A next generation modelling tool for Information Management

One of the difficult aspects of Information Development is that organizations cannot “start over” – they need to fix the issues of the past. This means that the transition to a new model must incorporate a significant transition from the old world

Most organizations have a very poorly defined view of their current state information architecture: models are undefined, quality is unknown and ownership is unclear. A product that models the Enterprise Information Architecture and provides a path for transitioning to the future state would therefore be extremely valuable.

Its capabilities could be grouped into 2 categories:

Things that can be done today, but typically through multiple products

• Can be used to define data models and interface schemas
• Provides GUI-based transformation mapping such as XML schema mapping or O-R mapping
• Is able to profile data and content to identify accuracy, consistency or integrity issues in a once-off or ongoing fashion
• Takes the direct outputs of profiling and incorporates these into a set of transformation rules
• Helps identify data-dependent business rules and classifies rule metadata
• Has an import utility to bring in common standards

New capabilities typically not seen in products today

• An ability to assign value to information based on its economic value within an organization
• Provides an information requirements gathering capability that includes drill down and traceability mapping are available across requirements
• Provides a data mastering model that shows overlaps of information assets across the enterprise and rules for its propagation
• Provides an ownership model to assign individual responsibility for different areas of the information architecture (e.g. data stewards, data owners, CIO)
• Has a compliance feature that can be run to check adherence to regulations and recommended best practices
• Provides a collaborative capability for users to jointly work together for better Information Governace

In summary, this product would be like an advanced profiling tool, enterprise architecture modelling tool and planning, budgeting and forecasting tool in one. It would be a major advantage to organizations on their path to Information Development.

Today’s solutions for Active Metadata Integration and Model Driven Development seem to provide the starting point for this next generation product. Smaller software firms such as MetaMatrix provided some visionary ideas to begin to move organizations to model driven Information Development. The bi-directional metadata repositories provided by the major players such as IBM and Informatica area a big step in the right direction. There is, however, a significant opportunity for a product that can fill the gap that exists today.