Customer Reviews

The DAMA Guide to the Data Management Body of Knowledge (DAMA-DMBOK)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

No doubt, assembling a "body of knowledge" for the yet emerging profession of data management was a huge task. And, recognizing this, we must salute those who obviously toiled long and hard on putting this important resource together. Of course, the work has the look and feel of something that was assembled by a committee. It should, for it was. However, acknowledging this, we mustn't despise the importance of much of the information contained within the corpus of this text. Nor should we refrain from important, constructive criticism.

The strength of this work is its comprehensive nature. It really does provide something of a "soup to nuts" treatment of the Enterprise Data Management function. And those professionals today seriously involved in that function at any level would be well served by carefully reading and understanding this important material. The weakness of the work is what might be expected from such a communal effort: There is really no coherent philosophy of data management in evidence througout the entirety of the book. In particular, I was disappointed that the author(s) of the section on Data Warehousing seem(s) to have succombed to the sophistry that, in the data warehouse environment, it is permissable to disregard the rules of normalization. This is not true now, with the tremendous advances having been made in computer processing power. In fact, it may have never been true.

On the whole, we recommend this important work. Those who commit themselves to acquiring and reading the body of knowledge will probably already be familiar enough with the nature of corporate efforts of this sort that they will smile at some of my earlier comments. In any case, the work is well worth the time and effort for those who are truly serious about Enterprise Data Management as a profession. God bless.

It's probably clear for most people but it wasn't for me: what you get here is a 5Mb PDF saved in a CD, NOT a printed book WITH a companion CD. For this price, I was expecting a printed book. Anyway, it's probably worth it (haven't read it yet).

Kind regards.

I know DAMA-DMBOK is available in both electronic CD format and printed book format. I own both formats - the electronic for easy searching, and the book format because I like to highlight, fold corners, and scribble notes. We are currently implementing DMBOK in our insurance company, and although I have not yet finished reading this book, I like very much how all ten data management functions are depicted in the circle diagram early in the book - this provides a context for each chapter to focus on one of these ten functions. We are starting with Data Governance first (the center of the circle). We are using the Process Summary section at the end of the Data Governance chapter to guide our own establishment of data governance. Btw, the Process Summary sections at the end of each chapter (and then all of them listed at the end of the book) I believe are very useful and a great guide to implement all ten functions. I know over a hundred people were involved in writing this work, and the effort really pays off.

Book Review--The Data Management Body of Knowledge (Oil IT Journal, June 2010)

DAMA Guide sets our to `professionalize' data management--does it succeed?

The DAMA Guide to the Data Management Body of Knowledge1 (DM-BOK) sets out to provide a compilation of principles and best practices and to provide practitioners with a framework to manage data and to `mature' their information infrastructure. These laudable aims can be judged at two levels. First by how well the book achieves its stated aim and second, how appropriate the isolation of enterprise data management is as a discipline--given that there is in every enterprise, a constellation of domain specialists, database managers, IT hardware and software experts who, to a greater or lesser extent already occupy the `space' delineated by the DM-BOK.

We were disappointed to find that the Guide does not contain a glossary or definitions--these were issues in a previous publicationThe DAMA Dictionary of Data Management. Also many interesting topics in the index--for instance `geospatial meta data standards' are one liner links to an external website. So to get the full benefit of DM-BOK you need to acquire a) the Dictionary and b) a few hundred reference works. This would not be too bad if there was any indication as to what the really essential works actually were. Another irritation is that, instead of a chapter on `master data' or `data quality' there are chapters on `master data management' and `data quality management.' This allows DM-BOK's authors to speak from the management high ground rather than addressing how things get done.

It is not all bad though. The chapter on data quality introduces the Demming cycle and gets into tools and tricks for cleaning up names--although it would have been nicer to name some of the tools actually in use! Data `entropy' gets a good treatment as does the idea that it is better to fix data upstream rather than before it gets trashed--building quality into the data resource. There is also advocacy for a single data architecture as key to quality in enterprise data.

One problem with the Guide is that, because it is building a `profession,' it is too abstract and offers too little in the way of concrete examples. This combines with a tendency to slip into database jargon and hampers understanding. To give an example. A `foreign key' is described as a `an attribute that provides another link to an entity.' Rather opaque when compared with Wikipedia's `a column that refers to a (..) column in another table.' In a similar vein, DM-BOK plows through one-liner definitions of normal forms--up to number six--without offering any real insight as to what is going on. One can imagine DM tyros having to rote learn this stuff, perhaps chanting it out like mid 20th century schoolchildren learning math (well at least they did learn it then!).

But perhaps more importantly than misgivings that one might have about the DM-BOK guide is the feeling that it fails to make as good a case as it could have for the existence of a DM professional as for instance the accounting profession. Read this month's editorial for more on this ([...]).

DM-BOK's level of abstraction would imply that a DM professional could switch between say E&P and banking. To take an extreme example, an SME* who understands geodetics is unlikely to be severely tested by the content of DM-BOK. But he or she might pick up some useful jargon and understanding of the vast overlapping collection of technologies and solutions that make the field. A manager on the other hand may get the impression that this is easier than it really is.

* subject matter expert

[...]

