Liberty Life has chosen Cayenne`s data modelling toolset, supplied by Software Futures, to help create a repository-based development environment. Paul van der Merwe, an independent consultant to Liberty, says Liberty decided to put an enterprise data repository in place to retain knowledge in a sustainable way, to obtain an understanding of the organisation`s data structures and to encourage good data design.
The main challenge facing the data owners is to reverse engineer-their data structures into Cayenne, creating a blueprint of these structures. Liberty`s data is contained in four main databases: QSAM/VSAM, Adabas, SQL Base and Oracle. The first two are legacy databases, underpinning various administration applications that receive input from Blueprint on SQL Base.
Van der Merwe says factors influencing the decision to use Cayenne were the need for a tool that could address all these environments, based on the entity relationship modelling technique.
"We needed something that would allow us to reverse-engineer all these structures into physical entity relational diagrams. Cayenne was chosen from a short list of three, the other two being ERwin and Popkin."
Liberty is implementing Oracle`s generic Custom Development Method (CDM). "One of the key processes contained in CDM is data design based on theory dovetailing with the Cayenne implementation," says Van der Merwe.
The three suppliers were given a prototype in the client subject area and asked to prove their tool could support the four environments in a repository.
Liberty sought a two-layered model embracing both logical and physical layers, with a strong mapping mechanism between the two. "Cayenne was the only tool that could give us round-trip engineering," says Van der Merwe, "because we will still have to maintain our Adabas applications, which carry most of the legacy data."
Other Cayenne features were the concurrent licensing agreement, which suits Liberty`s multi-skilled approach. The company`s team of between 200 and 300 developers will be able to access the tool as and when required without any penalties.
Cayenne`s web enabling features were also a bonus.
Cayenne is expected to contribute to quicker turnaround in the reports construction cycle. It will give Liberty a controlled environment and a central repository to control data models, giving developers the ability to document data structures.
The creation of the central repository will help pave the expected future migration to a packaged environment.
Liberty`s information security initiative will also benefit as business risk and required security will be documented.
"We are driving the whole implementation of Cayenne through data ownership initiatives," says Van der Merwe. "We are in the process of defining policies and procedures and the data owners are developing the data models for the physical layer."
Once these have been decided, they will look at what needs to be modelled on the logical layers, based on business requirements. For example, consolidating client information or product models to enable a single view of the client.
"This strategy protects our investment in the legacy systems and helps us when we want to migrate or integrate," says Van der Merwe.
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