I was really happy to see such a great turnout for today’s session on how to get started blogging at Enterprise Data World (#EDW13).  I wasn’t just happy to have a full room, but that I got so many great, insightful questions and comments.

My Get Blogging slides are available for download now.

Some of the resources I mentioned during the talk:

• WordPress.com This is my blogging platform of choice.  You can set up a blog in 10 seconds, for free. 
• WordPress.org Same platform, but if you want to host it someplace yourself.  You can also find a third party host and they typically will have this ready to install from their catalog of approved applications.  It’s free.
• Windows Live Writer http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-live/essentials-other-programs  This is what I use to compose most of my blog posts
• TechSmith.com Home of Camtasia (video editor of my choice) and SnagIt (my screen capture tool).  You want these.
• ERwin.com Go To page for all things ERwin, including their blogs (under the community page)
• Embarcadero.com Where to find ER/Studio blogs
• Dataversity.net Home of numerous blogs and articles

Remember, if you start blogging, I want to hear about it so that I can share, comment, and help you promote your writing.

Get Blogging!

I was reading an ACM blog post by Judy Robertson about strutting, a tactic used by audience members at event.  Robertson discusses a specific type of this behaviour, done by IT people: nerd strutting. 

Garvin-Doxas and Barker (2004) refer to "strutting" as a style of interaction where people show off their knowledge by asking questions carefully designed to demonstrate that they know a lot about the topic, and quite possibly that they know more than everyone else around them. The problem with this in a learning situation is that students who lack confidence assume that they are the only person who doesn’t understand, and quickly feel even more demoralised.

The full paper is available if you’d like to read about the study these researchers did on Defensive Climate in the Computer Science Classroom.

I’m betting you’ve seen this behaviour before.  In fact, I’d bet that if you attend enough events, you could name the people most likely to nerd strut before the speaker has even gotten 15 minutes into her presentation.  They ask questions, often sprinkled with references to product codenames, Greek philosophers, small startups and archaic error numbers.   They use highly jargonized terms.  They use insider terms. They want you to feel outside the inner circle.  They want you to know just how freaking smart they are.  But you know what’s funny?  The vast majority of the people in the room can see what they are doing and silently smirk.   

I’m interested in hearing just what sorts of people fall for this bravado.  Everyone else in the room talks about how insanely annoying the behaviour is, but no one wants to do anything about it.  I’m not even sure what we can do about it, other than to ask audience members to stop.  

Insults R Us

Another tactic that nerd strutters do is sit in the audience and stage whisper criticisms of the speaker and the topics.  I find this incredibly annoying as an audience member.  It doesn’t impress me, nor does it make me feel as if the strutmaster is actually convincing anyone he is superior. A variation of this is a group of people, chatting with each other and loudly snickering about the speaker or the topic.   

If you are sitting in a presentation and you find it too "level 100” for your tastes, you should just get up and find a presentation more fitting for your enormous brain…or whatever body part is keeping you from learning anything.

Why it Matters

I know, some of you are saying “But Karen, just ignore the @$$#@+s that do this stuff”.  I do, mostly.  However, Garvin-Doxas and Barker found that the effect of many types of negative communication, even when it was not intended, has a negative impact on many students, especially women.  Yes, women should suck it up and learn to play the game of competition.  But we don’t do it that well.  In general, women prefer a collaborative environment.   We love a bit of friendly competition. But one where team members insult others in public? Not so much.

The authors point to the fact that IT work is highly collaborative.  Supporting and enabling a culture of jabs, insults, mockery and distain works against that goal.  I hear people constantly ranting that topic X should not be on a conference agenda because it is isn’t what *they* want  learn.  I say “choose another session – there are several other tracks”.  When I see someone nerd strut in front of an entire audience, I want to call them out – tell them they are showing off.  We can all tell when a question isn’t really a question. I don’t do call people out on this, though, because no one else does.

What to Do

Robertson gives 3 tips in her blog post on dealing with nerd strutting.  Go read them.  I’d love to see the community deal with this in a consistent, collaborative way.

I’d like to add to them:

1. Encourage others to ask questions during presentations.  One of the reasons why many nerd strutters can do what they do, often several times in the same session, is that very few people ask questions or give commentary.  If enough people are asking legitimate questions, then the strutters get less show time.

