Thank you for the comments, Bill.

Correct - if you're looking for specific examples or "how to", this article isn't it. See my earlier series "Toward Integrity" for that: http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Data+Modeling/61526/.

The purpose of this article is simply to give the aspiring modeler/designer some direction that's sorely lacking if one approaches the discipline from learning the tools (which, to be fair, is how I started out).

I second your recommendation of Hay's books. I have two on my bookshelf and will soon be ordering a 3rd by him.

TroyK