Data modeling is the process of documenting a complex software system design as an easily understood diagram. Typically this is done using text and symbols to represent the way data needs to flow. It is often seen as a cumbersome process, but an important one. At least it used to be. Forbes brought this interesting topic to us in their article, “Why Data Modeling Is Important (And Why It’s Not).”
Data modeling does not excite passion within most programmers. It isn’t fun. It isn’t productive. It is not exciting. Data modeling is an essential step in the process of creating any complex software. It helps developers understand the domain and organize their work accordingly. Just as architects consider blueprints before constructing a building, considering the data before building an app is an important step. On average, about 70 percent of software development efforts fail, and a major source of failure is premature coding.
With machine learning, blockchain, the Internet of Things and similar emerging technologies all beginning to find their own, it may very well be that a new paradigm is evolving to deal with such macro views of coding.
Melody K. Smith
Sponsored by Access Innovations, the world leader in thesaurus, ontology, and taxonomy creation and metadata application.
