PDR602: Best Practices with PowerDesigner

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PDR602 Best Practices with PowerDesigner
Mike NicewarnerData Analystmike_at_datamodel.org /
515-267-40248/4/2003
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Introduction

• Who am I?
• 17 years in IT USAF, insurance and manufacturing
• 9 years of experience with PowerDesigner
• 6 years with DataModel.Org
• 4 years with DAMA
• Who are you?
• DA, DBA, Analyst, Programmer or Other?
• Guru, Expert, Average, Novice or Beginner?
• Primarily using PowerDesigner, ERwin, ER/Studio
  or other?

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Goals
I want to

• establish some ground rules
• This is a discussion
• We are all here to learn
• Lets have fun
• show you as much as I can about PowerDesigner
• Tips, tricks and toys
• learn how you are using your modeling tools
• leave you with useful resources and ideas

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Agenda

• Organizing for the Enterprise
• Getting started
• Integrating with the organization
• Different models, different purposes
• The communication foundation
• Modeling techniques
• Summary Discussion

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PowerDesigner in the Enterprise
PowerDesigner is very flexible, but some
decisions need to be made up-front

• Before you purchase (newbies)
• Please consider getting the Repository
• Look at the various modules and pricing options
• Decide who will be using it and how
• Document your current IT processes
• Get commitments from other groups in IT to insert
  data modeling into their processes
• Individual model (file) sizes
• Opening/closing, checking in/out of Repository
• Subject areas, model scopes, physical databases
• The Master Model concept
• Dictionary of common objects
• Central point of control for these objects
• Use Free Model to diagram inter-model dependencies

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PowerDesigner in the Enterprise
Have PowerDesigner, what now?

• Education
• Hey, wait, youre already here
• Explore and use as much of the tool as you can
• Realization
• Nothing is perfect (you or PowerDesigner)
• Adjust, adapt, then improve (business processes)
• Other modeling tools
• Object Role Modeling
• Oracle Designer/2000
• ERwin (or AllFusion)
• ER/Studio
• Rational Rose

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Different Models, Different Purposes
Spend time in each PowerDesigner Module

• Business Process Model
• Process Flow with pretty good decomposition
• Swimlane to show organizational responsibility
• Conceptual Data Model
• Classic Entity Relationship Diagram
• Multiple levels (High-level, Fully attributed)
• Logical Data Model
• Great place to put indexes and foreign keys
• Physical Data Model
• As with CDM, multiple levels, to show platform
  migration
• Object Oriented Model
• Full UML support
• PowerBuilder GUI, Web Services, O/R Mapping, need
  I go on?

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The Importance of Communication
Always remember what were doing here

• These arent just pretty pictures
• The whole idea is to communicate
• BPM and CDM communicate to the business
• LDM and PDM communicate to the DBA
• BPM, PDM and OOM communicate to the developer
• Document, document, and document some more
• Built into the tool (comments, descriptions, etc)
• Embedded or attached to the model (Word, etc)
• Maintain a historical perspective
• You may feel like the only person who cares today

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The Importance of Communication
Find ways NOT to kill trees

• Only some people will have PowerDesigner
• Even PowerDesigner Viewer might not be an option
• Remember the other tools in use export to them
• Reports are great for consultants
• The RTF and HTML formats are better than paper
• Develop a library of common layouts
• Store everything on a network drive
• Make an Intranet resource
• Publish diagrams via HTML
• Provide web access to Repository

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Modeling Techniques
Remember, communication

• No dead crows rule for the CDM
• Basically, just keep a consistent look to all
  models
• Use multiple diagrams for clarity
• Hide the details if they could confuse
• Use packages to manage subject areas
• Be cautious, as it makes generation more
  difficult
• Use external shortcuts to reference, rather than
  copy
• If you must copy, use the replicant
• New functionality, managed object copies
• Change symbols and add graphics to clarify
• Use the Free Model for other drawings

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Modeling Techniques
More tips

• Put everything in a workspace to simplify your
  work
• Combined with VB Script, you can automate a lot
  of maintenance tasks
• Use the Repository for all major maintenance
• Need to organize models in the Repository
• With this method, no files are left around to
  confuse
• Version control is a great thing
• DAMA is a great resource (www.dama.org)
• Local chapters networking opportunities
• Chapter forming right here in Orlando!
• On-line white papers and other documentation
• Magazines (DM Review) and other periodicals
• Formal training and certification programs

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Modeling Techniques
Data Modeling Generations

• Plan ahead, how many generation levels?
• Dont make it harder than it has to be
• CDM -gt CDM -gt LDM -gt PDM
• Everyone should know about the Logical
• Define keys, indexes and other common items
• Rearrange columns as needed
• Analyze associative tables
• May need to go back to CDM
• Use the LDM to generate DBMS-specific models
• Changes start in the highest model of the chain
• Impact analysis
• Be careful with model versions
• Use Repository generation dependencies are
  tracked

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Modeling Techniques
Dealing with other groups

• DBAs
• Do the DBAs each have a copy of PowerDesigner?
• Yes? Then let them generate the DDL from your
  model
• Make sure they check back in their final copy
• No? Then you need to generate the DDL
• DBAs may not like the DDL (customize the XDB)
• Work to ensure they have all needed scripts
• Version the scripts
• In any case, you need authority to control DDL
  process
• Remember to work with them, be on their team
• Give the DBA a reason to want to work with you
• Developers
• Most likely already have tools they want to use
• Have metadata management procedures in place

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Modeling Techniques
Other Topics

• You can edit the database and other definition
  files
• Customize DDL, reverse engineering behavior
• Report language (terms and abbreviations)
• Remember to use network drives to keep
  consistency
• Visual Basic scripts
• Can automate many functions
• Interaction with other software
• Extended import/export
• Repository
• Repository PDM in PowerDesigner
• Extend Repository, but leave base tables alone
• VB Script can be used to automate Repository
  access

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Discussion
What do you think?

• What about enterprise metadata repositories?
• Important? Everyone should have one?
• Home-grown or store-bought?
• Single modeling tool verses multiple tools?
• PowerDesigner integrated suite
• Rational for UML, ERwin, Visio for process
  modeling, etc.
• Is data modeling in general outdated?
• Many companies have dropped it
• Any problems with PowerDesigner?

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Conclusion
Thank you for your time

• There are resources to help you
• On-line help
• Printable documentation
• Sybase web site
• Newsgroups (forums.sybase.com)
• Sybase tech support department
• Organizations
• DAMA
• DataModel.Org