Fig. 7.3.9 The sequence of the steps in doing database design.

Generic Data Models

It has been noticed that when a data model is created, it oftentimes applies very nicely to
other companies in the same industry. For example, a bank—ABC—creates a data
model. Then one day, it is discovered that the data model for bank ABC is very similar to
the data model for bank BCD, CDE, and DEF.

Because of the great similarity of data models within the same industry, there are models
called “generic data models.” The idea behind a generic data model is that it is much less
expensive and much faster to acquire a generic data model than it is to build a data model
from scratch. It is true that any generic data model is going to need customization. But
even with customization, using a generic data model is much preferable to having to build
the data model by itself.

Operational Data Models/Data Warehouse Data Models

There are different types of data models. There are operational data models and data
warehouse data models. An operational data model is one that models the day-to-day
operations of the company. The data warehouse data model is one that is based on the
informational needs of the organization. The operational data model includes some
information that is needed for operational processing only, such as a specific telephone
number. The data warehouse data model does not contain data that are specific to
operational processing. The data warehouse data model does not contain any summarized
data. The data warehouse data model does contain a time stamp for every record in the
model.

Chapter 7.3: Data Modeling for the Structured Environment