NIAM Conceptual Data‐Base Design in Construction Management
William Rasdorf, Osama Y. Abudayyeh · Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering · 1992
With the continued use of data bases in engineering applications and the continued proliferation of engineering data, the importance of proper database design needs increasing attention. This paper presents a new data‐modeling methodology called NIAM. NIAM is a graphical modeling language used to design conceptual schemas that can be mapped onto any data‐base model, e.g., the relational and hierarchical data models. The paper describes a procedure, called the optimal normal form algorithm, for mapping a NIAM conceptual schema onto a fifth normal form relational data model. It then provides a brief background on the relational data model and the normalization process. Examples from the construction management domain are used to describe the principles and concepts of the NIAM modeling methodology.