The Art (and Science) of Diagramming: Communicating Effectively Using Diagrams
DAMA Sydney is delighted to offer this one day course on producing effective diagrams. This has been previously presented at Enterprise Data World in Tampa, Florida, the DAMA International Symposium in Boston the IRMAC in Toronto,  the DAMA Europe Conference in London and DAMA Scandinavia Conference in Stockholm. It comes highly recommended by the current President of DAMA International (Dr. Peter Aiken), Past President of DAMA International (John Schley), David Hay (author of “Data Modelling Patterns”) and Steve Hoberman (author of “Data Modelling Made Simple”).

Diagrams play a critical role in data management practice: they are used to represent data models and enterprise architectures and communicate these throughout the enterprise. Despite this, data management practitioners typically receive little or no training in how to produce “good” diagrams. As a result, most diagrams produced in data management practice do not communicate effectively. Although they are intended as a way of communicating with business users and senior management, they more often act as a barrier than an aid to communication.

Presentation of diagrams is often considered as a matter of “aesthetics”, implying that it is just a matter of personal taste. However research in diagrammatical reasoning shows that the form of a problem representation has an equal, if not greater, effect on human information processing as its content. The human mind is highly sensitive to the exact form information is presented to the senses, and apparently minor changes in visual appearance can have dramatic effects on understanding and problem solving performance. This suggests that decisions about the presentation of diagrams are far from trivial, and should be taken with as much care as decisions about their content.

This presentation describes a set of principles for producing cognitively effective diagrams (ones that are optimised for processing by the human mind). These principles are not based on common sense but on scientific evidence drawn from a wide range of fields, including visual perception, cognitive psychology, psychophysics, graphic design, information visualisation, and diagrammatic reasoning. The principles apply to all types of diagrams, from formal diagrams used in application development and enterprise architectures to informal diagrams used in presentations and reports.

To see a pdf brochure about the course please click here. 

What you will learn from this course
This course describes a set of principles for producing “good” diagrams (defined as diagrams that communicate effectively). These principles are based on scientific evidence drawn from a wide range of fields, including visual perception, cognitive psychology, graphic design, cartography, typography and diagrammatic reasoning. The principles apply to all types of diagrams, from formal diagrams used in application development and enterprise architectures to informal diagrams used in presentations and reports. The course is designed to be highly interactive, with a wide range of examples and exercises used to illustrate the principles.

Speaker Biography
Dr. Daniel Moody is a Senior Consultant with Ajilon Australia in their Strategy & Architecture practice. He holds a PhD in Information Systems from the University of Melbourne (Australia’s top ranked university) and has held senior IT positions in some of Australia’s largest private organisations. He has conducted consulting assignments in 12 different countries, covering a broad range of industries: banking, airlines, law enforcement, television broadcasting, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, manufacturing, healthcare, education, utilities, transport and forestry. He has also held academic positions at universities around the world, including in Australia, Brazil, Czech Republic, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, and Spain.  He has published over 100 scientific papers and has chaired a number of national and international conferences. He has been President of the Australian Data Management Association (DAMA), Australian Representative for the Information Resource Management Association (IRMA) and is listed in Who's Who in Science and Engineering. He speaks fluent English but can say “hello”, “thank you” and “cheers” in at least 10 different languages.

Schedule and Catering
Registration is from 8:00am with tea and coffee available on arrival. The course runs from 9:00am to 5:00pm. There will be breaks for morning and afternoon tea as well as lunch. All meals costs are included in the course fee.

Venue
The venue is the federal Government owned HC Coombs Centre. It has excellent training facilities and views of Sydney Harbour and the Opera House.

DAMA Membership included
Non members and ACS members will receive 12 month membership in DAMA for no charge. This membership usually costs $100.

Accommodation
Bed and breakfast accommodation is available from HC Coombs Centre. If you require accommodation please contact the Centre directly on phone 02 9409 1500 or email coombs@rba.gov.au

How to pay
Click the bright orange 'Order Now' button higher up on this page. On the next page you can pay by credit card using PayPal. We recognise that some organisations do not allow credit cards to be used on PayPal. If you are in this situation then scroll down to the bottom of the page and you will see 'Other Payment Options'. Click on the word 'Show' (it is orange). You will then be guided on how to pay by cheque or electronic fund transfer. You also have the option to receive an invoice.