About
Larry Burns has worked in IT for more than 40 years as a data architect, database developer, DBA, data modeler, application developer, consultant, and teacher. He holds a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Washington, and a Master’s degree in Software Engineering from Seattle University. He most recently worked for a global Fortune 200 company as a Data and BI Architect and Data Engineer.
He contributed material on Database Development and Database Operations Management to the first edition of DAMA International’s Data Management Body of Knowledge (DAMA-DMBOK) and is a former instructor and advisor in the certificate program for Data Resource Management at the University of Washington in Seattle.
He has written numerous articles for TDAN.com and DMReview.com and is the author of Building the Agile Database (Technics Publications LLC, 2011), Growing Business Intelligence (Technics Publications LLC, 2016), and Data Model Storytelling (Technics Publications LLC, 2021).
His interests include music, gardening, writing, and landscaping.
He lives in Kent, Washington with his wife Becky.
Featured Work
Data Model Storytelling
Starting with analogies from Native American storytelling traditions and drawing on his experiences as an officer in Toastmasters (the International public speaking organization), Larry shows us how we can be data modeling Shamans. We can use data models to bring people together to solve business problems, reengineer inefficient business processes, forge agreements on data meanings, create new business opportunities, and promote data quality and reuse.
Drawing from a host of disciplines, from storytelling to cognitive behavioral therapy, from landscaping to Human-Centered Design, from business process reengineering to domain-driven development, from Agile to object-oriented design, Larry weaves all these threads together into a compelling narrative of using data to get us successfully from where we are now to where we want to be!
