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PARTIII
THEBASICSOFMETAMODELING

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8
DesignandManagementofMetaDataBases
8.1
IntroductiontotheMetamodels
Togainathoroughappreciationofthewaysinwhichthecaptureandcontrolofmetadatacanbringsignificantefficienciesacrossawiderangeofcommercialactivity,
itisnecessarytounderstandthewayinwhichdatastructuresshouldbedesignedanddeployedtocontrolsectionsofthisactivity.Eachdatastructure,ormetamodel,
representsapartoftheoverallITactivitywithinanorganization.
PartIIIwilldetailthestructureandworkingofthe"core"metadata,coveringthesemainthreadsofactivitywithintheITdepartmentofanenterprise.Thethreads
(representingmanagementofmachines,data,processes,andpeople)arenaturallydistinct,enablingautonomouscontroltobeexertedonthematatacticallevel.
However,whenlongtermstrategicviewsarerequired,ordirectionsettingdecisionsaremade,

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understandingtheinteractionsbetweentheactivities,andtheoverlapsbetweenthemetamodelsthatformalizethem,willformacrucialpartofthedecisionmaking
process.
Thecomplexityoftheseinteractionsandthelackofunderstandinginthisareaonthepartofthosemakingthedecisionshaveleddirectlytomanyoftheperceived
weaknessesofITwithinlarge,diverseorganizations.LaterinPartIII,acommonbasisforavoidingsuchoverlapissueswillbedescribedtoreinforcetheimportance
ofmetadatamanagementtotheoverallprocessofITdeploymentandcontrol.
PartIII,togetherwiththeappendixesdescribingtheformaldatastructureswithineachmetamodel,providesanencyclopedicviewoftheenterprisemetadata.For
convenience,itissplitintothefoursubmodelsthatcorrespondtotheareasofactivitymostcommonlyassociatedwiththeIMsubjectareawithinacommercial
concern.Thefour,interdependentsubmodelsareconsidereddistinctly,withaviewtodescribingtheirinteractions.Thesefourmodelsarelistedasfollows:
1.Thedatamanagementmetamodel
2.Theapplicationmanagementmetamodel
3.Theactivitymanagementmetamodel
4.Theinfrastructuremanagementmetamodel.
ThemodelsaredescribedseparatelywithinAppendixesBE.Eachsectionshouldthereforeformacomplete,localizedviewofthebusinessactivitiesassociatedwith
eachofthesesubjectareasandthedatastructuresunderlyingthem.
Eachentityofthemetamodelistreatedseparatelyanddiscussedinthefollowingmanner:
Entitydesignandusageimplications:Explainsjusthowthevarious"rules"asdefinedbytheserelationshipsandattributes,affectthebehavioroftheentity,giving
examples,whereappropriate,ofpotentialproblems.
Ongoingmanagementprinciples:Givesaframeworkforthestewardshipofeachentitytype,insuchawayastopreserveitsinherentqualityandconsistency.

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Inaddition,formaldefinitionsoftheentitiesandtherelationshipsthatbindthemtogetherandconstraintheirbehaviorisgivenintheappendices,structuredasfollows:
Definition:Givesbothaformalandinformaldefinitiontotheentity,andexplainsitsrolewithinthemetamodel.
Datacontextdiagram:Explains,inbroadterms,thewayinwhichthisentityrelatestootherpartsofthemetamodelandthebehavioritexhibitsasitpassesthrough
itslifecycle.
Basicrelationships:Givesaformalstatementoftheunderlyingbusinessrulebehindeachrelationshipwithanotherentityandalooser,textualexplanationofthe
significancetobeplacedoneachsuchrelationship.
Basicattributes:Listsandexplainsaminimalsubsetofattributesassociatedwitheachentity,theirpurpose,andexamplesoftheirusage.
Thepurposetowhichthissectionwillbeputdependsontheperspectiveandroleofthereaderandonthetypeoforganizationtowhichheorshebelongs.Forthe
businessreader,theaimistogiveathoroughyetunderstandableintroductiontothenatureofdataitself,byachievingapracticalunderstandingoftheconstructsthat
makeupagenericmetadatabase.
TheITprofessionalcanbeformallydefinedassomeonewhoseprimaryareaofactivitylieswithinoneofthefour"architectures"thatprovidecontextsfortheindividual
submodels.Forthesepeople,theintentioninprovidingthemwithacohesivemetamodelistoallowthemtotakeastepbackfromtheirdaytodayproblems,andto
seethepatternsthatexistintheirwork.Agraspoftheconceptscoveredwillalsoenablethemembersofeachgrouptodevelopamoreprofoundunderstandingofthe
concernsoftheircolleaguesinother"architectural"groups.
FortheITmanager,whoseviewextendsacrossthesearchitectures,theaimistogiveablueprintfora"holistic"approachtothemanagementofanITfunctionwithina
complexorganization.ITmanagersshouldanalyzethewaysinwhichthesubarchitecturesoverlapandthesortof

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conflictsthatcanariseintheirownsituationwhentheydonotinteractinaconsistentandpredictablefashion.Intheprocess,themetadatamodelswillallowIT
managerstomanagemoreeffectivelyandtoprovidegreaterandmorevisiblevaluetotheorganizationthattheysupport.
Insummary,PartIIIisnotmeanttodefineacompletemetamodel,norisitintendedtobeaprescriptionforsuccessfulimplementationofametadatacontrol
mechanism.Itisintendedratherasaguideforacatalystforchange.Theissuesthatareraisedineachorganizationbyconsiderationofthesemodelsshouldenablean
appropriateresponsetotheproblemsthatexistwithinthatorganization.Theactualpartsofthismetamodelthatareimplementedandtheamountofeffortthatwillhave
tobeexertedtobringthemetadataundercontrolwillvaryfromenterprisetoenterprise.Thesediscussionsshouldenablethoseresponsibleforplanningsuchan
exercisetoseethefullpictureandtobeawareoftheissuesthatwillarise.
Thestructureusedforsplittingthemetadataintoseparatesectionsisalsononprescriptive.TheauthorhasfoundthatthistypeofsplitenablesbothITandbusiness
personneltoseethetaskaheadmoreclearly,butitisbynomeanstheonlyrightanswer.Theentitiesarediscussedinsomedetailbutwithoutreferencetoaformal
metamodel.Forthosewhohavereachedthestageofimplementingaphysicalmetadatabase,thestructuresareformallydefinedinappendixestothiswork.
8.2
BasicDataStructureMetadata
Thisportionofthemetadatamodeldefinesthebasicbuildingblocksofmetadata,namelythemeansbywhichbusinessdatacanbestructured,inthegeneralsense.
TheentitiesdescribedarerecognizableasthetypeofdatathatmightbefoundwithintheinternalstructuresofaCASEtoolorasconstructswithinthedatadictionary
ofadatabasemanagementsystem.
8.2.1
TheENTITYEntity
TheENTITYentityformsthebackboneoftheenterprisedatamodel.Theinherentaccuracy,quality,andcompletenessofthisdatasetarevitaltotheeffectivenessof
anymetadatadrivenmanagementapproach.

