Karen Lopez gave a webinar on integrating data modeling into agile projects. She discussed what agile is and how data modeling often fits incorrectly by being treated as documentation rather than an integral part of development. She provided 7 common mistakes, such as expecting data modeling to be completed instantly or by generalists. Lopez offered 10 tips for data modelers, including embracing agile techniques and getting data modeling tasks scheduled in sprints ahead of development. The webinar aimed to help data modelers and teams better incorporate modeling into iterative agile processes.

1. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 1
Karen Lopez @datachick #HeartData
Heart of Data Modeling
7 Ways Your Agile Project
Is Managing Your Data Wrong
Yes, Please do Tweet/Share
today’s event
@datachick #heartdata

2. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 2
Karen López
Karen has 20+ years of data and information architecture
experience on large, multi-project programs.
She is a frequent speaker on data modeling, data-driven
methodologies and pattern data models.
She wants you to love your data.
Data Modelers are people,
too.
...so let’s get to know you….

3. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 3
POLL: Who Are
You?
What Have You Worked
on?
Aug 2014

4. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 4
Attendees, be part of the webinar
Use Q&A
for formal
questions
Use chat
to discuss
with each
other
Plan for Today
What is Agile? What isn’t Agile?What is Agile? What isn’t Agile?
Where does data modeling fit in Agile?Where does data modeling fit in Agile?
What role should a data modeler fill?What role should a data modeler fill?
7 data modeling mistakes on Agile projects7 data modeling mistakes on Agile projects
10 Tips for making Agile + Data Modeling work10 Tips for making Agile + Data Modeling work

5. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 5
Agile Methods
What are they? What else are they?
Plus at little bit of SCRUM
I love working on
Agile projects

6. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 6
It’s FRAGILE
projects I hate.
Agile
Manifesto
http://www.agilemanifesto.org/

7. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 7
Agile Principles
…readable copy coming next…
Principles Behind the Agile Manifesto
1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the
customer through early and
continuous delivery of valuable
software.
2. Welcome changing requirements,
even late in development. Agile
processes harness change for the
customer's competitive advantage.
3. Deliver working software frequently,
from a couple of weeks to a couple of
months, with preference to the
shorter timescale.
4. Business people and developers must
work together daily throughout the
project.
5. Build projects around motivated
individuals. Give them the
environment and support they
need, and trust them to get the job
done.
6. The most efficient and effective
method of conveying information to
and within a development team is
face-to-face conversation.

8. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 8
Principles Behind the Agile Manifesto
7. Working software is the primary
measure of progress.
8. Agile processes promote sustainable
development. The sponsors,
developers, and users should be
able to maintain a constant pace
indefinitely.
9. Continuous attention to technical
excellence and good design enhances
agility.
10. Simplicity--the art of maximizing the
amount of work not done--is
essential.
11. The best architectures,
requirements, and designs emerge
from self-organizing teams.
12. At regular intervals, the team
reflects on how to become more
effective, then tunes and adjusts its
behavior accordingly.
Manifesto for Agile Software Development

9. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 9
Agile “Extensions”…
Everyone is a generalist
Agile Blocking
Excluded titles
•Administrators
•Architects
•Managers
Test Driven Development
No BMUF/BDUF
Paired programming
Did I say Blocking?
Agile Blocking & Data Modeling
The blockers effectively implement a “process façade” around your
team that makes it appear to the rest of the organization that your team
is following their existing procedures. This satisfies the bureaucrats, yet
prevents them from meddling with the people that are doing the real
work. Although it sounds like a wasted overhead, and it is because it
would be far more effective to divert both the blockers and bureaucrats
to efforts that produce something of value, the advantage is that it
enables the rest of the team to get the job done. The role of blocker is
often taken on by your team’s project manager or coach, although in
the past I have let this be a revolving role on the project so as to spread
out the pain of dealing with the paper pushers.
http://www.agiledata.org/essays/adopting.html#sthash.gvFL7Hd4.dpuf

10. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 10
Scrum Values
Focus
• Because we focus on only a few things at a
time, we work well together and produce
excellent work. We deliver valuable items
sooner.
Courage
• Because we work as a team, we feel
supported and have more resources at our
disposal. This gives us the courage to
undertake greater challenges.
Openness
• As we work together, we express how we're
doing, what's in our way, and our concerns
so they can be addressed.
Commitment
• Because we have great control over our own
destiny, we are more committed to success.
Respect
• As we work together, sharing successes and
failures, we come to respect each other and
to help each other become worthy of
respect.
- https://www.scrumalliance.org/why-scrum/core-scrum-values-roles#sthash.RgaO3uIK.dpuf
All work performed in Scrum needs a set of values as the foundation for the team's processes and
interactions. And by embracing these five values, the team makes them even more instrumental to its
health and success.
Agile/Scrum Concepts
Parking
Lots
Backlogs
Scrum
Masters
Self
Organizing
Teams
Daily
Scrum
(stand ups)
Stories
Sprints

11. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 11
https://www.scrumalliance.org/why-scrum
Agile/Scrum development project
22

12. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 12
Typical Sprint
Sprint Planning
Backlog Stories
START
READING DEVELOPMENT DELIVER
END
Where the hell
is our
database?
Managing Data Wrong - One
Expecting data
modeling & database
design to be completed
in an instant at the
beginning of a sprint

13. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 13
Managing Data – Fix it
Sprint Planning
Backlog Stories
START READING DEVELOPMENT DELIVER
END
Managing Data – Fix it Better
Sprint Planning
Backlog Stories
SART
READING DEVELOPMENT
START
READING DEVELOPMENT DELIVER
END
Sprint Planning
Backlog Stories
START
READING

14. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 14
Enterprise Applications are Complex
27
Enterprise data
Enterprise Solutions involve complex applications &
databases
•Data Modelers understand the data
•Metadata is available
•Enterprise tools are complex
•Vendor packages are used
•External data is used
•NoSQL data & tech are used

15. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 15
Metadata
Security Requirements
Privacy Requirements
Stewardship
Quality Requirements
Semantics of data
Managing Data Wrong - Two
Thinking that “Just
Enough Documentation”
means “Don’t USE
EXISTING MODELS”
Let me go get a
pen and paper
Where do we
start?

16. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 16
Managing Data – Fix it
There is data wealth in
the enterprise. Use it.
Use data professionals
who know where it is,
how to use it.
Enterprise Projects are Integration Projects
32

17. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 17
Managing Data Wrong - Three
Expecting Enterprise
data modeling &
database design to be
completed Quickly,
By Generalists
I don’t want to
do the
database…let’s
get mickey. Hey
Mickey!
It’s your turn
to do the
database
Managing Data Wrong - Four
Doing Sprint Planning
without data
professionals
Let’s start with
Payroll. It’s just
reading some
data
Where should
we start?

18. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 18
Sprint Planning
Backlog Stories
All kinds of other
infrastructure
things
Managing Data Wrong - Five
Thinking of data
models & DDL as
just more code or
Just Documentation
I don’t have time
for
documentation
right now
When are you
going to get
writing the
data model

19. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 19
Managing Data – Fix it
Data models are
just enough
documentation, if
done by
professionals.
Use data
professionals who
know where it is,
how to use it.
Build better
databases with
existing data
models
Build faster with
existing data
models
Sprints
Agile Sprints
1-3 weeks
2-3 back-to-back sprints
Recovery Sprint
Special sprints
Like running intervals
Jim Galloway Sprints
- http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/run-walk/#sthash.Uv8cdU3R.dpuf

20. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 20
Managing Data Wrong - Six
Expecting data
Modelers to
Sprint a
Marathon
I heard maybe
sometime next
year
When is our
Recovery
Sprint?
Managing Data Wrong - Seven
Embracing
iterative
development for
everyone ELSE.
Yeah, let’s go
find some
waterfalls to
play in
Um, no more
changes to the
database,
m‘Kay?

21. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 21
Managing Data – Fix it
Iterations
are
awesome…
…Except for
those that
are iterated
upon.
Don’t make
gratuitous
changes
Collaborate
on changes
that do need
to be made
Plan for
delivering
the change.
Why is there a conflict?
Most people have been taught data models
are documentation.
Most people understand data models as
ONLY mechanisms to generate DDL
Most data modelers are stuck to traditional
development methods. Overly stuck to
them.
Most people think software is the most
important, most complex part of IT
Most people think data models are boxes
and lines
Most people have never seen productive,
iterative, responsive, flexible model driven
development

22. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 22
10 Tips for Data Modelers
1. Stop using the word Documentation when talking
about data models
2. Get Scrum training. Get certified even
3. Learn the lingo.
4. Use the lingo
5. Push, advocate, lobby, educate, rant until others
understand that data models are gold-filled
resources for agile teams.
10 Tips for Data Modelers
6. Get data models and DDL tasks moved sprints
ahead
7. Don’t get pushed into sprinting a marathon
8. Don’t back off from Agile teams, even if they are
hostile.
9. Don’t be a roadbock. Get ahead of the sprints

23. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 23
10 Tips for Data Modelers
10. Practice Agile techniques on your own
deliverables
• Paired modeling (whiteboard, paper)
• Test driven development
• Backlogging
• Parkinglotting
• Continuous delivery
Plan for Today
What is Agile? What isn’t Agile?What is Agile? What isn’t Agile?
Where does data modeling fit in Agile?Where does data modeling fit in Agile?
What role should a data modeler fill?What role should a data modeler fill?
7 data modeling mistakes on Agile projects7 data modeling mistakes on Agile projects
10 Tips for making Agile + Data Modeling work10 Tips for making Agile + Data Modeling work

24. Karen Lopez
@DATACHICK
Feb 2015
www.dataversity.net
www.datamodel.com 24
http://edw2015.dataversity.net
AM8: Architecting and Modeling Columnar Data Stores
ER/Studio and Data Modeling Special Interest Group
Data Modeling and Design Throwdown (Double Session)
…and likely some other fun things!
Thank you, you were great.
Let’s do this next month!
Karen Lopez @datachick
#heartdata