Data modeling: review of three resources and their value

¶ … Modeling

Review 3 resources (journal articles or web sites) that define data modeling. Provide the reference in APA format, identify the value of the site, and summarize the findings of the site.

Data modeling: Website reviews

Resource

Ambler, Scott W. (2011). Data Modeling 101. Agile Data. Retrieved at:

http://www.agiledata.org/essays/dataModeling101.html

This resource provides an introduction to data modeling with a comprehensive table of contents with easy 'links' to various areas of the article. It clearly defines different types and uses of data modeling, such as the three basic styles of data model: conceptual models; logical models; and physical models. Most of the article is devoted to comparing conceptual and logical models, given that these are most the commonly used in agile products. It also provide a step-by-step overview of the general data modeling process including: the need to identify entity types; identify attributes; apply naming conventions; identify relationships; apply data model patterns; assign keys; normalize to reduce data redundancy; and denormalize to improve performance.

The intention of the website is instructive. The information is presented in a manner to help budding IT professionals use data modeling in a useful fashion in their work, and every step is illustrated by charts and examples. Greater attention is given to the types of models used in the everyday life of a developer and there is also career advice given to the professional. "You should take the opportunity to work with the enterprise architects within your organization...they should be taking an active role on your project, mentoring your project team in the enterprise architecture (if any), mentoring you in modeling and architectural skills, and aiding in your team's modeling and development efforts."

Resource 2

Data modeling - Conceptual, logical, and physical data models. (2012). 1 Key Data. Retrieved at:

http://www.1keydata.com/datawarehousing/data-modeling-levels.html

Rather than defining the different types of data modeling in words alone, this website instead offers physical drawings to illustrate the different types of data modeling. Three different flow charts depict the models. "We can see that the complexity increases from conceptual to logical to physical. This is why we always first start with the conceptual data model (so we understand at high level what are the different entities in our data and how they relate to one another), then move on to the logical data model (so we understand the details of our data without worrying about how they will actually implemented), and finally the physical data model." There is also a checklist of the different types of features the types have (or do not have) such as entity names and relationships; attributes; primary and foreign keys; table and column names; and column data types. The approach of the website is comparative and does not provide specific instruction in how to use the information in a hands-on fashion.

Resource 3

Data modeling. (2012). Information Management. Retrieved at: