Rating: 
Summary: A real time-saver!
Review: As the Chief Architect of a major B2B manufacturing software company, I've had ample occasion to utilize this book. We were often struggling to understand the intricacies of our client's businesses so that we could model them correctly with as little frustration as possible. This book made a huge difference. I spent over 6 months modeling an industrial strength product catalog that eventually was demonstrated by Steve Ballmer at the Chicago .NET roll-out party. It did not lack for features. Yet, I could have easily reduced the development time by 3-4 months had I had this book in hand. While it didn't have *all* the answers, it would have been a significant short-cut. Later, I used it to model office locations for a global corporation. Although our customer had originally asked us to only model US offices, I correctly anticipated that they would quickly want to expand internationally. Fortunately, this book showed me the way and the new requirement was implemented without major disruptions to the existing code. Definitely a huge time saver and well worth the small price.
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Summary: How does it differ from first book?
Review: Can someone comment on how this edition differs from the first edition? One thing I'm really intersted in is if there are physical models provided for Products, Ordering Products, and Delivery and Invoicing. The first book only contained logical models and you had to plop down ... for the companion CD to see the physical models. Despite this limitation, the first book is still a great book. However I won't buy the second edition unless it offers physical models and/or more detailed descriptions of the aforementioned areas.
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Summary: Worth every cent, part two
Review: Due to size limitations here, my review of the book content can be read in a separate review on this site. This review focuses on the CD contained with the book. Target Audience I heartily agree with Silverston's statement in the first section of this work that one should have a good understanding of data modelling concepts prior to reading this text. He, rightly so, does not include any data modelling basics in this work; there are several good texts on that subject, including Simsion, Bruce, and Reinjberger. I would add that I would think that a newly trained but inexperienced data modeller would also have a difficult time with this work. This is not a weakness of the work; it's a fact that this work includes advanced data modelling concepts and a significant amount of detail. The CD Volume One includes a CD that contains a demonstration version (limited content) of the text's models. An unlock code can be purchased from the publisher to grant access the complete set of models. The same models are provided in SQL code so that they can be loaded into any modelling or database tool that supports reverse engineering. Each model is provided in SQL tailored to Oracle 7.3, Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 and a generic ODBC 2.0 SQL syntax. Each also comes in a version that includes referential integrity and one that does not. There are also separate scripts for the tables and indexes. The CD also includes data model diagrams in both Visio and .jpg format. The former requires a copy of Microsoft Visio and latter only an Internet browser or graphic viewer. There are reports included that show how the model objects are related to other objects. These are standard HTML reports right out of some tool and do not seem to contain any additional information that what ERwin or ER/Studio could produce after reverse engineering the SQL scripts. I would assume that these reports, along with the diagrams, for the benefit of readers who do not have ready access to a modelling or database tool. After renaming the script files so that ERwin could see them as SQL scripts, I reverse engineered a demo model using ERwin 3.5.2 and ER/Studio 5.0 with no problems. Since these logical models are provided as SQL Scripts, they had to be 'physicalized', meaning that they are all uppercase names with underscores where there would normally be a space. There are no definitions provided with these demo models and I could not tell from the companion websites whether or not the unlock code provide access to this essential data model information. While I am happy to see that there is a CD sample included with these works, I would find them more than just helpful if they included FULL models, meaning: - True logical and physical models, not just physical models via SQL scripts
- Definitions for each object, perhaps even some or all of the text commentary I understand that by providing these models in SQL format means that they are nearly tool independent. However, since data models are just that - models, they must include definitions and other knowledge to be true, usable models. I also understand that providing the full logical models might mean that they would have to be published in a specific tool format or in an XML format that might not be easily usable in all toolsets. However, this dilemma is one faced by data modellers when they work with application packages, merged systems, legacy applications, and other typical conflicting format problems. Most professional modellers have found solutions or workarounds to this issue over the years, so I'd hope the author and the publisher would find a way to make these models more complete in the electronic form, even if it meant a higher cost for the electronic product. I guess the real question is: "Would I purchase the full set of CD models even with these drawbacks?" The answer is a definite "Yes." Because the unlock code has a price point that makes this component of the product a great value. It's only in the low three figures, not the tens of thousands that other similar generic model sets cost. So my final recommendation is to purchase and use this book, even if you never intend on directly implementing the models included. Just having these as reference models will improve the quality and completeness of the models you produce or support...and that's why we're here, right?