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ManagementofEntities
ItisthereforeimportantthatonemasterfileoftheENTITYswithinthisenterprisemodelshouldbemaintainedfortheentirecorporationandthat,ifatallpossible,a
singleindividualshouldbeassignedcustodyofthisentity.ItissuggestedthatthisroleofcustodianfortheENTITYentityshouldbeoneofthekeyrolesofthe
metadatamanager,whoseoveralljobspecificationisdescribedinmoredetailinChapter4.
TheENTITYentityrepresentsthebasicdefinitionofanytypeofthingthatmaybeconsideredasrelevanttotheactivitiesoftheenterprise.Itprovidesacommonbasis
forallDATAMODELENTITYsthatareusedtodescribethebehaviorofdatatypesinaspecificbusinesscontext,orbyaparticularAPPLICATION.Asforthe
ATTRIBUTEentity,theENTITYentityactsasalibrary,fromwhichdatatypesmaybechosenforuseonanynewproject.Onceagain,therulesthataredefinedfor
thebehaviorofanENTITYwithintheenterprisemodelareimplicitlycarriedovertoanydatamodelforwhichtheyareselected.Thisenforcesahighdegreeof
consistencybetweenareasoftheinfrastructurethatmaynotinteractinanycontrollableway.
Inaddition,itwillbetheresponsibilityoftheprojectdataanalyststoensurethatanynewcircumstancessurroundinganENTITYthatmightbeconsideredgenerally
applicableareincludedintheENTITYentity(anditscontext),andthusbeavailableas"library"itemsforuseelsewhere.
EvolutionoftheEntityMetadata
TheENTITYentitywillevolveinacontrolledmannerasitsuseisextendedovertimeinapplicationprojects.Thedataanalystsandthemetadatamanagerwillreflect
thisevolutiononthemetamodelastheresultofcoordinatedanalysisanddiscussion.TheinclusionofanyENTITYwithinanewdatamodelviewimpliesacceptanceof
thefollowing,fordatausagebythenewproject:
TheENTITYwillbeusedinamannerconsistentwithitsexistingdefinitioninthemetamodel,andanyadditionalconstraintsonthebehavioroftheENTITYthatare
applicableonlytothenewprojectwillbeincludedintheDATAMODELENTITYentitydefinition.
AnyadditionalconstraintsonthebehavioroftheENTITYthataregenerallyapplicablemustbeincludedintheENTITYdefinition

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andmustbecheckedagainsttheusageofthisENTITYbyallotherrelevantdatamodels.
IdentificationofEntities
TheprimaryidentifieroftheENTITYwillbeasspecifiedandcontrolledinthemetamodel,subjecttoanytechnicalconstraintsthatmightarise.Insomeinstances,such
constraints(e.g.,theuseofsoftwaredevelopedbyathirdparty)preventtheuseofacommonidentificationmechanism.Insuchcases,itshouldbeconsideredan
integralpartofthedevelopmentprojecttoensurethatarobustandcomprehensiveautomatedprocessisdeveloped.This,inturn,willensurethatthedifferentsystems
remainconsistentovertime.
AnynewENTITYthatisidentifiedasbeingofgeneralapplicabilityshouldbeincludedintheENTITYentity,afterappropriatecheckingtoensurethatnosuch
ENTITYalreadyexistswithinanexistingdatamodel.
Alloftheabovewillensurethattheenterprisemetamodelremainscompleteandaccurate,whilethedatamodelviews(representedbytheDATAMODELENTITY
entity)willbecomplete,relevant,andmutuallyconsistent.Thiswill,inturn,significantlyreducethelikelihoodofconfusionarisinginthebusinessoverinconsistent
languageandgreatlysimplifyalldealingswithdatathatarederivedfrommorethanonesystem.
8.2.2
TheATTRIBUTEEntity
TheATTRIBUTEentityrepresentstheuniverseofcharacteristicsthatmaybetakenbyeachparticularentity.ItprovidesacommonbasisforallDATAMODEL
ATTRIBUTEsthatareusedtodescribethebehaviorofATTRIBUTEsinaspecificbusinesscontext.Inthissense,theATTRIBUTEentityactsasalibrary,from
whichattributesmaybechosenforuseonanynewprojectthatmakesuseoftheENTITYtowhichtheATTRIBUTEsbelong.Inmakingthechoicefromthismenu,a
dataanalystinvolvedinbuildingadatamodelforanewprojectisacknowledgingtherulesthathavebeenrecordedintheATTRIBUTEentityandagreeingtoabide
bythem.