2. Ask the Insult R Us people to take their conversation elsewhere. It’s annoying enough to hear anyone ramble on while you are trying to listen to the speaker.  It’s not rude or unfair to ask people, no matter what they are talking about, to either be quiet or to wander somewhere else.

3. Stand up to people who insult the work of others.  This one is the biggest pet peeve of mine.  It’s fine for people to be proud of their own work.  It’s not cool for them to insult the work of others just because they think it’s easy or low-level stuff. I don’t just draw boxes and lines all day.  BI professionals don’t just draw bar charts all day.  Developers don’t just type all day.  We all have difficult jobs.  I don’t need to step on someone else to raise myself up.  I will continue to speak out to the people who need to insult others.  I’m hoping you can, too.

Community Impact

From the paper:

Finally, when people communicate certainty in a dogmatic fashion, they also tend to communicate a low tolerance for disagreement. When defensive communication becomes habitual in a social context, it engenders a "defensive climate." Distrust of others becomes the norm, resulting in a social environment privileging competition over cooperation.

We all need to recognize that this negative behaviour hurts everyone.  It poisons the community.  It drives people away, especially new community members and those who want to work together to solve problems and build the community.   And we all need to work together to keep people focused on making the community an inclusive, inviting environment.

Garvin-Doxas, K. and Barker, L. J. 2004. Communication in computer science classrooms: understanding defensive climates as a means of creating supportive behaviors. J. Educ. Resour. Comput. 4, 1 (Mar. 2004), 2. DOI= http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1060071.1060073

.

I’ll be participating in this year’s Enterprise Data World 28 April to 2 May in San Diego, CA.  If you register using the coupon code DATACHICK you can get $200 off a multi-day registration.  That code saves you $50 on a one-day registration.

On Thursday, 2 May I’m giving a half day workshop on the data modeling process:

S5: Advanced Data Modeling: Be Happier, Add More Value and Be More Valued

Karen Lopez
Sr. Project Manager & Architect
InfoAdvisors

Thursday, May 2, 2013
01:15 PM – 04:30 PM

Level: 
Advanced

In this advanced workshop, Karen Lopez covers how to make data modeling more relevant in 2012 and removing pain points for modelers and other team members. It includes how to be successful in an agile/scrum environment, how to make models valuable in a NoSQL project, how to better work with DBAs, Developers, Project Managers and how to sound and be more valuable.

This follows a workshop format, with both individual and team exercises. It is expected that attendees will have more than two years of hands-on data modeling and database design skills at the enterprise level.

Starting a Blog for Data Professionals

On Wednesday I’m doing a professional development session on getting started with blogging:  Starting a Blog: Easy Step Show and Tell for Data Professionals.  This session is nicely placed between the coffee and desserts segment on the exhibit floor and the ice cream social that happens right after.  I’m expecting a lot of sugar-motivated potential bloggers.

I’ll also be doing some special activities with vendors and sponsors: watch your inbox for information from them about their events.

EDW is one of my favourite conferences of the year – part technical education, part data professional reunion, part data community revival.  You don’t want to miss it. 

This month’s Big Challenges in Data Modeling webinar is Thursday at 2PM EDT.  We’ll be talking about better collaboration with developers and the development process.

I have a great panel:

Missy Wittman, Information Modeling Engineer Specialist, American Family Insurance

Missy Wittmann is an Information Modeling Engineer Specialist at American Family Insurance. Missy has worked in the data modeling field for over fifteen years in various roles. She started out as a business partner on a project that did some data modeling and enjoyed the process so much that she changed career paths. Missy has facilitated projects for Business Modeling, Logical and Physical Data Modeling. Most recently she has been participating in projects that are creating XML Schema’s. Data Modeling is an exciting place to be in the world of technology. No matter what technology is being used to get the end result, we always need our blue-print!

Joe Devon, CoFounder, Diamond Web Services

Joe Devon is the co-founder of Diamond Web Services, a boutique web development shop based in Venice Beach; Startup Devs, a “Prototypes as a Service” company building MVP’s for startups, and founding partner of Television Four, where he is building a technology channel.

Joe has been a computer programmer for more than 20 years, working on projects spanning Search Engine technology, Performance Management, scaling Wide Area Networks; for Internet backbone providers, Investment Banks, Telcos & Media.

