1. Modelation
Data Clarity in Action
05/16/23
"True Communication has not occurred until meaning is established and understanding takes place."

2. Today’s Speakers:
Your data - discover the value!

3. Who we are
• Discover
• Cultivate
We seek Clarity and strive for practical solutions to complex business challenges.
• Create
• Multiply
• Produce
• Coach
• Care
Your data - discover the value!

4. Data Clarity is the goal:
• better "understanding" and “usability” of your data
Modelation is the approach:
• Leveraging Business Focused Information Models to
• Communicate, Collaborate, Integrate and automate (“opportunity”)
• Transforming these models into technical shapes - Conceptual and Logical data models
• Iterative – identify, prioritize, communicate… rinse/repeat!
A Universal Semantic Model (Business Model of Meanings) is the means:
• Lives in some kind of data virtualization, data fabric platform - ie. Denodo
• Data Catalog - Alation, Collibra, Denodo – “Reference” platform
Shared Data Language:
• By-product - will define/refine your own internal business data dialect
Your data - discover the value!
Some Definitions…

5. • What is a “ Model” – a representation of some thing
• It has a purpose and “intent”
• Allows us to “visualize” a concept or intangible
• SDI – Strategic Data Intent
• an exercise in understanding current business directives (as-is)
• Data Domain – the art of the possible
• Identify some key strategic data to focus on (3-5 Proper Nouns)
• Deliverables
• Some “shape” of these proper nouns - visualize
• Using grammatical constructs to identify and describe (noun, adjectives, pre)
• A heat map to help visualize the strategic data priorities
And some “context”

6. Art of the Possible (data)
• Alignment - Business strategy mapping to strategic data opportunities
Goal - Industrialize your data
• Open windows into your applications – minimize data silos
• Allow more people to discover, opportunities for insights
Develop a framework
• Identify / align business strategies with key strategic data assets (proper nouns)
• Discover a shared business data language to bridge your business and IT
communities
• Business Data Stewardship – clean it, provide it, maintain it and grow it
Your data - discover the value!
Why “Data Clarity” matters…

7. • Data Clarity Engagement(s) - 6-8 week quick start
• Seven Verbs is the “Catalyst” ; You provide a “Data Clarity Champion”
• Help companies “Get off the mark” – finding the value of their data
• Denodo / Data Catalog “optional”
• Denodo strategic / development services
• Implementation of Semantic Model (Business Model of Meanings)
• Denodo best practices
• Leverage Seasoned/Experienced Business and IT executives
Data Clarity – its what we do…

8. What if?
We could treat our data in companies as dotted lines in the
organization? Like they're on the same team instead of disconnected?
• A Business Model of Meanings (Universal Semantic Layer) is
enabled with modern data architectures
• Business Information Models are a tool for improving "Data Clarity"
• Finding the value of your data is a team sport
• You can do it, we can help
Key Takeaways

9. Your data - discover the value!

10. While data is the new “Oil” to achieve growth, profitability, innovation and
ultimately success, several factors get in the way:
• A good business understanding of “data”
• An IT understanding of what business needs from its data
• Multiple and varied sources
• Quality - correctness of the data
Data is everywhere but many times useful information is elusive!
• For many companies, their view of data and the data domain is blurry!
Your data - discover the value!
The Story…

11. Your data - discover the value!

12. Link the Business Reference Stack to the Technology “reference” Stack
• Engaging in an open /collaborative culture
Identify strategic data assets (Proper Nouns)
• Communicate them throughout the organization in a ”meaningful” manner
• Clarify similarities and differences (establish the Nouns and prefixes)
Building an Enterprise Semantic model (business model of meanings)
• Outside of any particular application
• Breaking down application silos and transforming into lighthouses
• Moving towards Industrialized data
As a company, we are an enabler - providing a practical, tactical approach to bridging the gap
Seven Verbs is your partner on this journey
Your data - discover the value!
Bridging the gap…

13. • Is your data scattered around?
• Different systems, applications don’t talk well?
• Do users show a lack of trust in data and analytical results?
• Do users complain that they can’t get access to data when they need it?
• Are you buying a company?
• Is your Company transitioning into new business/technology?
• How do you want to merge data within these systems? (M&A)
Why you need Data Clarity

14. Top down – beginning with Business Strategies,
we start establishing the Business Reference
stack of nouns and Proper Nouns
Bottom up - to tie to the technology stack, we
leverage your most efficient and active agents
such as:
• Data Governance
• Data Integration
• Data Architecture
To bridge these two stacks, we begin building a
model of business meanings (Semantics) in
order to industrialize the data needed to drive
your business strategies
Putting Data Clarity in Action
Your data - discover the value!

