This document discusses data modeling and fact-oriented modeling. It describes capturing business language, supporting agile modeling, validating models with users, and integrating documentation. The document presents the FCO-IM modeling method and shows an example of modeling a customer and location as facts that can then be transformed, grouped, lexicalized, and reduced to generate various artifacts like SQL DDL, documentation, and diagrams. It discusses using data modeling to capture requirements, promote consistency, avoid missed needs, and prepare for database design. Finally, it provides some customer case studies and metrics on fact types.

1. Data Modeling
by Example
© BCP Software / Marco Wobben

2. • Capture business language
• Support agile modeling
• Validation by users
• Integrate documentation
• Include language domains
• Model once, bootstrap everything
What if?

3. Fact Oriented Modeling

4. Methods
• Development originated in the 70’s
“one family, three relatives”
Method By Tool Emphasis
NIAM Nijssen DocTool relational
ORM Halpin NORMA constraints
FCO-IM Bakema & co. CaseTalk communication

5. High level modeling

6. Specialists at work

7. Facts

8. Expression

9. Visualise

10. Generate

11. Communicate Data
Capture Knowledge

12. FCO-IM
• Communication Oriented,
• Information Modeling,
• Fully.

13. Make it work

14. a Fact
Name of Customer: “Customer 4081 is Sandia Labs.”
Customer
Customer NoName
Name of Customer

15. Add Unicity
Customer
Customer NoName
Name of Customer
Name of Customer: “Customer 4081 is Sandia Labs.”

16. Agile: Add a Fact
Customer Location City
City Name
Customer
Customer NoName
Name of Customer: “Customer 4081 is Sandia Labs.”
Customer Location: “Customer 4081 is located in Albuquerque.”
Name of Customer

17. Transformation(s)
Customer Location City
City Name
Customer
Customer NoName
Name of Customer: “Customer 4081 is Sandia Labs.”
Customer Location: “Customer 4081 is located in Albuquerque.”
Name of Customer

18. Group (before)
Name of Customer: “Customer 4081 is Sandia Labs.”
Customer Location: “Customer 4081 is located in Albuquerque.”
Customer Location City
City Name
Customer
Customer NoName
Name of Customer
consolidate identical populations

19. Group (after)
City
City Name
Customer
Customer NoName
Name: “Customer 4081 is Sandia Labs.”
City: “Customer 4081 is located in Albuquerque.”
consolidate identical populations

20. Lexicalise
City
City Name
Customer
Customer NoName
Name: “Customer 4081 is Sandia Labs.”
City Name: “Customer 4081 is located in Albuquerque.”
every place holder has a data type

21. City
City Name
Customer
Customer NoName
Reduce
Name: “Customer 4081 is Sandia Labs.”
City Name: “Customer 4081 is located in Albuquerque.”
remove redundancy and unused concepts

22. City Name
Customer
Customer NoName
Generate Artifacts
Name: “Customer 4081 is Sandia Labs.”
City Name: “Customer 4081 is located in Albuquerque.”

23. SQL DDL
CREATE TABLE Customer (
Customer_No integer NOT NULL,
Name varchar(64),
City_Name varchar(256),
PRIMARY KEY (Customer_No)
);
City Name
Customer
Customer NoName

24. Table Document

25. SQL DDL & DML

26. CDM

27. PDM

28. UML

29. XML Schema

30. Ontology

31. Validation

32. Rule Validation

33. Rule Validation

34. Rule Validation

35. Model Validation

36. User Validation

37. Why a Data Model?
• Capturing business requirements
• Promotes reuse, consistency, quality
• Bridge between business and technology personnel
• Avoid late discovery of missed requirements
• Critical in managing integration between systems
• Pre-cursor to DBMS design / generate DDL
Source: DAMA-I Survey

38. Practice

39. Work sheet

40. Work sheet

41. Work sheet
Employee Name:
“Employee 618 has name Boven WJ van.”

42. Work sheet

43. Work sheet
Working Hours:
“In week 200138 employee 618 worked on project 6323.16
for 2 hours on task 15.”

44. Work sheet
Working Hours:
“In week 200138 employee 618 worked on project 6323.16
for 2 hours on task 15.”
Project Employee:
’employee 618 worked on project 6323.16’

45. Artifacts
Databases
Oracle
SQL Server
MySQL
SQLite
SQL92
MongoDB
Interbase
MsAccess
Denodo
…
Other
PowerDesigner
OWL/RDF
XML Schema
DWH Models
Relational Diagrams
UML Class Diagrams
HTML + Images
Spreadsheets
…

46. Some Customers
• Banking
• Travel
• Medical
• Education
• Government

47. Some Metrics
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48. Contact
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