Joe serves on the advisory boards of leading development industry conferences (Zendcon, Semtech) and for the educational program of Cross Campus. Joe is an organizer of several technology oriented meetup groups in Los Angeles and CoFounded Global Accessibility Awareness Day, bridging the gap between disabled citizens and the Internet.

Gwen Thomas, President, Data Governance Institute

Gwen Thomas is a Data Governance pioneer, founder of the Data Governance Institute, and publisher of the web’s largest Data Governance resource at www.datagovernance.com. Gwen has personally assisted many large, mid-sized, and small organizations with their data strategies, data governance and stewardship programs, master data strategies, and other information practices. Gwen is a frequent presenter at industry data events and contributor to IT and business publications.

I’m expecting a lot of good discussion and sharing of tips about how data models and data modelers can best work with developers during fast-paced, get-er-done projects. 

Registration is free, but you need to do that to get the information to join.

Tomorrow, Thursday 28 February at 2;00PM EST, I’ll be moderating a panel of expert data modelers as part of my Big Challenges in Data Modeling Series at Dataversity.net .  In this month’s webinar, we’ll be debating the role of data architects in how we can best support business processes related to data privacy, data security and compliance.  We’ll start by talking about recent data breaches and privacy issues.

One of the more contentious debates I have on projects is whether or not data modelers and architects should even have a role in these processes.

Joining me for this month’s panel are:

• Eva Smith ( @datadeva | blog ) Director of Information Technology at Edmonds Community College (EdCC) where she oversees college IT functions and serves on the IT Commission for the Washington State Community and Technical College system.  Eva also volunteers for DAMA, International on the Editorial Board for the Data Management Body of Knowledge (DMBOK) Version 1, and as DAMA-I liaison to the Institute for Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP).
• Loretta Mahon Smith( @silverdata ) is currently the IBM Global Business Services, Business Analytics & Optimization Lead for the Data Modeling Center of Excellence. She has an extensive background in the financial services industry and is also a long time DAMA volunteer.
• Peggy Schlesinger is a well-respected Master Enterprise Architect with Intel Corporation with a long history in Master Data Management.  She is currently working on the Semantic Definition for the enterprise to improve and accelerate Business Intelligence, and is moving the environment toward Self-Service Business Intelligence.
• YOU

As always, our last panelist is YOU! Unlike many webinars, we run these as highly-interactive events.  We have a formal Q&A for when you want to ask a question of the panel, but we also have a peer-to-peer chat open so that you can discuss what you hearing in real time.  We try to keep track of what’s going on in the chat so that we can comment and address the points being raised there.  I love this feature and hope you will join us to be part of this event.

If you have a topic or question you’d like us to address, leave a comment below and we’ll try to work it in.

Also, if you are unable to make the webinar, you can register now anyway and listen to the recording later.  So get registered now.

During this month’s Big Challenges in Data Modeling we’ll be talking about the state of data modeling. 

Last month Tom LaRock (@sqlrockstar | blog) wrote a post Data Modeling is Dead, Long Live Data Modeling. 

Data modeling is dead. It is a product of an era that has passed; that of corporate silos that created their own versions of software to suit their own needs.

That is no longer the world in which we live. That era was one that had high costs associated with building and maintaining a database of customers.

Today’s era is one where you can subscribe to Salesforce.com for just a few dollars a day. You can decide for yourself to run a new report. How much did that same report cost in the old era? How long would it take for IT to deliver that report? That’s why businesses today are using such services, because it reduces time and costs.

You need to read the whole post to get his position, but I find that his take on the state of data modeling is common in the IT world.  I posted a link to his blog post to a LinkedIn group and there was an extensive discussion.

I’ve invited Tom to join a real-world data architect and me to talk the current state of data modeling and what the future holds for data architects. 

This Month’s Panelists

Thomas LaRock

• Thomas LaRock is a seasoned IT professional with over a decade of technical and management experience. Currently serving as a Technical Evangelist for Confio Software, Thomas has progressed through several roles in his career including programmer, analyst, and DBA. Thomas holds a MS degree in Mathematics from Washington State University and is a member of the Usability Professional’s Association. Thomas currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS) and is a SQL Server MCM as well as MVP. Thomas can also be found blogging at http://thomaslarock.com and is the author of DBA Survivor: Become a Rock Star DBA (http://dbasurvivor.com).