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ControlofAttributeValues
TheformatandsetofpossiblevaluesforanATTRIBUTEdoesnotdependontheATTRIBUTEitselfratheritdependsontheDOMAINtowhichitbelongs.Thus,
anymanagementactivitycenteredontheconsistencyorqualityofdatavaluesshouldbeperformedatthedomainlevel,ratherthanindividualATTRIBUTEs.
Asageneralrule,anATTRIBUTEonlyexistswithinthecontextofonespecificENTITY.AnygivenATTRIBUTEmayormaynotexistwithinthecontextofa
particularDATAMODEL.Ingeneral,itisadvisabletoincludeprimaryidentifyingATTRIBUTEsinallDATAMODELsthatcontaintheENTITYtowhichthey
refer.
Inaddition,itwillbetheresponsibilityoftheprojectdataanalyststoensurethatanynewcircumstancessurroundinganATTRIBUTEthatmightbeconsidered
generallyapplicableshouldbeincludedintheATTRIBUTEentity(anditscontext)andthusbeavailableaslibraryitemsforuseelsewhere.
EvolutionofAttributeMetadata
TheATTRIBUTEentityitself,beingpartoftheenterprisedatamodel,fallsunderthecustodyofthemetadatamanager.(SeealsoSection4.3.)Itisuptothe
metadatamanagertoensurethatanyevolutionoftheITinfrastructuretakesaccountofthemetamodelandthatconsistencyacrosstheuniverseofdatausageis
thereforepreserved.
Asanexample,consideranewprojectthathasbeensetuptodevelopaplantcontrolsystemforamanufacturingcompany.Thedataanalystforthisnewprojecthas
accesstotheexistingmetamodelandreviewsthecurrentcontentswiththemetadatamanager.
Dependingonthescopeofthenewproject,heorshewilldecidewhichENTITYsareofrelevanceandwhichATTRIBUTEswillbetakenaspartoftheDATA
MODELVIEWforthenewapplication.TheinclusionoftheATTRIBUTEsinthisviewimpliesacceptanceofthefollowingfordatausagebythenewproject:
1.TheATTRIBUTEwillbeusedinamannerconsistentwithitsexistingdefinitioninthemetamodel.IfthereisanexistingATTRIBUTEassociatedwiththe
PRODUCTentitycalled"packagenetweight"thenanyATTRIBUTEthatisthusnamedwithin

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thenewapplicationshouldbetotallyconsistentwiththeuniversaldefinitionintheATTRIBUTEentity.
2.AnyadditionalconstraintsonthebehavioroftheATTRIBUTEthatareapplicableonlytothenewprojectwillbeincludedintheDATAMODELATTRIBUTE
entitydefinition.IfitisfoundthatanewATTRIBUTE,''productionbatchflag,"isneededfortheplantcontrolsystemandisnotusedelsewhereinthebusinessforany
purpose,thenitshouldbeincludedonthedatamodelforthenewapplication.Thedefaultassumptionwillbethatnewconstraintswillbegenerallyapplicable.The
caseformakingthemapplicabletoonesystemonlywillhavetobemadeandagreedwiththemetadatamanager.
3.AnyadditionalconstraintsonthebehavioroftheATTRIBUTEthataregenerallyapplicablemustbeincludedintheATTRIBUTEdefinitionandmustbechecked
againsttheusageofthisATTRIBUTEbyallotherrelevantdatamodels.TheprojectmaymakeuseofanATTRIBUTEfor"density"thatmustbeconstrainedtoa
valuebetweenzeroandone,whereasthisisnotimpliedbythegeneraldefinition.Inthiscase,eitherthedefinitionhastobechangedtomatchthenewcircumstances,
oraseparateATTRIBUTE(namedmanufacturingstandarddensity,forinstance)mustbedefinedforthepurpose.Intheformercase,greatcaremustbetakenthat
thenewconstraintisconsistentwiththeusebeingmadeofthisATTRIBUTEbyotherapplications,eventhoughitwasnotexplicitlystatedbeforehand.
4.TheformatanddomainoftheATTRIBUTEwillbeasspecifiedinthemetamodel.Theanalystdoesnothavetherighttodecidethattheproductnumber
ATTRIBUTEwillbedifferentlycodedorstructuredforthisapplicationthanfromthosethatalreadyexist.
5.AnynewATTRIBUTEsoftheENTITYthatareidentifiedforspecificuseoftheprojectmustbeincludedintheDATAMODELATTRIBUTEset.Notethatthe
defaultassumptionshouldbethatnewATTRIBUTEswouldhavegeneralapplicability.Itshould

