The Information Lifecycle

I love databases. In fact, I would rarely consider working on an application if my database skills were not required. Having said that, there are some common mistakes in the databases I see in the course of my work. There are many articles on the theory of database construction. While I adhere to common practices, my goal here is to layout a commonsense approach to designing a database, and to comment on some errors I have seen.

In the 1990s, my friend Mike Lightheart introduced me to what he called “The Information Management Lifecycle.” In recent years, I have seen the term used by Computer Associates and other companies. I want to introduce the concept as I use it in my day-to-day work.

Data in the enterprise goes through the following stages:

1. It is recorded.
2. It is managed
3. It is used
4. It dies

In the requiremenents phase of a project, it is typical to compile a data dictionary of sorts – a list of the fields that need to be managed in a database. At some point, a data model is constructed, the database is built and the application is developed. I use the ILM to help me provide my client with solutions that I believe are superior to many of the solutions I have seen – if I can be permitted to be so humble.

Over the next few entries, I will outline how awareness of the Information Management Lifecycle influences my design of an application and the underlying database.