Gabriel Tanase

• Gabriel Tanase is a Data Architect currently with a mid-size business consulting organization. He has accumulated some tough years of ordinary real-life data modeling experience and the not-unheard-of distinction of having taught it academically before really practicing. He is currently specializing in keeping everybody else in the project happy while quietly enforcing information meaning and integrity.

This webinar is free to attend, but you must register.  It officially starts at 2PM EST, but you can join us at 1:45 when we start our prep. We’ll be taking questions via the Q&A and we offer a real time chat so that you can be part of the conversation, too. 

I’ve recently taken over director moderator duties for the monthly Big Challenges in Data Modeling webinar hosted by Dataversity.net.  Former moderator, Graeme Simsion, has moved on to exciting things in the writing and film industry, so I’m stepping up to take on the role of agent provocateur in engaging the data community to chat and debate about industry and academic trends in the data world.

Big Challenges in Data Modeling #BCDModeling

In tomorrow’s panel, well be chatting about a soon to be released research paper based on a survey of data professionals.  This paper covers:

• Role of Agile/SCRUM on data modeling projects
• Data Modeling tool features
• Data Architecture staffing
• Big Data trends
• ..and more.

Joining me will be a great cast of characters team of experts in data management as we chat about the paper and how these things have changed over the years.

• Chris Bradley, IPL @inforacer
• Donna Burbank, CA Technologies, @donnaburbank
• David Dichmann, SAP (Sybase), @ddichmann
• Missy Whittmann, American Family Insurance … and real life data architect

We run a fun and engaging webinar where audience members can chat with each other and the panellists, so you get to be part of the insight and fun, too.  So make sure you join a bit early so that we can pre-chat.

You need to register to attend.

You can now download the recording from this past week on Modeling What Matters – Data Modeling Throughout, Beyond the Enterprise.  We had a great time chatting about the state of data modeling in a world of data sharing, standards, business alignment and NoSQL.

A wonderful set of panelists, too.

Registration is required, but you really should be registered on the Information Management website already.  Do it.

Also, at the end of the show I got a shout out for my presentation with Thomas LaRock (@sqlrockstar), Database Design Throwdown: The Blunder Games at ERWorld coming up in October.  You should go register now for that, too. 

The value of data modeling continues to grow in new directions. This is partly due to the lure of cloud computing, but also because of the increasingly interconnected world of enterprise partnerships. As always, the need for speed and efficiency prevails, as well as the desire to reduce redundancy and thus provide a clean view of an organization’s information architecture. Fine-tuning Master Data Models is another goal of the modern enterprise. What to do? Register for this episode of DM Radio to hear Hosts Eric Kavanagh and Jim Ericson interview data modeling expert Karen Lopez of DAMA, plus Donna Burbank of CA Technologies, David Dichmann of SAP Sybase and Lovan Chetty of Kalido

Registration is required, but it’s free.  Chat with you on Thursday!

This past weekend I attended SQL Saturday San Diego, AKA, #SQLSat157.  This was my first time speaking at this event and I want to give lots of thanks and kudos to the organizers for putting on a fine event.

Because I arrived in town early to meet with friends from both the space and data world, I was able to visit the San Diego Air and Space Museum.  It was fitting that it was the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s Rice University speech on space exploration:

There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation many never come again. But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?

We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.

Not only is this fitting for motivating a generation to invest in space exploration, it’s fitting for professional development work, too.  We attend and speak at SQL Saturdays not because it’s easy, but because we need goals to serve to organize the best of our energies and skills. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been inspired to learn something new because I saw a fellow community member demonstrate how it could help make life for end users or co-workers better.  And SQL Saturday gives me a full day of these sorts of workshops and demos…all for free.  How great is that?  It means giving up a Saturday and for those of us who travel to speak, 2-3 days plus expenses.  And yet every time I leave one, I think "That was so worth it".

Sessions

I spoke three times at this SQL Saturday: DB Design Throwdown, the Women in Technology Panel, and Career Management for Data Professionals.  Between those, I was able to see just a couple more sessions.  I really enjoyed Lynn Langit’s (@lynnlangit | blog)  NoSQL for the SQL Server Developer.   Lynn did a fabulous job explaining the differences between SQL and NoSQL technologies, as well as demoing MongoDB and cloud-based technologies.  You should spend some time on her blog; she has a lot of great stuff with plenty of videos and demos.

