Customer Reviews

Master Data Management (The MK/OMG Press)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Between this book and David's articles at the business intelligence network, there is a great convergence of information about the criticality of instituting data governance as a key success factor for master data management.

As one of the organizers of the annual Data Governance conference, I can say that not only are David's tutorials among the most popular at the conference, his methods for presenting complex technical material in a thoughtful manner are widely recognized across the data management industry. If you are in any way involved in the investigation, planning, or implementation of a master data management program, you must read this book.

David's book is ambitious in that it covers most, if not all, of a very complex topic - master data management. I'm pleased to say that this book delivers on the ambition. The book starts by defining the terms of MDM and some of the business drivers behind such an initiative. The chapters to follow cover the people, process and technology you need to have a successful MDM program. The book aptly describes the intersection of MDM and data governance, which to some, can be a bit of a mystery. We are then taken into some very powerful detail on setting up the data model, providing data quality, managing data lineage, and other important technical aspects of master data management. The book ends with tips and techniques on creating plans for your MDM initiative that will be sure to get you funded for the project. I haven't covered it all here in this review, but as my title states, this should be required reading for anyone embarking on a master data management project.

I've learned from David Loshin over the years and am happy that he has added another book to complement his other excellent material. The content is clear, easy to understand, and very useful. No matter where you are in your master data management initiative, this book should be on your "must-read" list.

David Loshin has been writing and consulting on MDM for years, and he used this experience to write the most comprehensive, ambitious and valuable book on MDM. Companies are struggling to understand what their data means across applications and systems, but the impulse to view MDM as just "the next great technology" is wrong and possibly dangerous. Loshin spends the a good portion of the book on the "softer" side of MDM - the people, processes and infrastructure needed to support a master data effort. This is the part that people often overlook, but they pay for it eventually.

This book is a must-read for any company considering, planning or implementing a master data management initiative. You'll learn things that can save you months (or years) and untold financial resources. More importantly, you'll get the expertise you need to design a workable framework for MDM that works.

This book was a huge disappointment. It is cheap in quality and poor in content. If you are trying to learn something USEFUL about MDM, look elsewhere. If you have never worked on data management and governance, you might indeed learn some high level concepts, but if you look for something technical, something more specific than catchy phrases like "data is all about the people", then you are wasting your time and money.
I was expecting this book to be what Ralph Kimball's works are for data warehousing and multidimensional modeling; instead, at best this could be a "sales pitch" for executives with zero technical background.
Besides that, the author might be a genius of MDM (as portrayed in other reviews), but diagrams and examples provided in the book are so "cheap" that they convey the impression that the product was simply put together to make a quick buck.
That is of course just my humble opinion, and I don't expect every book to be a piece of art (see Edward Tufte's works), but for $50+ I would expect something more, especially from MK/OMG Press.

Anyone planning or implementing an MDM initiative should have David Loshin's "Master Data Management" book at hand. MDM implementation strategies can vary significantly depending on the business context and the system platforms involved, but regardless of the approach taken, the guidance, examples, and explanations that are provided throughout this book will continually serve as an invaluable reference from start to finish of an MDM initiative. Even though I consider myself an experienced and knowledgeable practitioner in the MDM and data governance arena, I continually find myself pulling out this book for reference or refresh on many of the topics that David covers.

I've just finished reading David Loshin's "Master Data Management". And I've been greatly edified by the experience. Within the corpus of this text, Loshin presents a comprehensive overview of the business problems inherent in ineffective master data management together with a thoughtful guide to solving these problems. In reading Loshin's book, one hears the voice of a wise and savvy practitioner. Yet, Loshin writes with an outstanding clarity and economy that, sadly, is too often absent in books of this nature.

Whilst reading Loshin's excellent book, I was constantly reminded of the problems that are extant relative to master data management throughout the industry today. Loshin is clearly both an experienced consultant as well as a gifted expositor. We strongly recommend this excellent book to any folks today charged with making key data structures such as customer and product more readily accessible to their user community. Loshin provides an excellent and essential guide. And he comes across as a very nice and knowledgeable guy, to boot. God bless.

David Loshin is an industry luminary within the fields of Data Quality, Master Data Management (MDM), and Business Intelligence. This book is a comprehensive resource that will prove immensely useful to anyone planning a MDM initiative. Since the book's release, I have also had the privilege of attending numerous lectures and conference workshops delivered by David Loshin that draw upon the book's material and effortlessly relate it to the needs of diverse audiences. Bottom-line: this book is an invaluable guide on MDM, and may very well be the only book that you truly NEED to purchase regarding this subject.

The book was delivered in a timely fashion. Didn't expect to receive it within the same week. The Master Data Management book is an excellent book. Very informative and easy to understand

Am I the only one who thought this book was frustrating to read?

I found it nicely laid out and liked the hierarchical work break down structure of outlining the topics nice. The author, or probably his editor, however needs to be more liberal with their use of a period. It's one run on sentence after another !

Take section 3.2.4 on page 46 "MDM Service Layer Architecture"
The second sentence spans two pages and is 8 LINES

Take section 3.4.4 on page 51 - "Administration and Configuration"
That whole section is ONE SENTENENCE

I bought this book because I'm pursuing a doctorate and I saw the author referenced in some writings, so there is no doubt he knows what he's talking about. I do most of my reading on my commute. As a working professional and a dad of two so I don't have the time to re-read every other paragraph. I have read several dissertations on very arcane subject matter that read easier than this book.

Once again, the book has solid information on the concepts of MDM. If you're looking for heavy technical stuff, there are plenty of white papers and tools out there...just go to TWDI.ORG for more info. I just found this book an onerous read.