Fee:  free to members, $10 for non-members  (see membership fees & benefits)

Agenda:

Location: BLS Conference Training Center  (see Directions and Security Procedures)

Topic 1: Lessons Learned From Excellent Companies: the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence, and the Role of Information and Analysis in an Organizational Performance Management System

  Speaker:  Dr. Harry Hertz, Director of the Baldrige National Quality Program  (see his bio)

  Abstract:  (for background information, see highlights of the National Quality Program web site)

The Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence provide a systems perspective to enterprise management and improvement. At the foundation of this system is Criteria Category 4 -–Information and Analysis. The presentation will include a discussion of the organizational scope for information and analysis, and the use of information and analysis in serving internal customers, including senior leaders. Senior leaders need information and analysis to perform organizational performance reviews and identify opportunities for organizational improvement and change.

You will learn:

• How your organization can self-assess against Baldrige Criteria Category 4 – Information and Analysis.
• What we have learned from recent Baldrige Award applicants relative to organizational performance and the role of information and analysis.
• Future challenges facing U.S. organizations, including CEOs' perceptions of these challenges.

Topic 2:  Practical Visual Modeling

  Speaker 2:  Robert A.Maksimchuk,  Rational Software Corporation (see his bio)

  Abstract:

Project teams beginning to adopt modeling often suffer from the “white paper syndrome” – they’ve been trained but struggle with where to begin, how deep to go, etc.  This presentation approaches visual modeling pragmatically.  Basic visual modeling is discussed, augmented with practical, experiential advice from real world projects and heuristics for the beginning visual modeler.

Attendees will learn about:

• Techniques to prepare and plan for your object-oriented project

• Business modeling vs. System modeling via use cases

• Avoiding common modeling pitfalls during analysis and design

• Basic UML techniques

Product Demo: Rational Software Corporation

March 23, 2001:  Data Warehouse Conference 2001

Sponsor:  DAMA North East

Location:  Crystal City Hilton, Arlington, Virginia

Details:  http://www.damane.org/

Highlights: 

Bill Inmon, Father of Data Warehousing,
on FUTURE TRENDS AND DIRECTIONS IN DATA WAREHOUSING

Neil Raden, Director, Archer Decision Sciences , Leading Author, Lecturer and Consultant
on eBUSINESS INTELLIGENCE --- DELIVERING WITH YOUR DATA WAREHOUSE

Sheila Jeffrey, Vice President, First Union, Charlotte, NC
on MINING FOR CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS AT FIRST UNION --- THE BIGGEST DATA WAREHOUSE IN BANKING

Anne Marie Smith, Data Architect Consultant,  Assistant Professor of MIS, LaSalle University
on BUILDING AND MANAGING YOUR METADATA REPOSITORY:  KEY TO DATA WAREHOUSING SUCCESS

Arthur F. Chantker , President, Potomac Consortium will be the  Moderator

May 8, 2001:  Regular Meeting

Fee:  free to members, $10 for non-members  (see membership fees & benefits)

Agenda:

Location: BLS Conference Training Center  (see Directions and Security Procedures)

Business Meeting

Election of officers:  President, Vice President for Programs, Vice President for Administration and Finance.   Please send nominations to Frank Jackson, VP for Membership Membership@dama-ncr.org  

Topic 1:  Information Architecture - Successes from the Data Architecture

  Speakers : Ted Griffin (bio), Jason Kruse (bio), Lisa Black (bio), Connie Dowler (bio)

  Abstract: 

1. Ted Griffin, Federal Lead, Strategic Planning & Architecture (SPA), Office of Science (SC), Department of Energy - Will talk briefly on his perception of life with an Information Architecture and the benefits overall. Will then introduce the following speakers.
2. Jason Kruse, Contractor Lead, SPA - Will talk about the methodology and the implementation of the Enterprise Architecture process used and adaptations implemented over the annual updates. Will then introduce the following speaker.
3. Lisa Black, Lead Analyst and Data Architect & Connie Dowler, Analyst and DBA, contractors for the Systems Development group, DOE SC. Will give the real world view from the trenches of the data architecture from the inception as a logical model from the EAP to rollout of a system that forces data validation at the client based on the database rules.