I also had the pleasure of being on the WIT panel with Lynn.  This panel, moderated by Tara Kizer, focused mostly on how we can energize the next generation of girls (and boys) to be interested in IT careers.  Lynn is doing some fabulous stuff over on http://teachingkidsprogramming.org, where she and her partner, Llewellyn Falco (@llewellynfalco | blog )  are building a framework for, well, teaching kids programming.  

I talked about the importance of talking with girls in your life, which is my usual homework assignment for attendees.  Having someone in the IT profession share the fact that the industry isn’t just about typing and programming can make a real difference to a girl who just needs to hear that IT professionals can make a difference in the world.  In fact, I have another blog post coming up soon on that topic.

Download the Database Design Throwdown: The Trailer presentation.

Download the Career Management for Data Professionals presentation.

http://peopletalkingtech.com/eposide-001-karen-lopez

My comments focused on how at the NoSQL professionals understand that it means "Not Only SQL" and can’t mean "No SQL" and have much of a future.  Using the right tool for the right job.  Cost, benefit, risk and all.

One of the things we talked about on the closing panel is "how do you find somebody that is a good architect who can tell you which types of technologies you can use for which use cases…"

Even though many people talk about NoSQL needing no architecture, we still need people to help choose when and what NoSQL technologies to use.  Seems to me that having experience working hands-on with relational and NoSQL technologies is going to be hugely valuable in the next couple of years.  If you have relational experience, now is the time to start learning about non-relational ones.

By the way, we talked a bit about database security.  Denny’s new edition of his book Securing SQL Server, Second Edition: Protecting Your Database from Attackers has recently been released.  Check it out.

The first is with co-presenter, Tom LaRock (@sqlrockstar | blog), where we debate, whine (Tom) and win (me)  several database design approaches and methods in front of a live audience (you!).  This is a warm up for our PASS Summit spotlight presentation.

Database Design Throw Down

Karen and Tom debate about the options and best practices of common and advanced design issues, such as: * Natural vs. Surrogate keys * NULL vs NOT NULL * Datatypes * Agile Database Design * Database Refactoring * Identity Crisis ? …and others. Bring your votes, your debates, and your opinions. Help us figure out who’s right and who wrong…or less right.

Session Level: Intermediate

My second presentation is on career management.

Career Management for Data Professionals

Career Success in Data Management during Turbulent Times: A workshop on issues and ideas that today’s data professionals can do to build their careers and networking skills with other data management professionals. Workshop topics will include: • Demonstrating your expertise • Building a portfolio of your success stories • Getting others to sell your skills and business value • Building & extending your data management skill set • 10 Steps to highlighting you and your work Bring your thoughts, ideas, and experiences.

Session Level: Beginner

There are many great speakers at this event and it’s FREE for a full day of learning. Registration is still open, but it is common for these events to sell out before the event. Register now!

I’ll be returning to the DAMA Puget Sound (Seattle) group to give an advanced data modeling presentation on how to add more value and be more valued while you data model.   This is a great group and I hope you can join us.

Advanced Data Modeling: Be Happier, Be More Valued and Add More Value

In this presentation, Karen will discuss the current state of data modeling and data architecture efforts and where we need to be in the current development and database environment to continue to provide value.  Topics will include:

· If the modeler isn’t happy, the data isn’t happy

· Data Modeling in an Agile / SCRUM / modern development projects

· Big Data and other euphemisms

· NoSQL, not-only SQL non-relational, post-relational or whatever you want to call them

· Tools: Where are we, where do we need to be

· Being physical doesn’t mean you have to get dirty

· 10 Steps to happiness, being valuable and providing value

This presentation will be highly interactive, highly relevant and mostly irreverent.  As usual.

---

Karen Lopez
Sr. Project Manager & Architect, InfoAdvisors
Karen Lopez is a Senior Project Manager and Architect for InfoAdvisors. A frequent speaker at conferences and local user groups, she has 20+ years of experience in project and data management on large, multi-project programs. Karen is a chronic volunteer, a SQL Server MVP, and an active advocate for WIT and Data Quality. 
Karen’s presentations are known for their lively and interactive approach to learning. Her motto: I want you to Love Your Data!

