail for entities—at the planning stage, we
are mostly interested in the key entities.
The conceptual data model provides
a “picture” of what information is
needed to support the business functions.
Why
do we
call it a model?
Business functions are usually documented in a graphical tool because
it’s a lot easier to agree on a diagram than on many words.
Graphic tools are an important part of the process as they are easy to
understand and help bridge the gap between:
- End users, e.g. financial users who may think
in terms of codes;
- Technical teams who still sometimes talk
“jargon”; and
- Management, who think in “real terms” e.g.
words.
Who
is involved in creating the conceptual data model?
- Corporate
management e.g. finance, manufacturing, sales; to provide
the business functions;
- A
business
systems analyst, to model the
business functions; and
- A
data
modeler, to model the information needed
to support the business functions.
It is very important that you have senior people involved with
strategic planning. Sometimes these roles are combined into one senior
data architect role.
How do we
create a business model?
The following approaches can be
used to gather information:
 Individual
interviews, these usually involve one
or two analyst’s meeting with selected interviewees. This is a good
approach because it is usually easier to get an hour or so of one
person’s time than it is to find time on busy schedules for a group of
participants.
Questionnaire’s,
this
is also a good
technique—It allows the analyst’s to prepare a set of questions to ask
at an interview.
Working
sessions, this type of group
facilitation is my personal preference. You get more ideas and synergy
if you can organize a group meeting. If possible organize
this “off-site” and plan for a full day session.
On-line
working sessions are an emerging
approach that makes use of collaborative tools and webinar
presentations to give feedback. We have the technology to work
smarter and this approach will usually result in
good-feedback with limited intrusion. It should definitely be
considered
by cost conscious organizations.
Summary...
The business model and conceptual data model documents what the
organization does, who does it,
where it is done; and what information is needed. It a key input to
subsequent analysis.
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