Learn the best practices for infomation modeling based on the
experiences of a team of data modelers using IBM® Rational® Data
Architect with DB2®. Rational Data Architect is an information modeling tool that can help you establish and use standards in design based on proven design methodologies to create highly reusable models that satisfy business requirements.
Database and Information design is a very important, yet commonly overlooked
part of the system development lifecycle. By establishing and employing
standards in design and using proven design methodologies, organizations can
create highly reusable models that satisfy business requirements. Rational Data
Architect is an information modeling tool that can be used to facilitate
communication and understanding between business and IT associates in an
organization. Leveraging Rational Data Architect and the modeling best
practices from this paper can help organizations experience benefits, such as:
- Improving efficiency of IT organization members:
- Business analyst
- Data modeler or data architect
- Database
administrator
- Data governance steward
- Providing a structured, standardized form of communication between
business and IT departments
- Leveraging and reusing existing investments
- Reducing data duplication
- Improving the documentation of systems
- Streamlining the standardization processes by employing naming and
domain standards
- Reducing of syntax errors
- Providing foresight—the ability to model the future before implementing it
Data modeling is a very interesting skill because there are always different ways
to model the same requirements, and each method will often have its own
advantages and disadvantages. While it is difficult to say that one way of
creating a model is better than another way, there are some basic rules that can
lead to flexible models that can accommodate future requirements.
The document shares insights gained from the experiences of a team of data
modelers using Rational Data Architect within IBM.
- Executive summary
- Introduction to information modeling
- Assumptions about the
reader
- Attributes of high quality database designs
- General best practices
- Eclipse and the general Rational Data Architect user experience
- Defragment your hard drive
- Apply the latest fix packs
- Create an easy to find workspace
- Save often
- Minimize the number of open projects and model in the data project
explorer
- Learn and update shortcut keys
- Create customized perspectives for your specific tasks
- Always start clean
- Align diagrams for printing during initial diagram creation
- Use local history for comparison and model restoration
- Increase virtual memory available to Rational Data Architect
- Increase virtual memory available to the data model import/export
bridge in Rational Data Architect
- Update import/export bridges to enable or disable the bridges that
are available in Rational Data Architect
- Leverage the model import function to speed up modeling
- Best practices for Eclipse and the general Rational Data Architect user
experience
- Establishing standards
- Naming standards
- How to define naming standards – Name component ordering in
Rational Data Architect
- How to define naming standards – Physical object naming standards
template
- Best practices for naming standards
- Additional commentary on best practices for naming standards
- Understanding the structure of a glossary model in Rational Data
Architect
- How to create a glossary model
- Populating a glossary model in Rational Data Architect: Important
points of interest
- Analyzing a model using a glossary
- Best practices for glossary models
- Domain standards
- Best practices for domains
- Logical data modeling in Rational Data Architect
- Table normalization and denormalization
- Complying with first normal form
- Complying with second normal form
- Complying with third normal form
- Denormalization
- Best practices for normalization in logical data models
- Generalization relationships
- Best practices for generalization relationships
- Team sharing
- Separate logical entities using packages
- Create submodels from packages
- Best practices for team sharing
- Physical data modeling in Rational Data Architect
- Normalization and denormalization
- Best practices for normalization and denormalization
- Index design
- Best practices for index design
- Referential integrity
- Best practices for referential integrity
- Model transformation and deployment
- Model transformation and physical model deployment
- Model validation and analysis
- Traceability
- Impact analysis
- Best practices for model transformation
- Best practices for deploying a physical data model
- Lifecycle management
- Comparison
- Best practice for comparing objects
- Mapping models
- Create mapping models even if transformation logic is ignored
- Leverage mapping discovery algorithms
- Best practices for mapping models
- Education
- Best practices for user education
- Check developerWorks for newest articles on Rational Data
Architect
- Check for updates to this document
- Participate in the wiki for this document
- Best practices summary
- Conclusion
- Further reading
- Notice
"
Best Practices:
Information Modeling with Rational Data Architect Version 7
"
(October 2008)
Best Practices for infomation modeling based on the experiences of
a team of data modelers using Rational Data Architect with DB2. Rational Data
Architect is an information modeling tool that can help you establish and use
standards in design based on proven design methodologies to create highly
reusable models that satisfy business requirements. (pdf; 1.63MB; 74 pages)
Download the sample spreadsheet for
using the Rational Data Architect Data model Import Wizard
Comment, edit, or add your own insights to the Information Modeling with
Rational Data Architect Version 7 best practices
on the IBM Database Wiki.
Check out all the other Best Practices papers and see how you can improve your experience with DB2 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows.
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