The author would like to thank Wayne Little, DAMA President’s Liaison, for assistance with this article.
Congratulations to TDAN.COM as it celebrates its tenth anniversary of publication. I read and reference this publication frequently, both at work and in the data design class I teach at a local university. Through my work as President of DAMA International, I know TDAN.COM is referenced frequently throughout our profession. DAMA recently presented publisher Robert Seiner with the “DAMA Professional Award”, one of our three annual awards to individuals who have distinguished themselves in the area of data and information management. A great wealth of knowledge is collected in these issues, an exchange of information by the best and brightest of our profession.
Like TDAN.COM, DAMA International thrives on exchanging information. Our conferences, held annually in the United States, London, Australia and soon Canada, are abuzz with people sharing ideas, tips and tricks, and fitting the big ideas they hear in the sessions into their world. Chapter meetings – held at over forty DAMA chapters ranging from Chicago to Amsterdam to Johannesburg to Bangalore – give data professionals a chance to learn from each other.
A fair question, then, is what keeps these information exchanges going? In a busy world, why read another article, why ask the boss to go to another conference, why leave the office for another chapter meeting?
It’s because we learn while doing these things, and by learning, we gain new skills and understanding.
We’re not alone in our struggle to define data architecture – we can read Jane Carbone’s “Putting Data Back in Data Architecture” (TDAN.COM, July 2002). We don’t have to be stumped by the need to store historical data – we can review the slides from Tom Haughey’s “Advanced Topics in Data Modeling” (2005 DAMA Symposium/Wilshire Meta-Data Conference). And, we can gain a new perspective on data design by attending Tom Victory’s “Dimensional Modeling: Star vs. Snowflake” presentation (February 2007 DAMA-Iowa chapter meeting).
Like a stock exchange for wisdom, the TDANs and DAMAs of the world are information exchanges that bring people together in a marketplace of knowledge. In this global market, there are no losers, for both the givers and receivers of knowledge benefit from the transaction. I’ve experienced this myself when I realize how much I’ve gained from my students, and I’m sure you’ve experienced the same.
DAMA is working in a number of ways to both formalize and extend information sharing in the data management arena. I’d like to highlight our Data Management Body of Knowledge (DMBOK) initiative. Version 2 of the DMBOK Functional Framework has just been released. It presents a standard industry view of data management functions, terminology and best practices, without detailing specific methods and techniques. More information as well as downloads of either a short PowerPoint or the complete document are available at http://www.dama.org/public/pages/index.cfm?pageid=795.
We invite you to join us at a DAMA meeting near you. A list of DAMA chapters is available at http://www.dama.org/public/pages/index.cfm?pageid=112. Explore other DAMA-I services and information on our website.
Keep learning, keep sharing, and keep developing as a data professional!