15. Your data - discover the value!
Semantic models
• Communicate/Collaborate – Business concepts
• Seek consensus on similarities (80)
• Prefixes - identify & clarify differences (20)
Automate
• Leverage “metadata”
• Transform into reusable / self-documenting models
Integrate
• Opportunities to push models into data pipelines
• Integrate with data governance (data catalog, shared publishing…)
• Leverage modern data architectures
• technical tools that can provide Enterprise, Shared, Business views of data

16. • Data Clarity Champion – leader, respected, open-minded
• Curiosity - willingness to explore, discover
• Commitment
• engagement should be “known” in the company
• calendars available and willing to adjust
• Openness - to sharing and dealing with conflict
• Involvement – requires both the Business and IT engagement
• Decisions – authority and roles understood
Your data - discover the value!
Enablers

17. Your data - discover the value!

18. Crop Variety
Sales
item/SKU
Supplier
Batch Lot
Order Shipment
Customer
Inventory Unit
Inventory
Location
Production
Location
Shipment
Method
Packaging Type
Address
Order Types
Production
Record
Your data - discover the value!

19. Noun (common, general use) data assets, business concepts
Subject Matter Areas (SMA), categories of things, big buckets
Tech – entities, classes, data domains
Proper Noun Strategic Data Assets – give them a name, Capitalized, high priority
Map to specific business strategy, Will call out 3-5 of these…
Adjective Clarifiers – additional definition/descriptors around the nouns
Tech – attributes
Prefix Identify the differences, place those in prefixed groupings - perspective
Example: Account (Bank vs. Broker) – similarities but distinct differences
Tech – subclass
Your data - discover the value!
Some Shared Data Language…

21. Destination Traveler Transportation
Travel Docs
Supplies
Purpose /
Outcome
Experience wanting to achieve
Build on memories of a “place”
- Geocaching? Buried in a capsule
When – season, time, duration
What to do when we get there?
Only certain things can do during that period
More clearly we define those things, better understanding of
what we have to do

22. • Html “representation”
• Concept / Links
• Automations – change control
Your data - discover the value!
Activities

23. Your data - discover the value!
ERWIN Vacation Logical Model

24. Your data - discover the value!
Denodo Data Catalog

25. Landscape (forest) View
• Business concepts in a heat map
• Identify priorities and some minor relationships (forest view)
Tree View
• Individual Data Concepts (Nouns) – can be transformed into “logical” technical
data models and pushed into technical stack
• Business Information Models used as a communication tool
• Published and automated approach to manage change to these models
• Iterative process to “discover” and communicate business opportunities
Your data - discover the value!
Deliverables

26. Reduced costs
• Forrester says:
• delivered 83% reduction in time-to-revenue
• 65% decrease in delivery times over ETL
• Quicker payback < 6 mo
Simplified data access / availability
• Move technical jargon away from the users
• Increased productivity (with less reliance on IT)
• reduces friction
• allows for more rapid innovation/discovery
Semantic Models
• The "Business" value of a shared data language
Semantic Model Opportunity
Data Virtualization (Denodo)

27. Data Clarity Summary
Journey not a destination
• Seven Verbs will function as a catalyst – an active agent along with your Data Clarity Champion
• Linkage - Bridge the business "reference" stack to the data tech stack
Strategic Data Intent Workshop(s)
• Map Business strategy to Data strategy
• Identify Data Assets - begin calling these Nouns - SMA's, Categories of things
• For those Data Assets that map specifically to business strategy
Will call out 3 to 5 and refer to them as Proper Nouns - key strategic - name them, capitalize, call them out on our heat map
Strategic Collaborative Conversations
• Leveraging Data Clarity Champions - we flesh out these PN's out through intentional conversations with key business/technology
individuals
• The additional clarity will be identifying and defining these proper nouns - we can think of this definition (clarifiers) as adjectives
• We're going to surface these nouns and adjectives in the form of Business Communication Models
Modelation: Business Communication Models that collaborate, integrate and automate (opportunity)
Your data - discover the value!

28. Where are you in your data maturity journey?
• Is your data strategy linked to the business strategies?
• Is management committed to ensuring quality, confidentiality, and robustness of
data?
• Do you have a common data language to provide clarity across the organization?
• Does Data Governance have a clear understanding of its role and responsibilities?
• Does it have any data clarity authority? Example: key terms, use of prefixes, etc.
Strong change leadership is needed as data is industrialized across the organization!
Your data - discover the value!

29. Your data - discover the value!
Next Steps
Reach out and Setup a Consultation
Phone: (515) 720 – 6195
Email: Mark@sevenverbs.com
Phone: (612) 964 – 7376
Email: Steven.Johnson@sevenverbs.com

30. Q&A
Your data - discover the value!