Wetterlands Ranch DMF - Enterprise Data Model

The MDM Methodology is based on the principal that there is a finite set of Base Data Elements in every enterprise that can be used for Data Integration. A Base Data Element is a data element that is cleansed or scrubbed to where all business rule associations for it are removed. The process of removing the business rules to cleanse to the Base Data Element is called Data Harmonization. The result of Data Harmonization is a list of new Base Data Elements. The list of Base Data Elements can also be grouped into Base Entities associated with the business functions and subject areas.

Data Harmonization is a reoccurring process within the Data Management Life Cycle at the project level which is managed by the Data Architect. Data Harmonization is also the bridge between the project layer and the enterprise layer of the Data Management Life Cycle which is managed by the Data Governance organization. The collection, cleansing and comparing of Data Element between both layers is recorded in an Enterprise Metadata Repository maintaining the original data source to target mappings and resulting transformation rules so impact analyst can be performed across the enterprise.

Example of a Base Data Elements where all business rules are removed:

Entity Person:
                Person First Name Text
                Person Last Name Text
    Person Identifier

Two examples of the logical data elements derived from the Base Data Elements when a business rule is associated with it:

Entity Customer: Business Rule – Person is Customer
                Customer First Name Text
                Customer Last Name Text
    Customer Identifier

Entity Employee: Business Rule – Person is Employee
                Employee First Name Text
                Employee Last Name Text
    Employee identifier

The following illustration depicts how the data across the enterprise is related. The Enterprise Data Object Model is the layer where the Base Data Elements, Reference Data & Base Entities are stored.

Enterprise Data Model Diagram

The top three levels (ESAM, ECM & EDOM) are the Enterprise or Conceptual layer in the MDM Methodology. The ESAM includes the Business Subject Areas and their sub layers. The ECM is the Entity Relationship Diagram at the Enterprise Layer which includes the Business Entities and related Business Rules (Relationships). And the EDOM is the MDM area which includes the Base Data Elements and Base Entities; Global Reference Tables, The Enterprise Metadata Repository and the Data Governance structure.

The bottom three levels are the Project layer including the LDM which is a relational presentation of the Business Function. The LDM is defined by selecting the Business Function from a subset of the ECM, expanding the entities and relationships to include the business functions being addressed in the project and adding the Data Elements expanded to their business rule usage. The LTM is the relational transformation to the target DBMS for the project including any performance enhancements. The PM is the actual DBMS coding to implement the project.