30 May 1996 updated
We will try to provide contact information as well as a brief bio and description of technical environment for each participant. In addition, we will note any issues of special interest relative to PowerDesigner. Please e-mail any additions or corrections to this list.
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Mt Vernon Mills, like the State of Florida, is targeting DB2/400 from PowerDesigner models:
"We are using PowerDesigner as the starting point for a design process that is completely re-engineering all 'persons systems' and manufacturing applications for Mount Vernon. (Of the software currently running, only the financials are inviolate.) We keep the data dictionary on a P5-90 w/Windows NT and 64 MB RAM, and additionally do development on a P5-90 w/Win95 and 32 MB RAM.
The two teams (Persons Systems & Manufacturing) are at different stages. The Persons Team, the database virtually complete, is plowing ahead with client/server applications designed in PowerBuilder. Manufacturing is still working through the final stages of database design, and will eventually develop some programs green-screen (using ILE RPG and embedded SQL) and others PC-based client/server depending on the sophistication of the target users. All applications are expected to run against a database on an IBM AS/400, although the client/server applications make use of ODBC to minimize the dependence on a particular implementation. (The Persons Team actually tests against an SQL Server 6.0 database before moving file changes to the AS/400.)
Between the two teams, there are seven IS professionals of various specialties working on the two teams at the moment; the number has fluctuated between five and ten since we began the projects last July. Of the seven, two of us are involved to some extent in the data modelling aspect of it, myself nearly full time and one other still making occasional tweaks to bring the model into sync with reality."
"I'm currently working on the Public Service Company of Colorado engagement. Our production C/S environment includes Sybase running on HP boxes. Most operations are running in a COBAL / DB2 environment on IBM mainframes. All most all new development is being done with PowerBuilder and Sybase on Windows using NT servers."
Syncrude's team has made extensive use of Oracle CASE (pre Designor/2000) and chose PowerDesigner to make data modeling more available to larger numbers of developers.
SuperValue has a very large mainframe installation with substantial legacy modeling as well as data warehousing projects.
Enterprise model management Table naming Real versioning capability Inherited attributes shown in entities Role-named foreign keys Many-to-many association with attributes Data dictionary lists Diagram display content and notation customization Improved reordering of attributes and columns Short-cut menu nesting Improved CDM-PDM generation Better control of RDBMS name lengths User default for new data item
Although part of Powersoft's parent company, Eric is also a "customer" in that his teams are using PowerDesigner in Sybase's internal data architecture projects.
Environment:
- clients (sun, mac, pc)
- servers (hp, sun, sgi)
- o/s (hpux, solaris/sunos, irix)
- dbms (sybase)
- tools (powerbuild, java, apt, 4th dimension) (PowerDesigner, ssm, clearcase)
Issues:
"The Saturn account is working under a corporate directive to implement one data repository or modeling solution or tool. We are currently using PowerDesigner across our account, but are evaluating the I-CASE tool Composer. There is a great deal of discussion going on between the mainframe development teams and the C/S development teams about what is the best choice for the account and most importantly our customers."
General Characteristics:
- Enterprise repository
- Support mainframe and C/S DBMS
- Repository object security
- Version control
- Open standards approach
- Two level modeling
- Naming standards
- Gobal business rules and domains
PowerDesigner Specific
The State of Florida is using the APOL PowerBuilder library with PowerDesigner's AppModeler. John had APOL's president on site for training and they are very happy with the results.
The Mayo has an elaborate professional useability testing lab where they have excercised S-Desingor. John has some well researched and articulate criticism of PowerDesigner's interface.
The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) currently uses PowerDesigner in the following ways:
1) to provide advanced data model graphics capabilities: most of TCCC's corporate data models are shared within the company via Texas Instrument's Composer product. However, Composer does not provide the reporting and graphics capabilities offered by PowerDesigner. TCCC has developed an interface between Composer and PowerDesigner to allow corporate models that are stored in the Composer Host Encyclopedia to be presented via PowerDesigner.
2) to provide an easy-to-use "desktop" modeling tool for company development efforts which are not shareable within the company, and which are not required to be defined and stored in Composer (e.g., small workgroup applications)
3) to provide reverse engineering capabilities for Oracle and MS Access database specs.
4) To Engineer PowerBuilder Catalog Information and PowerBuilder objects.
NOTE: The Coca-Cola Company has an I/S strategy and requirement to inventory, standardize, and share defined Company information resources across the enterprise. Because the current release of PowerDesigner does not support global access to information, component-level version control, or multi-user concurrent development, use of PowerDesigner as the "store" for shareable data models is not supported.
Walker is a large development house of mainframe and Unix financial software. They are using S-Desingor extensively in front of UNIFACE application design.
"Walker Financial Solutions involvement with PowerDesigner began in April 1995. Previously we had used a PC based CASE tool which had become obsolete (NCC Asset), and after a period without a CASE tool, PowerDesigner was chosen to be used on development of a major new module. The majority of our development is done in UNIFACE.
PowerDesigner's ease-of-use, cost-effectiveness and modelling features were seen as benefits to us, along with the limited support for UNIFACE.
We used PowerDesigner Corporate version 4.1.2 and all the following statements are based on this version unless otherwise stated.
Issues
Prior to and during the PowerDesigner training in May '95, we investigated several areas which gave us concern about the implementation of PowerDesigner into the WFSL development cycle. Some ideas for solutions were discussed during the training. The issues of concern are:
- PowerDesigner version 4 is effectively a single user tool based on CDM & PDM files.
- Reverse-engineering of existing UNIFACE application models into PowerDesigner"
Paul, a recent convert (?$?) to PowerDesigner, has perhaps more years of expertise on ADW then any other person, living or dead!
"I am currently a Data Analyst for US West responsible for determining data requirements for retiring a legacy system. We are using PowerDesigner to capture the data conceptually and then generating the physical models and eventually generating Sybase databases. There are currently two distinct models representing major subject areas Customer and Reference. Many are concerned about version control, security, and group access to the models. Separate products are used to flowchart the business. Individuals from the business are responsible for this documentation at the present. We would like to use ProcessAnalyst to better document the process side.
I recently came to US West from Blue Cross Blue Shield of NM where I was first a business analyst and then a methodology specialist. BCBS was rolling out the James Martin & Co Enterprise Engineering methodology throughout a three state region. My responsibilities included creating standards and training on the methodology and the Sterling KEY suite of CASE products."
- Maintain user settings
- Process-to-Data CRUD matrix
- Process oriented data models
- Process models
- Enterprise model management
- Version control
- Many-to-Many relationships
- Team modeling and greater security
- Total lifecycle development process
- View models from various perspectives
- Prototype applications
- Logical-to-physical model mapping
- Some properties should extend to the attribute level
- Derived attributes
Brian is a user of PowerDesigner for SPS Field Readiness Education courses. He has previously worked with Bachman Information Systems using the Bachman CASE products for four years.