THE DATA ADMINISTRATION NEWSLETTER – TDAN.com
ROBERT S. SEINER – PUBLISHER

Author: Adrienne Tanenbaum
Publisher: Wiley & Sons, Inc. (ISBN 0-471-58537-8)

This book is a great resource for any Data Administrator, Data Architect or Repository Administrator. This book will generate ideas on how to better utilize the repository and provides a good understanding of the issues surrounding implementation.

The book has 29 chapters which are organized into following sections:

• Today’s models and their role in application development
• The modeling environment
• Integrating today’s models: the need for a bridge
• The repository as the bridge
• Repository Implementation

The table of contents is very well arranged to make it easy to locate a specific topic. For example, Part Three named Integrating Today’s Models: The Need For a Bridge has the following Chapters

• Viewing Models Through the Eyes of the Tool
• CASE Meta data Constructs
• The Attributes of CASE Meta data
• Vertical CASE Integration
• Horizontal CASE Integration
• Model Management

Another example of how the table of contents is well arranged is how it labels subtitles. For example it labels chapter 17 as Model Management with the following subtitles:

• Model Management Defined
• Multiuser Access to Specific Models and Submodels
• Read / Write Protection
• Update / Version Management
• Configuration Management
• Backup / Restore
• Summary

The first two sections of eleven chapters focus primarily on CASE technology issues. Although it was interesting reading, if you want to get a quicker return for your reading effort, I’d recommend skipping to section three or four. I personally found the most value in reading section five on "Repository Implementation".

This book covers the subjects of metadata and meta data integration comprehensively. There are good insights into the associated issues being discussed in each section. For example, in several chapters references were made to the "organizations readiness".

The feature I enjoyed the most about the writing style was the use of case stories. This feature definitively separates this book from theory and places it strongly on the side of practical application. I found myself wishing for more case studies in some chapters. For the most part, these studies did not leave me hanging. The case study on page 340 pointed out the factors causing one organization to recommend postponing implementation because they could not adequately address basic issues. This case study is immediately followed by two case studies where an insurance company and a government agency were able to successfully follow through on implementation.

The book gives the reader plenty of ideas to consider. If you are in any way involved with the implementation of a meta data repository or considering it, this book is a good resource.