John Owens

The Function Catalogue will enable you to model up to 85% of your business with what is perhaps the simplest, yet most powerful, means of modelling business activity.
Using the Function Catalogue as your primary modelling technique for business activity will greatly reduce the number of models that you need to produce, yet will enable you [...]

In a discussion group it.toolbox.com a questioner open a discussion with “I need to know implementation issues with regards to WOA and its limitations”
Graham Beresford, a very experienced practitioner from the UK, instead of launching into a detailed response, very sensibly asked “What do you mean by WOA?” (read more at http://tinyurl.com/yd8xmlp)
“What do you mean by… [...]

This is a very useful rule to use when building an Entity Relationship Diagram.

No crows were hurt during the construction of this diagram.

Capability is a measure of the capacity of an organisation to provide a product or service that fulfills an existing or envisaged need to a customer or a market.
In this sense, Capabilities are derived by bring together existing functions, data, services, products, technologies, skills, etc. to effect the delivery of the need in the form [...]

A very common error in world of Enterprise Architecture (EA) or Strategic Enterprise Architecture (SEA) is to define “Capability” as “Requirement”.
In order to resolve this confusion we need to take a brief diversion and say that the term “Requirement”, when used on its own, is quite meaningless.  To achieve clarity simply ask “who requires this?”  [...]

Quality Essentials
If your business is software production, whether for in-house or external clients, then it is essential that you have the following elements and structures in place.
Each of the elements listed below are essential, whether you are building a one-off application for a specific client or a package for mass distribution.
System Development Cycle
This should be [...]

Brand New Business Modelling Technique
Business Transaction Modelling (BTM) is the latest technique to be added to the Integrated Modelling Method.  Like all other techniques in IMM, BTM is fully integrated with the core techniques of the overall method.
What is a Business Transaction?
A business transaction is a series of steps (Business Functions) that must be carried [...]

Codes are Not Identifiers
In my previous post on how unique keys cause duplication in databases I demonstrated that codes are not identifiers for data entities and, by extension, they cannot be unique identifiers (UIDs).
Why Do People Use Codes?
If codes are not identifiers how come they are used so extensively?  Because, when used properly, they are [...]

Data Quality Paradox
It is perhaps the greatest paradox of data quality that the primary cause of duplication of entries in any database is the mistaken use of unique keys as the unique identifiers of records.
The problem starts in the data modelling stage of analysis when data analysts use codes as the unique identifiers (UIDs) of [...]

I was recently discussing the the subject of modelling the structure of the extended family in a commercial environment. I had come across this when doing consultancy for a finance company located in London and Dublin.
They were loaning money for the purchase of motor vehicles and needed to know just how much exposure they [...]

I made this entry in response to a blog post I read about some anomalies in B2B (Business to Business) structures at Echoes in the Database.
That post essentially referred to what seemed like duplicate records in a table relating to an individual within a client company and was trying to decided whether or not they [...]

To most business people data modelling is a black art that is practiced by the company IT department. It brings no tangible business benefits and is solely designed to make mere mortals feel confused and inferior.  Sadly, many IT departments actually foster this view and, for those that do, the data modelling that they [...]

I have been having some discussions lately about with various people around the globe on what constitutes a “model”.
Some of those with whom I have been in discussion hold the view that any concept or mental picture that a person holds in their head constitutes a model.  While this might be valid from a philosophical [...]

I was recently invited by the team at DataQualityPro to put together a tutorial on the basics of function modelling. The team are familiar with the power of the Integrated Modelling Method and how it puts Business Functions at the core of the Corporate Business Model.
The tutorial summaries the IMM Function Modelling process.  It starts [...]

Stage 1: Information Gathering: One to One Interviews
The one-to-one strategic in-depth interview is the most effective means of gathering information from senior directors and senior executives.
The purpose of these interviews is to find out from these key people what their opinions are regarding the business area in question and the project itself. 
Such interviews will give you [...]