This is an evening event and there is a fee to register.  See the DAMA PS website for more information on registering.

I’m asked do these sorts of “make a recommendation for a solution” presentations all the time.  I know how difficult it is.  These presentations are different than teaching moments.  They need to have a certain structure:

• Problem statement / Challenges
• Summary recommendation
• Detailed recommendation (with the whys, too.)
• Very brief recommendation of a path forward
• Summary

So I have these tips for presenting your recommendations:

1. Make your material readable.  It sounds so non-technical and trivial to say that fonts and diagrams matter, but they do.  A recommendation that can’t be seen or read is less than useful.  Every Be The Next Microsoft Employee contestant struggled with this, some to the point that we weren’t even sure what was being presented.   Don’t let your presentation materials get in the way of presenting your ideas.  Handouts of key diagrams are always beneficial.  Using zoom features can help, too.  Buck had a great tip: put your laptop on the floor, then stand 3 metres away (okay, he said 10 feet) and see what it looks like.  If you can’t read it, neither can your audience.   If you are presenting on older projectors or without a proper screen, then stand back 12 feet.   If your slide looks like a blog post, you are doing it wrong.  Concepts go on slides, not documentation.

2. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.  All the contestants used words that could come back to haunt them later.  Words like guarantee, promise, for certain and warranty are things you can’t commit to as a vendor or presenter.  You don’t have the information you need to make these commitments, nor do you have any idea how your solution will be implemented.   Instead of making promises, case studies and well-qualified data can back up some assertions, but you will still need to use many qualifying words like may, might, and can to ensure that you aren’t making promises you can’t keep.

3. Know why are you are recommending something.  My mantra is every design decision comes down to cost, benefit and risk.  There is no one right answer for every organization, environment, team, culture or financial situation.  It’s not enough as an architect to say “this is the way that everyone does this”.  A professional architect knows that solutions need to be implemented in the context of cost, benefit and risk, including legal and organizational constraints.  Some people feel that costs and risks should not be addressed, but I have much more confidence in a recommendation when I can see that the recommender understands the trade-offs associated with everything they are proposing.  If your recommendation includes legal constraints, confirm, verify and reconfirm your recommendation.  Keeping your client out of jail is a good thing.  Context is King…and Queen.

4. Ensure that you address all the parts of the problem.  If a client asks you to solve their performance problem, all the solutions to address something else won’t make much of a difference if you don’t address the performance problem.  They may also suspect that your proposed solution can’t solve the problem in any manner.  Don’t forget the cost side, either.  Be ready with multiple levels of solutions to meet the financial constraints of the audience.

5. Ensure you don’t try to solve a problem you weren’t asked to. I’ve seen this before: a consultant has solved some brilliant problems in the past and spends all his time talking about how his solution will solve that problem…but not that was totally out of scope of the request.  Management may already have a solution in progress.  One of our contestants threw in a last second proposal to replace an ERP system, something that wasn’t asked for at all.  This would have been a real shock to everyone in the room and probably derailed the rest of the discussion.  Stick to the scope of the problem.

6. Be confident & positive.  Even if you aren’t.  I mentioned that all our presenters showed signs of nervousness. That’s to be expected.  But audiences really do want to see a confident speaker, one who speaks up and shows confidence in his or her solution.  The best way to do this is to be prepared and be confident in what you are presenting based on the resources you were given.  Don’t worry about the fact that you didn’t have enough time, that some things you wanted to demo you couldn’t get to work.  You can’t change that.  Go with what you have and do it well.  Be strong.

If you are there to provide a solution then you should be showing the meeting group that you think what you are presenting is a good thing.  Be serious, but even when you are talking about a problem or risk there’s no need to add drama to the situation.  The current environment and situation might have serious problems, but there’s no need to be negative about that.  In fact, I’ve seen consultants come in and mock the heck out of current situation and be totally oblivious that the people right in front of them built that solution and have done miracles trying to keep it going under changed demands.

7. Watch your time.  Don’t end too early nor go long.  Leave plenty of time for questions, comments and clarifications.  You can have some backup materials for anticipated questions.  I believe, though, the best use of time is for a discussion to ensure everyone understands what you have recommended and why.

