Category — Integrated Modelling Method

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The video above introduces PTS and you can find out all of the detail by subscribing to the FREE video suite that tells you all you need to know.

Dylan Jones of DataQualityPro, in a recent post cited a job description for a Data Quality Director that cited 17 keys areas of responsibility across 4 functional areas.  The JD made no mention of of the enormous support team that would be required to help this leader, now matter how energetic he/she might be, complete these tasks.  Without this team, all that this leader would require, as Dylan commented, would be “Powers of Invincibility”.

The trouble with the current approach to data quality is that it calls for, either ever larger teams, or individuals with superhuman powers.  After all, what we are asking them to do is the equivalent of raising the Titanic! [Read more →]

In a recent blog post on data quality (rather the lack of it) Charles Burleigh asked the question, “Should we treat the cause or the symptom?”.

My response to Charles was:

“For as long as people in data quality continue to say “it is almost impossible to guarantee the quality of your data” it will remain so.

It was not until Quality Assurance came along and people started asking industry leaders the question, “Why do you spend time and money turning out products with some unknown number of defects and then spend more time and money trying to find them?”. Note: Finding these defects was given the paradoxical name of “Quality Control”!! [Read more →]

There are two main areas of activity that are referred to as “business modelling”.  The first is that set of activities carried out by financial experts, economists, etc. that are concerned with analysing, modelling and predicting the financial performance of a business, business sector or an industry.

The second is all about modelling what a business does, or OUGHT to be doing, in order to ensure that it is doing the right things in the most effective and efficient ways possible. [Read more →]

This is a question I am often asked when modelling information flows for clients.

The answer is a very definitive “YES”. Because, if the activity being performed does not create or transform data, then it is NOT a Business Function. [Read more →]

Some Data Entities in a business can exist in many states.  For example, a theatre Booking could possibly exist in the states of “provisional”, “cancelled”, “confirmed”, or “picked up”.  If such were the case it might be essential to know what Business Functions move the Booking from one state to the next. [Read more →]

Matrix modeling is a very simple, yet powerful, technique for showing the interrelationship between various elements of an enterprise. The most common and well known matrix model is that which shows the interrelationship between Business Functions and data, called the CRUD Matrix.

C=Create : R=Read : U=Update : D=Delete

Matrix Models can be used to show the presence, or absence, of interrelationships between any two elements of an enterprise.  For example between Business Function and technology, between technology and location, between technology and data, etc, etc. [Read more →]

Before computerising any part of a business it is essential to identify and model the data used or created by the Business Functions being computerised and its relationship to other data items (data entities) within the business.

This is where the Data Structure Model – often referred to simply as a Data Model or an Entity Relationship Diagram or ERD – is an indispensable tool. [Read more →]

In order to explain Procedure, it is helpful to recap on some other business modelling definitions.

Business Functions are the core activities of an enterprise.

Business Processes show the order in which Business Functions need to be carried out in response to a particular Trigger in order to arrive at a predetermined Outcome. [Read more →]

Information Flow Modelling is a technique for showing how information flows between Business Functions within an enterprise and between the enterprise and “External Entities”, such as Suppliers, Customers, Government, etc., in the outside world.

All Business Functions in an Information Flow Model come from the Function Catalogue. [Read more →]