The Importance of Eliminating Analogies in Data Administration

In a recent discussion, a speaker expressed their dissatisfaction with the use of analogies when explaining Enterprise Information Management (EIM) to those without prior experience. The speaker found that these comparisons, such as using fingerprints, traffic rules, photography, and more recently, gardening, often failed to convey the complexities of EIM effectively.

The speaker also noted that analogies only work for the person who came up with them. For instance, in the discussed analogy, 'I' is the data, 'lonely' is metadata, and 'as a cloud' is meta-metadata. However, the speaker found that these comparisons eventually break down, leading to further debates about their validity.

The speaker's conversation partner, who has experience in integrating systems, agreed that EIM material can be abstract and difficult to understand without prior experience. To illustrate the persistent nature of data quality issues, the speaker used the example of gardening, explaining that just as weeds keep coming back, data quality issues can persist if not properly managed.

Despite their reservations about analogies, the speaker did find one comparison useful - the SOAP message. They explained that a SOAP message, a protocol for exchanging data between systems, is an example of metadata. The speaker emphasised the need for ownership, approval, and careful management of such information, as well as the principles learned from managing metadata in a SOAP message that can be applied to other scenarios.

The speaker also discussed the risks of an incomplete definition of metadata, noting that it can lead to misunderstandings and errors in data management. In a previous conversation, the speaker had discussed metadata being compared to poetry, but they found this comparison unhelpful in explaining the practical aspects of EIM.

The speaker promised to stop using analogies when explaining EIM, instead focusing on the practical aspects of the field. They moved the conversation away from poetry and towards SOAP, highlighting its importance in data exchange between systems. Despite the challenges, the speaker remains committed to making EIM more accessible to newcomers.