8. Make your presentation about THEM.  It’s so painful to see a presenter that is clearly presenting about THE PRESENTER.  If you are saying I, my blog or my book too many times, you might be that guy.  If you are constantly pointing to yourself, you aren’t focusing on the solution.  If you are making a recommendation, it’s fine to say we recommend (if you are representing a group or organization), but you should be putting the client’s needs at the forefront.  Not yours.  One of the best ways to show that you are about them is to start your presentation with a brief understanding of the problem and the pain points of the organization.  Don’t spend too much time on it, just reflect what you’ve been told and show along the way how your recommendation addresses their pain points.

Recommendations need to have have the what, why, and how much questions addressed. They need to be clear and understandable.  I’d love to hear what recommendations you have for making technical recommendation presentations.

On Thursday, 2 August I’ll be debating with Tom LaRock (@sqlrockstar), giving a preview of our SQL Saturday presentation of Database Design Throwdown: The Trailer.  In this wonderful smackdown, I’ll be talking about the importance of data quality, integrity and data governance while preparing database designs. I’m pretty sure Tom will be spouting wildly crazy, kooky ideas about performance, optimizing design to make life easier for DBAs and … I have no idea what else.  Probably bacon.  We won’t be giving the same presentation as on Saturday — it will be more of a trailer version of that.  Oh, wait…that doesn’t quite sound right.  It will be a teaser.  Yeah.  Something like that.  A teaser.

Kansas City SQL Server User Group

Details about the SQL Server User Group meeting:

Time

• 3:45 – 3:50 Greeting and Housekeeping
• 3:50 – 5:00 Database Design Throwdown: The Trailer
• 5:00 – 5:15 Door prizes and wrap up

Topic: Database Design Throwdown: A Trailer
Date:  August 2nd, 2012
Speaker: Thomas LaRock versus Karen Lopez

Overview: If a man is alone in the forest and there is no woman around to watch him design a database is he still wrong? Join us in this highly interactive debate regarding the options and best practices of common and advanced design issues such as natural versus surrogate keys, NULL versus NOT NULL, data quality versus performance, and others. Bring your opinions and experience and join the discussion.

About Speakers:

Thomas LaRock is a seasoned IT professional with over a decade of technical and management experience. Currently serving as a senior database administrator with Confio Software, Thomas has progressed through several roles including programmer, analyst, and DBA. Prior to that, he worked at several software and consulting companies, working at customer sites in the United States and abroad. Thomas holds a MS degree in Mathematics from Washington State University and is a member of the Usability Professional’s Association. Thomas also currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS), is a SQL Server MVP, and can also be found blogging at http://thomaslarock.com and is the author of DBA Survivor: Become a Rock Star DBA (http://dbasurvivor.com).

Karen Lopez is Sr. Project Manager and Architect at InfoAdvisors, Inc. Karen is a frequent speaker at conferences and user groups. She has 20+ years of experience in project and data management on large, multi-project programs. Karen specializes in the practical application of data management principles. Karen is also the ListMistress and moderator of the InfoAdvisors Discussion Groups at www.infoadvisors.com.

Location:

8700 State Line Road
Suite 200L
Leawood, KS 66206  (map)

Data Model Driven Database Design

On Saturday, 4 August I will be presenting at the Kansas City SQL Saturday (aka #SQLSat159 — don’t get me started on why they use a surrogate key as their names for these…) on Model Driven Database Design

Model-Driven Database Design

Model-Driven Database Development: Myths, Magic and Methods. In this presentation, Karen discusses data model-driven database development from the point of view of the Data Architect, the DBA, and the Developer. She will cover topics such as "Who does what?", "Why are we doing this?", "Do I have to Use a GUI?" and "Just who do you think you are?". Demos, too. Finally, 10 tips for making model-driven database development successful in your organization’s culture and environment.

Session Level: Beginner

Location: Cerner Corporation’s Riverport Campus, 6711 NE Birmingham Rd, Kansas City, MO, 64117

And Tom and I will be doing our full debate on Database Design: The Throwdown, as described above.  Registration is required for the SQL Saturday, but it’s totally free – you get swag, prizes and access to some of the best speakers in the SQL Server community.  I attended this last year in Kansas City and they did a fabulous job.  You want to be there, too.

