Data Modeling Made Simple with PowerDesigner will provide the business or IT professional with a practical working knowledge of data modeling concepts and best pr actices, and how to apply these principles with PowerDesigner. You'll build many PowerDesigner data models along the way, increasing your skills first with the fundamentals and later with mor e advanced feature of PowerDesigner. This book combines real-world experience and best practices to help you master the following ten objectives: 1. You will know when a data model is needed and which P owerDesigner models are the most appr opriate for each situation 2. You will be able to r ead a data model of any siz e and complexity with the same confidence as r eading a book 3. You will know when to apply and how to make use of all the k ey features of PowerDesigner 4. You will be able to build, step-b y-step in PowerDesigner, a pyramid of linked data models, including a conceptual data model, a fully normaliz ed relational data model, a physical data model, and an easily na vigable dimensional model 5. You will be able to apply techniques such as inde xing, transforms, and forward engineering to turn a logical data model into an efficient phy sical design 6. You will improve data governance and modeling consistency within y our organization by le veraging features such as PowerDesigner's reference models, Glossary, domains, and model comparison and model mapping techniques 7. You will know how to utilize dependencies and traceability links to assess the impact of change 8. You will know how to integrate your PowerDesigner models with externally-managed files, including the impor t and export of data using Excel and Requirements documents 9. You will know where you can take advantage of the entire PowerDesigner model set, to increase the succes s rate of corporate-wide initiatives such as business intelligence and enterprise r esource planning (ERP) 10. You will understand the key differentiators between PowerDesigner and other data modeling tools y ou may have used before About Steve Steve Hoberman is the most r equested data modeling instructor in the w orld. Steve balances the formality and precision of data modeling with the r ealities of building software systems with severe time, budget, and people constraints. In his consulting and teaching, he focuses on templates, tools, and guidelines to r eap the benefits of data modeling with minimal in vestment. Steve is the author of five books on data modeling, the founder of the Design Challenges group, and inventor of the Data Model Scorecard.® About George George McGeachie has w orked in the field of data modeling and metadata in a v ariety of industries for many years. George has evaluated, implemented, tailored and used v arious data modeling and metadata management tools during data modeling as signments around the globe. He is alw ays regarded as a power user for whichever tool is in use, finding ne w ways of exploiting their capabilities.