Database Elaborations
Database Elaborations explores the human side of building and managing databases. The discussion revolves around data modeling as a semantic process, and how normalization only functions within a business rule context. Communication is hard; the meaning of everything is more fluid than we might wish to admit. Large gaps between logical versus physical or theory versus implementation are always worth reflection.
Occasionally the database under design becomes more than a one-off project. For example, the data mart or data warehouse might act as a profit center for the organization, and as a solution sold to many customers. The possibility exists to capture a basic truth for a given industry in a simple universal design exactly suiting everyone. But unless the situation really qualifies as a valid "one-size-fits-all" circumstance, one needs a level of customization within the architecture.
Posted January 15, 2009
Tight budgets and limited talent pools do not make a winning combination for staffing a database management group. Despite the importance of saving money, problems can arise when the lines blur regarding what gets wasted versus what gets saved.
Posted December 15, 2008
Posted September 15, 2008