The Art (and Science) of Diagramming: Communicating Effectively Using Diagrams
The Melbourne Data Management Association (DAMA) is delighted to present this one day course on producing effective diagrams, perhaps the only one of its kind in the world. Based on original research, it has been presented to practitioners around the world, including in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, USA and Scandinavia. It comes highly recommended by Dr. Peter Aiken (President, DAMA International), David Hay (author of “Data Modelling Patterns”), Steve Hoberman (author of “Data Modelling Made Simple”), John Schley (Past President, DAMA International) and Eskil Swende (President, DAMA Scandinavia). The course is officially endorsed by the Australian Computer Society (ACS).

Attendance at this event will earn 8 professional development hours towards ACS Certified Professional (CP) Status

Special one day course to be held on Friday, July 22, 2011 at The Sebel on Albert Park, Melbourne

The role of diagrams in IT practice

Diagrams form an important part of the “language” of IT practice: they are used in all areas and all levels of practice, from strategic planning to circuit design. They are the basic tools of our trade, the lingua franca we use to communicate among ourselves and with our customers. Yet surprisingly, IT practitioners typically receive no training in how to produce “good” diagrams.  As a result, most diagrams produced in IT practice today 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.

What you will learn from this course

This goal of this course is to teach you how to produce cognitively effective diagrams: diagrams that are optimised for human understanding and problem solving. It defines 7 principles for producing effective diagrams, summarised in the “fishbone” (cause-effect) diagram below.

These principles are not based on intuition, opinion and experience like those currently used in practice, but on theory and empirical evidence drawn from a wide range of fields, including visual perception, cognitive psychology, graphic design, typography and diagrammatic reasoning. The course is designed to be highly interactive, with a range of examples and exercises used to give participants first-hand experience applying the principles.

Topics include:

- What is a “good” diagram and how can this be measured?

- Common mistakes in diagramming practice and how to avoid them

- Principles of graphic design (dimensions of the “design space”): how to represent information graphically

- Principles of visual perception and cognition (the “solution space”: how diagrams are processed by the human mind

- Principles for cognitively effective diagrams: how to produce diagrams that are optimised for processing by the human mind

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

Speaker Biography
Dr. Daniel Moody is recognised as one of Australia’s leading experts in data modelling and data management and has an international reputation in these fields. He holds a PhD in Information Systems from the University of Melbourne (Australia’s top ranked university) and has held senior positions in some of Australia’s leading corporations and consultancy firms. He has conducted consulting assignments in 12 different countries across a broad range of industries. He has also published over 100 scientific papers, been a keynote speaker 9 times and chaired several international conferences. He was the inaugural President of the Australian Data Management Association (DAMA), a former Vice-President on the DAMA International Board and is listed in Who's Who in Science and Engineering. He has lived and worked in 8 different countries (Australia, Brazil, Czech Republic, Iceland, Norway, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain), 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 stunning Sebel on Albert Park (65 Queens Road, Melbourne), only 15 minutes from the CBD and with spectacular views over Albert Park Lake.

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 The Sebel. If you require accommodation please contact the Centre directly on phone 03 9529 4300

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.