1. From (User) Story to Tables
Reading between the lines to find and understand your data

2. WARNING!
Literary Geekiness may ensue! You may be asked to participate!
From (User) Story To Tables | Deborah Melkin |

3. What’s my story? Working as a DBA for 18 years
SQL Saturday and User Group Speaker
NESQL Board member
Random facts:
I’m the alto section leader in my choir.
I go to bluegrass jams regularly.
I’ve been learning guitar and now mandolin.
I am a bit of a musical theater geek.
I majored in English and History.
The English & History background explains a lot of why I’m approaching things this way.
From (User) Story To Tables | Deborah Melkin |

4. Data & Story
From (User) Story To Tables | Deborah Melkin |

5. Agile Methodology
“Agile Software Development is an umbrella term for a set of methods and practices based on the values and principles expressed in the Agile Manifesto.
Solutions evolve through collaboration between self- organizing, cross-functional teams utilizing the appropriate practices for their context.”
From (User) Story To Tables | Deborah Melkin |

6. User Stories Agile development breaks workloads into “stories”
“As this type of user, I want to be able to ….”
The goal is to be able to take these stories and translate them into our application functionality and understand what the data requirements.
From (User) Story To Tables | Deborah Melkin |

7. Let’s treat user stories as literature…
From (User) Story To Tables | Deborah Melkin |

8. How do we interpret literature?
Looking at sentence structure and syntax
Applying context clues
Applying outside knowledge of the subject matter
From (User) Story To Tables | Deborah Melkin |

9. Diagramming Sentences
Talk about the purpose of diagramming sentences – not to learn the different parts of speech but to understand the relationship between them and get a better grasp of the sentence structure overall. Point out how similar the diagram is to a data model.
Link to the NPR article:
Link to diagrammed famous first sentences:

10. Steps for Diagramming Sentences
Identify the part of speech for each word
Identify how the words are related to each other
Create the diagram
From (User) Story To Tables | Deborah Melkin |

11. Steps for Modeling Data
Identify the data points
Identify the implied information related to the data points
Create the models
From (User) Story To Tables | Deborah Melkin |

12. Identify the Data Points
Address Information:
Not quite specific in terms of address lines
The word “present” implies multiple address types
Name Information:
Only asking for full name and not the different name parts
From (User) Story To Tables | Deborah Melkin |

13. Identify additional information
Business knowledge
Using universal data models
Len Silverston
Michael Blaha
David Hay
Ralph Kimbell
William Inmon
Etc.
“Just Enough Design Upfront”
From (User) Story To Tables | Deborah Melkin |

14. Create the Models Conceptual Logical Physical
From (User) Story To Tables | Deborah Melkin |

15. Types of Models Relational Star Schema Normal Forms
Designed for fast writes
Often used for OLTP systems
Facts and Dimensions
Designed for fast reads
Often used for OLAP/Data warehouses or marts/BI Solutions
From (User) Story To Tables | Deborah Melkin |

16. Here’s a story (or two) we can use…
Let’s practice
Here’s a story (or two) we can use…
Options:
First line of Moby Dick – “Call me Ishmael”
Any other example from the link in NPR article: Metamorphosis. Pride and Prejudice
First line of the Hobbit or Harry Potter
From (User) Story To Tables | Deborah Melkin |

17. Story 1: Moby Dick
From (User) Story To Tables | Deborah Melkin |

18. Story 2…
From (User) Story To Tables | Deborah Melkin |

19. Why is this important?
Understanding how to better break down the tasks better as part of the Agile development process.
Including database design at an earlier point of the overall design process.
“Shifting Left”
Determining the why, when, how the technical details of database design should be applied.
Understanding how the database impacts the company’s business = Job Security!
From (User) Story To Tables | Deborah Melkin |

20. Obstacles to this process
Requirements
Inaccurate information
Scope creep
Unforeseen changes
Inability to see full picture
Communication
Communication styles
Office culture & politics
From (User) Story To Tables | Deborah Melkin |

21. Additional Reading Diagramming sentences: Agile Methodology Modeling:
Article on NPR: fading-art-of-diagramming-sentences
Agile Methodology
The Agile Alliance:
Modeling:
Descriptions of the different types of models (Karen Lopez): models/
“Just Enough Design Upfront”: Agile Data Warehouse Design by Lawrence Corr with Jim Stagnitto.
The importance and implication of better understanding data requirements:
Pushing for database development to be earlier in the process (Stephanie Herr): talk.com/sql/database-devops-sql/devops-shift-left-databases/
The conclusion about the role of the DBA building solutions and understanding the data (Thomas LaRock):
Hopefully I will have touched most of these points earlier in the presentation. The descriptions are why I’m including them.
Link to Agile Data Warehouse Design on Amazon:
From (User) Story To Tables | Deborah Melkin |

22. Data Modeling Tools ER/Studio Data Architect erwin Data Modeler
erwin Data Modeler
Model Right
SQL Database Modeler
ER/Studio Data Architect:
erwin Data Modeler:
Model Right:
SQL Database Modeler:
From (User) Story To Tables | Deborah Melkin |

23. Have More Questions? Let me know!
Blog: DebtheDBA.wordpress.com
Please fill out your speaker evaluation form!
From (User) Story To Tables | Deborah Melkin |