Last edit: 05-03-17 Graham Wideman

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Develop Shared Data Models

My initial survey showed that the core systems, which were of oldest vintage and generally based on COBOL were of course not using entity-relationship models.  Even though numerous of these systems were transitioning to Oracle databases, E-R diagrams were still not being used, and lacking such tools the developers had not gone to the effort to constrain table relationships... which made reverse-engineering the table sets rather unsatisfactory.  (In addition, it invariably meant that the actual data was contaminated with integrity errors.)

A number of smaller systems developed or purchased by groups away from the core functions were using E-R diagrams, but there was considerable frustration that these models had to be based on fresh and limited analyses, despite the data topics overlapping considerably with the core systems, and the inevitable need to interact with those systems.

So, it appeared that an important agenda item would be to create E-R diagrams for the core systems, and make them available to the wider audience.

I myself did this for SIMS/CDPS in 96/97 (using ERWin and publishing to the web), and for FAS in late 97 (conceptual -- using Visio with web output).  In parallel with this, another group needing a considerable part of the SIMS model established an Oracle Designer 2000 respository for campus use, with their SIMS model as a starting point.   This was a great idea, and could have been a unifying factor on campus.   However, even now it has had limited impact because the considerable time and effort for other groups to adopt this foundation has not been accorded a high priority.

So we did achieve sharing of some data models, if only in a lowest-common-denominator web format, though we do not yet see widespread use of shared models.  On the other hand, I came to scale back my expectations, and regard as a significant advance that in a number of groups we did raise the priority of (and get software, useable screens and a plotter for) creation and maintenance of diagrams (ER, process and so on). Where never a diagram was to be seen, now these work areas are festooned with diagrams which people regularly use for thinking and discussion.

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