Using DEKAF to understand data modelling in the practitioner domain

Despite the ubiquitous use of entity-relationship modelling for more than twenty years, there is surprisingly little evidence of how effective data modelling is in the commercial domain, and this evidence suggests that modelling is problematic. This paper evaluates the literature on the effectiveness of data modelling in the practitioner domain, showing that implicit objectivist assumptions about narrative are questionable. A domain expert knowledge approach framework (DEKAF) is described in the context of overcoming problems of research generalisability. DEKAF provides both a useful way of understanding and thinking about the data modelling process and a way of making assumptions explicit in a particular practitioner domain. A summary of the findings of action research shows that DEKAF can be successfully used and can give insight into effective practitioner domain modelling.