Topic 2:  What's Wrong with the (Database) Picture?

  Speaker:  Fabian Pascal  (see his bio)

  Abstract: 

Most of what is being said, written about, or done in database management (or whatever is left of it) by vendors, the trade press and "experts" is irrelevant, misleading, or outright wrong. While this is to a degree true of computing in general, in the database field the problems are so acute that, claims to the contrary notwithstanding, technology is actually regressing! This is due to the persistent failure by both DBMS vendors and database users, including DBAs, application developers and managers, to educate themselves and rely on a sound foundation in their respective practices. Indeed, it is lack of proper education that makes fads and accelerating obsolescence acceptable in the first place!

This presentation demonstrates the fundamentally flawed way in which the database industry operates and offers you an opportunity to test yourself on your ability to see through the prevalent industry fallacies and avoid their costly practical consequences of which you are probably not even aware in areas such as database design (normalization and "denormalization") and -- time permitting -- duplicates and keys.

Product Demo: 

May 9, 2001:  Special Seminar

PRACTICAL ISSUES IN DATABASE MANAGEMENT

Location: BLS Conference Training Center  (see Directions and Security Procedures)

Fee: (tentative:  member $30, non-member $60, book not included ) (see membership fees & benefits)

Preregistration:  required.  

• Call the DAMA-NCR Business Office at (703) 442-8780 to reserve your space
• Payment methods:  credit card, check, purchase order, or training form

Registration:  7:30 - 8:30 a.m.

Program: 8:30 a.m. till 4:30 p.m. 

Instructor:  Fabian Pascal (see his bio)

Description:

A vast majority of practitioners are inducted into the database field-as DBAs, application developers, DBMS designers, managers, or users-by learning or working with some specific DBMS software such as Access, Oracle, or SQL Server. Yet even a cursory inspection of difficulties encountered in practice by novices or the technically proficient reveals that the problems:

a) are common to most, if not all database projects
b) recur over and over again
c) have costly consequences
d) correct solutions cannot, or will not, come from DBMS software, per se.

Distinct from product-specific training prevalent in the industry, this seminar identifies two* core issues in database management -- "complex" data types/"unstructured" data and missing information -- that practitioners have recurring difficulties with. It demonstrates practical implications, provides the correct solutions, assesses whether and how well current DBMS products support these solutions and, if they do not, offers -- wherever possible -- workarounds. 

The objective is to provide knowledge and skills essential for and applicable to all database projects, whether Web-based or not, regardless of the DBMS software used. 

Upon completion of the course, participants should have the ability to:

• Understand central issues in database management and appreciate their practical implications
• Avoid costly misconceptions and fallacies prevalent in the database industry
• Understand the correct general solutions to core problems
• Assess whether and how well commercial DBMS software support such solutions
• Overcome, work around, or minimize the consequences, if and when products do not provide correct and satisfactory support
  

* Time permitting, a third issue -- redundancy -- will be covered.

Read a complete outline of this seminar.

List of Job Openings:  

(more info: http://www.dama-ncr.org/Publicity/jobslist.htm)

No new job postings.

Special Announcements:  

(more info:  http://www.dama-ncr.org/Announcements.htm)

• Elections of DAMA-NCR board of directors will be held at our May 8, 2001 meeting.  Nominations are open for President, V.P. for Programs, and V.P. for Administration and Finance.  Please send nominations to 

Frank Jackson, VP for Membership Membership@dama-ncr.org  

• The Central Virginia Chapter of DAMA:   Please see their website at www.go.to/dama-cv or contact Peter Aiken (at 804.828.0174) or Ryan Slye (at 804.270.5080).