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Summary: Worth every cent....
Review: I couldn't possibly review the entire content of the work in the space provided. What I can do is give you an overview of the contents and tell you what I like about this work and what I find as weaknesses. A more detailed review is available on my website due to review size constraints here. Volume I contains universal models for: - People and Organizations
- Products
- Ordering Products
- Shipments
- Work Effort
- Invoicing
- Accounting and Budgeting
- Human Resources There is a short section on how to transform these logical data models into data warehouse models, along with some sample star schema models for Sales Analysis and Human Resources at the detailed level, with some brief examples of other star schema for the other models in the first half of the book. This title also includes about 40 pages on how to use and implement universal data models in general. While this attempts to cover at a high level the basic activities of data and process modelling along with database design, the reader should understand that the author could not possibly cover the section in any significant detail in the same book. Other texts I've recommended on this website would fill those needs. Strengths The first really joy of this work is that Silverston indicates at the beginning that he expects that these models will be revised, customized, and enhanced when applied to a real life problem. This obvious approach demonstrates Silverston's wealth of industry experience, over 20 years of information technology work. As I worked my way through the models, it became obvious that these were based on data modelling efforts in the real world. The models themselves show a maturity that is rarely found in many data modelling works. There are still complexities that are not addressed, but I wouldn't be looking for those sorts of details in this type of book. I find the inclusion of sample data values for key entities a great strength of this work. Overall the models themselves follow, for the most part, good data modelling style and standards. The logical models are normalized, but in a practical way, not in an academic definition of normalized. What I mean by that is there are a handful of attributes that would not meet the strict criteria of normalization, but they have been denormalized in a way that is very, very common. For instance, one can find Address Line One and Address Line Two attributes in the Person and Organizations model. I don't consider this a weakness, but the author should have indicated that short cut was being used in this case. The fact that this work includes a Party concept (and did even in its first edition) is admirable. Silverston's enhancements to the Party models since his first work show how flexible and valuable this concept can be. In the last year or so, the pendulum has swung the other way; now people can be quite irritated if a modeller does not understand the Party concept. He even includes 3 common design options for implementing Party. Weaknesses The book uses the Oracle/Barker notation for its diagrams and sample models. While the use of this notation is common due to the fact that Oracle modelling tools have a large installation base, its always seems odd to me that several data modelling books that hope to discuss vendor-independent and tool independent approaches to a logical data model choose to use a notation that is exclusive to one tool on the market. I don't believe there's anything wrong with the notation; I find it clear and acceptable for data modelling. I just wish that authors would choose a more commonly understood notation. A brief explanation of the notation is included in the first chapter of this work. A common drawback of many Oracle models I see is that they follow a naming standard for relationships that leaves out the implied 'to be' form of the verb in the relationship name. So instead of using "is included in" the relationship, the sample modes might use "included in". That in itself is not really a problem. The problem becomes apparent when modellers tend to use relationship names that look or act more like nouns than verbs. For instance, in the Invoice Specific Roles model, there's a relationship between SALES INVOICE and INTERNAL ORGANIZATION. This relationship is labelled "billed from" on one side "the sender of" on the other. These do not, to me, appear to be the same relationship, even if they are on the model. This sort of discrepancy can lead to modelling errors and oversights. The full verb-based approach to naming relationships would most likely use labels such as "sends" and "is sent by", clearly the same relationship. There are also several relationships that use the label "of" or "for", which to me add no more of a definition to the relationship than existence of a line between the two entities. These are not isolated occurrences; they appear to be a style of modelling used throughout the book. Silverston's data modelling style is more informal than mine in that he does follow many common standard approaches to creating and naming modelling objects, but deviates from them in several places. He does follow, for the most part, a QUALIFIER NOUN CLASSWORD approach to naming attributes. This brings up another weakness in this work, something that I'd hope would be changed in the next edition: these models are very tailored to American businesses. The use of the name above "Total Dollars Allowed" is not acceptable to me, even when used in a U.S. business. These weaknesses are not significant, nor do they impact greatly on my decision to recommend this book. I'd hope that future editions would improve upon the weakness, but they are obstacles to using the models in the real world. Please see my other review on this site concerning this included CD.
