Model management in organizations

The premise that the personal computer/spreadsheet explosion will result in the evolution of model management within organizations is explored. The authors use Nolan's stage model of organizational data processing activity as a basis for discussing the nature of change in organizations as local computing capability proliferates. The mainframe era resulted in the recognition of data as a resource and gave rise to data administration. The authors expect that the personal computer era and the accompanying spreadsheet explosion will lead to the recognition of models as a valuable and manageable resource. The role of model administration within organizations is discussed as are software tools for supporting this functional activity. The information resource encyclopedia, an extension of the traditional data dictionary concept, and the model management system are introduced as integral components for supporting model administration. An example is presented to suggest an integrative approach for implementing an MMS in a spreadsheet environment.