I don’t think I have mentioned it before, but I am located in Coastal Southern Maine or Vacationland as many call it. What I like about the area are all the seasonal restaurants we have. Many of these businesses have been a seasonal staple for as long as I can remember. Some of my favorites are the sea food take-out locations along the coast serving fresh from the ocean seafood. Even though many of these are only open in the summer months, you are guaranteed year over year consistency on the quality of the food and how it will be served. What makes this even more amazing is that most of the workers in these locations are students. High school and college students working part time for summer break, meaning the turnover at these locations is quite high with a relatively sizable number of new employees starting every year. These businesses operate year over year with such tasty consistency. So why is this? This is because they have a time proven methodology on how things should and need to operate. They hold true to the standards even if some of their methods seem to be odd. They routinely follow the processes and procedures they have put in place. In contrast, I have also been to many new establishments and you can see the chaos, lack of process and standards on display and these places tend to not to stay in business long.
This is proof to me the importance of having a solid methodology in place to be successful over a prolonged period of time. This is exactly why I have a passion for Data Vault 2.0. I have discussed that Data Vault 2.0 is more than just a Data Modeling solution and that there are Three Key Pillars to Data Vault 2.0, but what is genuinely great is the overall Methodology that it brings to the table. Data Vault 2.0 hands it to you and all you need to do is put the Methodology into practice (It gives you the answers to the test).
Let’s not mix up Methodology with Technology. The methodology is technology agnostic and does not matter what your organization has selected to use. I have seen organizations leveraging open-source solutions to organizations using high end best of breed solutions. All being successful following the same exact methodology. Some of these technologies may have built in functions to accelerate and or assist in the methodology, but they do not deviate from the guard rails put in place. They merely provide a time saving convenience that may accelerate your adoption and processes.
So, Keith... when you say methodology, what are some examples of what you are talking about? Here are some of my key points found in the Methodology.
Guideline for Agile Delivery (Scrum or Kanban)
Data Modeling Best Practices and Standards.
Data & Development Operations
Governance, Auditing & Logging
Reference Data Management
Data Quality
Orchestration
More...
These are just a few key components of the Methodology that Data Vault 2.0 lays out for you. There is no reason your organization would or even should be starting from scratch, because this methodology is so well defined, which makes it much easier to build reusable solutions and introduce automation into your operation which in turn improving the quality of your deliveries and the time to market for your business partners. I have seen organizations struggle and or fail with their Data Vault implementations, when they stray or challenge the methodology that has been laid out. If you want your Data Warehouse environment to operate on a consistent and reliable basis like some of my favorite seasonal restaurants, then I highly recommend following the laid-out methodology provided by Data Vault 2.0. If you do find a scenario you feel is not covered by the methodology, then reach out to the community of Data Vault practitioners for thoughts and feedback on your scenario.
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