"What’s going on?!" - Section 2 of 14: THE DATA ARCHITECTURE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT (free excerpts)

This is the second part of the chapter titled “The Data Architecture Construction Project”, from the book “The Data Garden And Other Data Allegories”.

______________________________

What’s going on?!

You’re being driven in for your first day by your Head Builder. This is the first time you’ve been to Data Insight Town, and as you look out at the passing buildings and structures, your jaw drops.

Buildings are crammed together in a total mish-mash of different shapes, sizes and styles. Some look high tech and well maintained and others look half-finished and derelict. At seemingly random intervals, the buildings and roadworks are interspersed with large data garbage heaps, which in some cases are spilling out into the road, slowing data traffic and causing data people to swerve dangerously to avoid them.

One minute you can feel the car gliding along on a nice flat, high quality road, the next you’re bumping over makeshift data dirt roads, which act as rough connections from one smooth road surface to another. It’s like someone’s built a load of separate roads but couldn’t join them properly for some reason, so just dug out a path in the dirt as a way to enable data cars to get from one to the next.

You look over at your Head Builder, who looks content and acts as though this is all absolutely fine and normal. You can’t believe it. It’s the biggest mess you’ve ever seen. What on earth have you got yourself into?

The other thing that strikes you, looking around, is how much building work seems to be going on. There are cranes, diggers and workmen all over the place. You’re pretty sure these aren’t members of your team, so you wonder who’s commissioned all this work and who’s coordinating it.

Then something surprising catches your eye. An imposing structure in the distance, which seems to cut right across the town. It looks like a road on stilts: a huge flyover, carrying data cars from one part of the town to another. You weren’t aware of such a flyover and you’re sure it wasn’t mentioned in any of the briefings.

You ask the Head Builder if you can go and see it. He raises his eyebrows but agrees and takes a slip road in its direction.

What you’re about to find is more bizarre than you could possibly have imagined…

______________________________


I hope you’ve enjoyed this excerpt. 

If you are interested in reading more, please do check the book out on Amazon:

  • The Data Garden on Amazon.CO.UK
  • The Data Garden on Amazon.COM

    • Thanks for reading!


    #data #datamanagement #datagovernance #dataquality #dataarchitecture #metadata #dataliteracy #allegories #metaphors #analogies #stories #storytelling 


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