FM sync with Erwin model

[redstang]

I've found that I can import my Erwin model into FM via xml.  It appears to work quite slick, as it pulls in both the logical and physical models, as well as the subject areas as shortcuts.  Plus, since it pulls in the logical model, I potentially don't need to rename anything since I have business names for tables and columns already defined in my Erwin model.  I'd be interested to hear of anyone else's experience with this, and whether or not you'd recommend maintaining your FM model in this fashion, vs. manually pulling things in from the database and manually renaming everything.   

We are just in the initial stages of setting up our Cognos 8 environment and would prefer to keep the manual maintenance of the Cognos model to a minimum. 

[Blue]

I too am looking at ways to integrate the meta data in Framework Manager with an enterprise meta data management too.  I am leaning towards using Ascential MetaStage as there is supposed to be a metabroker available for FM. 

Being able to maintain meta data in one location is of importance to us as double entry risks data getting out of sync.  I believe the physical and logical views should import and export fine but I'm not sure about the dimensional model in FM.

If anyone on the list has had any experience integrating FM meta data with another tool I would like to here about it please.

Bluey

[KrisK]

I was on a project last year where we began by importing metadata from PowerDesigner.

While the import worked initially, I would generally discourage it. Here is what we found:

1. There were contructs and techniques used in PowerDesigner that did not import properly. So, while your model may import now, a new version of the modeling tool, or if certain features of the modeling tool are used, your import could break as ours did.

2. Import stopped working altogether once the PowerDesigner model reached a certain size.

3. If your data model is complex, you will need to do some manipulation in Framework Manager in order to get reliable query results. As your data model changes over time, it seems that it is a lot easier to manage the changes in the data model if you are synching with a database rather than other external metadata.

Good luck!