My first Publication Agile-Data-Warehouse-Design-eBook | Page 70

Modeling Business Events
Put the primary details: the event main clause and initial when detail, on your
main whiteboard or first sheet. If you can’t fit those first three columns on your
whiteboard, it’s too small or your writing is too big. The primary details can stay
front and center while you add or remove extension sheets for blocks of the
other Ws. We suggest you divide up the details as we have the latter chapters
of this book, with at least one sheet each for who & what, when & where, how
many, and why & how.
Have a scribe recording the model as you go. With traditional interactive model-
ing efforts, scribes are usually members of the data modeling team because of
the technical nature of the information they record and modeling tools they use.
With BEAM✲, the scribe can be anyone who can use a spreadsheet. This is an
ideal role for the on-site customer or product owner (one of the stakeholders) on
an agile team.
If you are limited for whiteboard space and lacking a scribe because of the
impromptu nature of your modelstorming, take pictures so you can erase as you
go. The cameras in most smartphones and tablet devices are more than ade-
quate for this and can take advantage of scanner apps that will automatically
clean up whiteboard images (reduce glare, increase contrast, fix perspective)
and email the results to your group. Don’t forget to turn off the flash.
If you have to erase as you go, leave the primary details and example data on
the board. If room permits (or on a separate flipchart) keep a visible “shopping
list” of the detail names you’ve had to erase.
Use any color you like as long as its black! If you’re going to take photos of your
work, stick to black whiteboard markers to improve the results. BEAM✲ notation
is deliberately non-color coded to help you here. Why do you see so many rain-
bow-colored whiteboard diagrams? Occasionally someone will have a well
thought out color scheme (but did they remember 8% of the male population
have color vision deficiency?). More often than not it’s because black is the
missing/dried-up pen. Go out and buy a box of black dry-wipe markers now!
Right now!
If you want to increase the level of interest, interactivity, contribution and energy
when you’re modelstorming give everyone a (black) marker. Get stakeholders
on their feet writing their own event stories on the board as soon as they’re used
to BEAM✲. How well this works depends on your style, their style, everyone’s
handwriting and the number of modelstormers. Having everyone edit the white-
board model together can work well for small groups of peers but no one wants
to feel they’re back at school being told to “Write that on the board”.
49