It should be no surprise to you that I took the Technical Barbies (@Data_Model and @VenusBarbie) along for the filming.  Since this was a hiring contest, I also brought along Working Woman Barbie, who comes with a suit that also turns into a glittery dance dress for after work fun.  Working Woman Barbie can talk, too.  She says fun things, but she talks too much about Ken.

When we arrived at the shoot, the first thing the Barbies got was a professional makeover.  Stylist Mimi Pettibone of StellarStyle.com has previous professional experience styling Barbies and action figures.  HOW LUCKY WAS THAT?  Mimi also gave me some great tips about styling and posing the Barbies.  Fishing line seems to be a key component.  I also showed her how I used clear braid rubber bands to help keep Barbie from losing her cell phone and shoes.  Just like I do.  Or should.

I live by a man’s code, designed to fit a man’s world, yet at the same time I never forget that a woman’s first job is to choose the right shade of lipstick.
- Carole Lombard

I’m not sure I agree with Ms. Lombard there, but both the Barbies and I had to wear lipstick for this shoot.  That’s how I knew I was on a reality show…just a different type of reality.

We took some before and after pictures.  I think I pretty much looked the same as VenusBarbie.  Mimi worked wonders with me.

Mimi did a fabulous job, don’t you think?

I’ll be joining host Graeme Simsion (@graemesimsion) and panelists  Terry Buino, John Giles, and Chris Woodruff for a lively and (I’m hoping) contentious discussion about Data Modeling in an Agile Environment.  This free webinar event will be hosted by Dataversity.net as part of their monthly series on data management issues.

We invite you to join us in this monthly DATAVERSITY webinar series, “Big Challenges with Data Modeling” hosted by Graeme Simsion. Join Graeme and two or more expert panelists each month to discuss their experiences in breaking through these specific data modeling challenges. Hear from experts in the field on how and where they came across these challenges and what resolution they found. Join them in the end for the Q&A portion to ask your own questions on the challenge topic of the month.

We four panelists come from a variety of backgrounds.  Two of us are Microsoft MVPs, one just wrote a book on Agile Data Modeling and another calls himself a born-again agilist.  Graeme is always the stimulating and controlling jocular host at these events…he’d have to be to manage the characters he has to herd in just a short period of time.

Many data architects and modelers tell me that they can’t or won’t work on agile projects.  Or that they’ve heard that there are no data models in agile approaches.  Worse, they’ve attended presentations by certain industry pundits who have been so anti-architecture that they don’t understand why anyone would attempt this.  But it’s not that way in practice.  Most of my projects over the last few years have been agile or SCRUM.  So I’m going to bring my experiences and stories to discussion, along with tips that I have for working on a software-focused delivery methodology. 

Find out whether agile is your friend or frenemy.

All you have to do is register to attend.  It’s free, too.

On behalf of Embarcadero Technologies, I’m leading a workshop on Data Governance and Stewardship in Chicago, IL on 25 July.   This event is free to attend; all you have to do is register.

We’ll be talking about:
Effective data governance and stewardship is a crucial component of every business. InfoAdvisors’ Principal Consultant, Karen Lopez, will share essential guidance on:

• Leveraging enterprise data as a corporate asset
• Tips, tricks, and traps to avoid when developing a data governance program
• Managing business expectations cost-effectively and time-efficiently

Karen will also reveal highlights on compliance and policy programs from recent discussions with data professionals in the US Federal Government and Industry organizations.

Karen is a Senior Project Manager and Architect at InfoAdvisors with more than twenty years of experience helping organizations implement large, multi-project programs. She specializes in taking practical approaches to systems development and has helped many IT departments choose appropriate methods and standards, based on the department’s culture, experience, and focus. Karen is the Moderator of InfoAdvisors/ITBoards.com IRM discussion groups, an online community of several thousand data management professionals and is also on the Board of Advisors for DAMA International and Zachman International. For more information, visit http://www.infoadvisors.com.

Data Governance Workshop Details

Date:        July 25, 2012
Time:        2-4pm
Location:  Discover Campus

2500 Lake Cook Road
RW2 Platinum Room
Riverwoods, IL 60015

Phone: 224-405-0900

I hope to make this interactive and fun.  There may also be space photos….