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Summary: A must read for any database designer!!
Review: I have implemented these models in two different industries and have started to build XML schemas for several of the models. These books saved me months of design time and had a huge impact on the success of our project. If you are doing any database design you must read these books.
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Summary: It works in the real world.
Review: I personally have had great success in many large firms (Investment banking, health insurance) implementing Universal Data models based off the Data Model Resource Book. The book was a very concise useful source for the implementation of both logical, and subsequently physical data models. Some people may criticize so called generalities, but "generalities" are a subjective concept. I have personally have seen much more generic type models that where nowhere near as useful as the models in the Data model resource book. The bottom line is that these models work in the real world as a jump-start for data projects. If you don't want to get caught in the mire of data modeling, buy this book.
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Summary: Excellent Resource!
Review: I purchased this book along with Volume 2 a couple of years ago. The company I work for purchased the Volume 1 CD and it has been worth every penny. It has saved us countless man-hours and since our IS organization is now doing iterative development, there is no way we could ever hope to develop integrated databases without using these Universal Data Models. The book and CD is worth every cent and can benefit to any organization. To make it clear, this is not a how-to data modeling book. It is a book of universal data models. If you need to learn how to model, purchase another book; however I would certainly recommend this book in addition to your how-to book. Where people or organizations generally run into trouble with universal data models is when egos, not invented here syndrome, or outright pride are allowed to play a major part. I see these universal data models analogous to the use of prehung doors and pre-assembled windows. No builder in their right mind would allow their carpenters to use their valuable time building door and window assemblies. Why would an IS manager allow his data administrators, database administrators, or developers spend their valuable time reinventing the wheel with many of these relational structures? Universal Data Models are a tremendous time saver and will allow an IS organization to develop databases faster, better, and cheaper. I attended a conference in April 2003 and saw a presentation by a consultant, who used these Universal Data Models to create a database for Authentication and Authorization. This is another example of the powerful benefit of these models. We have used these models on several projects with great success and will continue to use them on our upcoming projects.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Resource!
Review: I purchased this book along with Volume 2 a couple of years ago. The company I work for purchased the Volume 1 CD and it has been worth every penny. It has saved us countless man-hours and since our IS organization is now doing iterative development, there is no way we could ever hope to develop integrated databases without using these Universal Data Models. The book and CD is worth every cent and can benefit to any organization. To make it clear, this is not a how-to data modeling book. It is a book of universal data models. If you need to learn how to model, purchase another book; however I would certainly recommend this book in addition to your how-to book. Where people or organizations generally run into trouble with universal data models is when egos, not invented here syndrome, or outright pride are allowed to play a major part. I see these universal data models analogous to the use of prehung doors and pre-assembled windows. No builder in their right mind would allow their carpenters to use their valuable time building door and window assemblies. Why would an IS manager allow his data administrators, database administrators, or developers spend their valuable time reinventing the wheel with many of these relational structures? Universal Data Models are a tremendous time saver and will allow an IS organization to develop databases faster, better, and cheaper. I attended a conference in April 2003 and saw a presentation by a consultant, who used these Universal Data Models to create a database for Authentication and Authorization. This is another example of the powerful benefit of these models. We have used these models on several projects with great success and will continue to use them on our upcoming projects.
Rating:
Summary: Data modeling's dirty little secret
Review: I use this book all the time at work. It's a great reference. I call it my dirty little secret. It's my cheatsheet for creating good data models. I did purchase the data models on the CD that comes with this book, and one model from volume two of this series, but I rarely use them. I find that I prefer to use the books to create the high level data model and then work out the details for myself. But this book is a real timesaver.
Rating: 
Summary: Dashed Expectations
Review: I'm a seasoned data modeler and was hoping I'd found a book to use for quickly training new members of my team. I was very disappointed. The data models presented in this book are so generic that they are useless to all but the most inexperienced data modeler, and even that usefullness is questionable. It's a great idea-- compiling a book of reuseable data models from various industries and subject areas-- but this book misses the target, badly. Let's hope for a better 3rd edition.
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