Data Blueprint uses techniques in data reverse-engineering, a process to analyze data and its relationship to business processes. Dr. Peter Aiken, Founding Director of Data Blueprint, developed this technique for the U.S. Department of Defense and remains one of the leading experts on this topic (Aiken, Peter. Data Reverse Engineering: Slaying the Legacy Dragon, McGraw-Hill, 1996). The goal of reverse engineering is to analyze a system in order to uncover facts about its design and functionality, such as associating data and its business rules.

The reverse-engineering analysis allows Data Blueprint to map between data elements and organizational business rules, business domain information, system functional requirements, functional dependences and organizational data distribution architectures. We will compare the “as-is” and “to-be” business requirements to identify any “as-is” data elements and their embedded business requirements that may be in conflict with or are insufficient to satisfy the “to-be” business requirements. This will help to identify any business requirement gaps in the future ERP. It will also enable us to analyze and assess how an organization’s data flows into, out of, and between the systems and identify any bottlenecks, congestion, or gaps. Finally, we will use this process to assess the quality of the existing data in context of the business rules.

Data Blueprint has utilized data reverse-engineering techniques for a number of our projects, including:

Defense Logistics Agency's (DLA) Data Quality Audit:

• Data Blueprint conducted an extensive review of DLA’s data in relationship to their business processes in preparation for their migration to SAP. The value of this technique was the ability to analyze and reconcile conflicting business rules and the associated data from three (3) different DLA Defense Supply Centers.

Read more about Data Blueprint's success at the DLA

Colonial Webb Manufacturing:

• Data Blueprint integrated data from two different ERP systems to a new ERP system. As part of this effort, Data Blueprint analyzed data from each of the previous systems and mapped it to the new system. The value of this technique was the ability to streamline the time that it took to analyze the data and meet a very tight “go-live” deadline.

The technical approach to addressing a reverse engineering project includes both business process assessments through observation, interviews, fact finding and analysis, as well as engineering assessments of systems, testing and metadata analysis.