So this is a more academic discussion today...
I am used to Physical Data models or Logical Data models which are pretty rudimentary. Are these composites? In a diagram sense, Yes.
What does that mean? They combine a list of information:
classes, entities, attributes, columns, tables, etc...
whatever terminology you use in your modeling tool. These lists are then organized into visual representations, which become composites. So why am I talking about this...
The basics lists that are created are VERY important, and I see architects forgetting that all the time. They will use two diagrams and create the SAME attributes over again, rather than using the shared or copied attribute from a base list. Now their new diagram is going to differ from the other one since they can change the Definition of the new attribute without having some basic understanding of how that information, or object, should be bounded... UGH>
anyway, will chat on this more later and maybe get a few screenies for the post.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Our use of a Framework really needed some Guidance from a Methodology
While i have been in software programming for years, there has never been a real well stated framework that i have had to follow down at the implementation level. How many other programmers are like that? Code and Fix is what i ahve been doing for two decades now...
In the last three years I have started managing more than programming, and leading out some of the PowerDesigner initiatives has really opened my eyes to a different world.
Who knows what a framework is?
*programmer responds*Something to waste my time.
*project lead responds*Something to make my programmers document what they are doing.
*IT Director responds*A Tool for structuring deliverables that helps me show the business we are accomplishing their requests.
*Business user responds*A set of documents I can help IT create that lets me help inform them of what I want to help with my job.
*Executive Leader responds*This is going to cost a lot of money, so there better be some ROI.
In the end, a framework, like Zachman, or DoDAF, is a list of artifacts that a team has to produce in the efforts to create a new software system. If that team completes all of the documentation, models and spreadsheets, the system will be far easier to create and maintain. Now that I have experienced this from a Department of Defense Architecture Framework perspective, I know this is only partially true. Fulfilling the proper artifacts is the key. As the architect on this latest project, there were over 20 models that needed to be created. What i found was a huge redundancy between models, so the majority of them will never be used. So why did I complete them? To be compliant with the Government requriment that we completed all artifacts for DoDAF and a computere system for message handling. Oh well, we are paid by the hour times the weight of paper used...
So, why did our framework implementation produce a bunch of extra stuff... Because DoDAF is an implementation framework with very little guidance on exactly what i needed to methodically produce a required result. Methodology is a key ingredient to how we act on a framework. The really sad part is that most methodology's do not encompass a software development life cycle. In our project, we found that the programmers were steaming ahead full tilt while we were reverse engineering their classes and database with team meetings to create process maps. What a waste of time. If we had spent the first few weeks creating the process flows, data flows, application architectures, physical database diagrams, etc... this project would have take a two, maybe three months, rather than six months. Is this a result of hourly based consulting? I am starting to wonder...
hopefully this little chat is worth reading...
In the last three years I have started managing more than programming, and leading out some of the PowerDesigner initiatives has really opened my eyes to a different world.
Who knows what a framework is?
*programmer responds*Something to waste my time.
*project lead responds*Something to make my programmers document what they are doing.
*IT Director responds*A Tool for structuring deliverables that helps me show the business we are accomplishing their requests.
*Business user responds*A set of documents I can help IT create that lets me help inform them of what I want to help with my job.
*Executive Leader responds*This is going to cost a lot of money, so there better be some ROI.
In the end, a framework, like Zachman, or DoDAF, is a list of artifacts that a team has to produce in the efforts to create a new software system. If that team completes all of the documentation, models and spreadsheets, the system will be far easier to create and maintain. Now that I have experienced this from a Department of Defense Architecture Framework perspective, I know this is only partially true. Fulfilling the proper artifacts is the key. As the architect on this latest project, there were over 20 models that needed to be created. What i found was a huge redundancy between models, so the majority of them will never be used. So why did I complete them? To be compliant with the Government requriment that we completed all artifacts for DoDAF and a computere system for message handling. Oh well, we are paid by the hour times the weight of paper used...
So, why did our framework implementation produce a bunch of extra stuff... Because DoDAF is an implementation framework with very little guidance on exactly what i needed to methodically produce a required result. Methodology is a key ingredient to how we act on a framework. The really sad part is that most methodology's do not encompass a software development life cycle. In our project, we found that the programmers were steaming ahead full tilt while we were reverse engineering their classes and database with team meetings to create process maps. What a waste of time. If we had spent the first few weeks creating the process flows, data flows, application architectures, physical database diagrams, etc... this project would have take a two, maybe three months, rather than six months. Is this a result of hourly based consulting? I am starting to wonder...
hopefully this little chat is worth reading...
Design and Software Architecture
I wanted to start putting some of my thoughts together around designing software and using architecture to do that.
This blog will hopefully allow me to do this, so keep checking back for what i come up with.
Cheers
Jeff
This blog will hopefully allow me to do this, so keep checking back for what i come up with.
Cheers
Jeff
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