Understanding corporate data models

Corporate data models are widely used to support data management within organisations. However, both IS professionals and business users find them difficult to understand. This paper describes a methodology for designing and representing corporate data models that uses explanation and visualisation mechanisms to improve understanding, and reports a case study of the use of the methodology in the development of a data warehouse. The methodology was shown to be effective in that a high quality corporate data model was designed and then understood and utilised by all the participants. The model was used as an active, hypertext interface to the first prototype of the data warehouse. The case study findings indicated that: scenarios are useful for eliciting information requirements and explaining abstract concepts in the model to business users; graphical icons and subject area partitions are effective means of visualising the model and lead to improved understanding of the model by business users; and design rationale is an effective means of explaining the evolution of concepts in the model for specialist data modellers.

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