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>Geoff Hart wrote:
>>James Barrow wrote:
>>
>>Typical use case format. The bosses liked it, but wanted a table in
>>addition to everything else above. In this table they want columns
>>showing the Actors, Business Rules and Metadata. I'm guessing that this
>>Metadata is going to be the encoding a user does to the data before it's
>>entered into the DB.
>
>Don't guess. "Metadata" means "information about the data", and without
>pinning down the nature of the information, you could end up spending hours
>documenting the wrong information. Your understanding of this term probably
>differs from mine and that of your bosses.
This is true, but I don't think that the exact nature of the metadata will
influence what I call the table. The use cases that I'm writing describe
tasks in a very long process, like building a car. So use case #1 is Build
the Engine. If the software I'm using is the automated part of building an
engine, a foreman might enter the following metadata into the system before
the conveyor belt starts: 2007 Geoffmobile GT, eight cylinders, dual
overhead cam, etc. This causes the system to spit out the right parts to
build the engine. So, getting back to the table that the bosses want, I
would enter the following:
Actors: Foreman, Mechanic
Business Rules: If GT model, use Superduper air scoop.
Metadata: Enter GMGTSD07 in "Model" field, etc.
>>I just can't figure out what to call the table. Criteria?
>
>Once you know what they mean by "metadata", the correct word will be easier
>to pick. And don't get hung up on finding a single-word solution: sometimes
>"the best word" is actually a short phrase, such as "Description of the
>data" or "Validity checks for controlling data input".
That's easy for you to say since your brain didn't hop the last flight to
Greater Antilles. But "Validity checks for controlling data input" is pretty
darn good. Thank you.
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