When you want to learn a new language you must buy at least a dictionary, it's your reference when you don't know the meaning of an specific word.

Well, the same happens with Data Management, if you are new in this universe you have to "take with you forever" this amazing body of knowledge .. I strong recommend this great piece of work ... you can read it chapter by chapter or you can go easliy for an specific topic.

Great book with a well explained content about data management.

It was written intending to give novices and expert a vast amount of information about the theme.

If you want to improove you knowledge or learn about data management, definitively, this may be you choise.

It is wonderful that the leadership team at DAMA has now seen to the publication of a print version of their terribly important Guide to the Data Management Body of Knowledge. Like another reviewer, I own both versions. And also like that other insightful reviewer, I enjoy having the print copy that enables me to highlight critical points and make notes in the margin.

The DAMA Guide to the Data Management Body of Knowledge is arguably the most important material that has yet been published relative to the emerging profession of Data Management. Any serious folks who today are privileged to work in this profession should own a copy. But it is clearly not enough to own it. There is a wealth of important information contained within the corpus of this text that the aspiring, and even fully arrived, data management professional really ought to internalize.

Another reviewer has roundly complained that the book, as it now stands, merely provides a reference to hundreds of other publications. This is an unfair charge, in my view. In truth, the Guide is what it is: a compendium of best practices and generally sound wisdom compiled by a large committee of dedicated data management professionals. Certainly, there are hundreds of excellent and important references. But if the Guide was not a Guide but an Encyclopedia, it would have been many volumes, rather than just over four hundred pages, including the appendices. I, for one, am extremely grateful for the treasure trove of information contained within this Guide to the Data Management Body of Knowledge. It truly is essential material for our emerging profession.

On the occasion of acquiring the print version of the Guide, I, of course, read all of the material over again. And this journey back through the accumulated wisdom once again served me very well. I must register, though, my one criticism once more: the section on Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence is really quite weak in relation to the rest of the material, and mars the overall quality of the Guide. Absent the lack of quality of this chapter, the Guide would certainly merit five stars rather than four. However, I am confident that the wonderful leadership team at DAMA will substantially improve the quality of this section in future editions of the Guide. Even now, the Guide is tremendous, and ought to occupy an honored place in the personal library of any person seriously interested in a successful and rewarding career in the Data Management discipline. God bless.

I purchased this CD after reading the Information Management magazine review ([...]). I teach database design and data warehousing at a community college and I have made DAMA-DMBOK required reading for my students. It really covers the bases and the hexagon and circle data management summary symbols are invaluable to our industry. My only constructive criticism is that I would like to see a book version in addition to the CD version (sometimes I just need to highlight things). However, the pdf file does make it extremely easy to search and find information.

To echo John Zachman's opening comment int eh Foreword: Wow, what a truly monumental piece of work!

The DAMA-DMBOK Guide is the first of its kind in the data management profession, even though other Bodies of Knowledge exist in other professions. The development of a formal data management profession from a collection of different disciplines requires, actually mandates, that a Body of Knowledge be developed. That is exactly what was done here.

It is not easy pulling the first DAMA-DMBOK Guide together. Several hundred people were involved in developing and reviewing the contents, and preparing the final manuscript for publication. These people came from different disciplines, different professional backgrounds, and different operating environments. All had different ideas and thoughts about what should be included in a formal data management profession. However, in staying with the theme of 'professionals creating the profession', the input of a wide variety of professionals needed to be considered.

The evolution of the data management profession and the DAMA-DMBOK Guide is quite interesting. In the middle and late 1990's concern was growing about the development of a formal data management profession. A number of data management professionals feld that if we, the professionals, did not develop our own formal data management profession, that someone else would develop it for us. Those were very disconcerting times.

In the early 2000's a few of us in DAMA had a vision of a formal, certified, recognized, and respected data managemet profession. We developed an education curriculum, began formal certifications, established a Foundation, and prepared mission statements. We decided to develop a Body of Knowledge (BOK), which quickly evolved to a Complete Body of Knowledge (CBOK).

Subsequently, a discussion evolved about branding products DAMA developed. Accordingly, the Data Management Body of Knowledge (DMBOK) was estblished. Further branding led to the DAMA-DMBOK. Shen we initially looked at the contents of a complete body of knowledge, it ws clear that it could not be put into a single document. Hence, the DAMA-DMBOK Guide was conceived as a guide to the complete body of knowledge for data management.

The DAMA-DMBOK Guide was such a daunting task that development actually began with the DAMA Dictionary of Data Management published in 2008. The Dictionary, like the DAMA-DMBOK Guide is not perfect and will be revised. However, iut was a start and formed the foundation for the DAMA-DMBOK Guiide published in 2009.

The evolution of a formal data management profession can only continue if the professionals are actively involved. Every data management professional should become involved in the evolution of a formal data management profession. It is only through the active involvement of data management professionals that atruly vialble data management profession will evolve and survive.

The DAMA Guide to the Data Management Body of Knowledge (DAMA-DMBOK)

I personally endorse the DAMA-DMBOK as a concise guide to ALL Data Management Professionals. This is a monumental piece of work authored by hundred plus practitioners with many years of expertise.

Buy It, Read it and Progress your Career Forward.

Krish