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remaintobeproventhattheirscopeislocalenoughnottobeincludedintheenterpriseview(i.e.,theATTRIBUTEentity).
6.AnynewATTRIBUTEsoftheENTITYthatareidentifiedasbeingofgeneralapplicabilityshouldbeincludedintheATTRIBUTEentity,afterappropriate
checkingtoensurethatnosuchATTRIBUTEalreadyexistswithinanexistingdatamodel.
Alloftheabovewillensurethattheenterprisemetamodel,representedbytheATTRIBUTEentity,willremaincompleteandaccurate,whilethedatamodels
(representedbytheDATAMODELATTRIBUTEentity)willbecomplete,relevant,andmutuallyconsistent.Thiswill,inturn,significantlyreducethelikelihoodof
confusionarisingwithinthebusinessoverinconsistentlanguageandgreatlysimplifyalldealingswithdatathatisderivedfrommorethanonesystem.
Foramoredetaileddiscussionoftheimportanceofdataconsistencyinallitsaspects,seealso[1].
8.2.3
TheRELATIONSHIPEntity
RELATIONSHIPscanonlyexistbetweenpairsofENTITYsandmaybetakenbyanyinstanceofeachendofthe"pairing."Initself,thisdoesnotimplythatall
RELATIONSHIPsaremandatory.ItdoesneverthelessleadustotheconclusionthatifitisnotpossibleforadefinablesubsetofaparticularENTITYtotakepartin
theRELATIONSHIPsdefinedfortheENTITYasawhole,thenfurtherrestructuringofthedatamodelmusttakeplace.Thisrestructuringshouldtaketheformof
explicitrecognitionofthesubtypeinquestion,andthereassignmentoftheRELATIONSHIPtothecomplementofthenewsubtype.
EntityRelationship(ER)Diagrams
Thetemptationtolookupontheconstructionofentityrelationship(ER)diagramsasmerelythemeansofachievingasatisfactorydatabasestructureinanapplication
shouldbestrenuouslyavoided.ThemanagementofRELATIONSHIPsisthekeyactivityifathoroughandcorrectunderstandingoftheoperationofthebusiness,
fromadataperspective,istobemaintainedandcommunicated.

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CompromiseandConflictintheSettingofBusinessRules
EachRELATIONSHIPrepresentsabusinessruleacircumstancethatconstrainsthewaythatthebusinessisconductedinsomemanner.Byunderstandingthese
constraintsandapplyingtheminasystematicmannertotheconstructionanduseofcomputerapplicationsandmanualprocedures,agreatdealoftheproblems
associatedwithpoorlydesignedsystemscanbeavoided.
If,ontheotherhand,aconstraint(orbusinessrule)isomittedfromoneapplicationorprocedure,thenerrorsareverylikelytobeintroduced,resultingincomplexity
andinefficiencyintheoperationofthebusiness.
Forexample,imaginethataRELATIONSHIPbetweentheDELIVERYentityandtheCONSIGNMENTLOCATIONentityexistsinanenterprise.This
RELATIONSHIPisformulatedas:
"ADELIVERYisdeliveredtooneandonlyoneCONSIGNMENTLOCATION."
Allproceduresandapplicationswithintheenterprisethatobservethisruleshouldthereforedooneofthefollowing:
1.EnforcetherulebyensuringthatonlyoneCONSIGNMENTLOCATIONisreferredtoineachDELIVERYrecord
2.IgnoretherulebyimplyingnorelationshipbetweentheDELIVERYandCONSIGNMENTLOCATIONentitieswithintheirscope
3.Considertheruleirrelevant,sinceoneorbothoftheentitiesconcernedareexcludedfromtheirscope.
Iftheruleiscontradicted,however,itwillbecomeimpossibletoreconcileDELIVERYrecordsinapplicationsorproceduresthatallowmorethanone"drop"per
deliverywiththosethatdonot.ThedefinitionofwhataDELIVERYiswillhavebeenalteredforoneapplication,andinconsistencyanderrorwillresult.
Theonlywayaroundthiswouldbetoamendtherule,allowingittobecomemoregeneraleffectivelystatingthatadeliverycanbe

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decomposedintomultipledrops.ThiswouldimplythatthedroplocationcannolongerbeanattributeoftheDELIVERYbutmustbecomedependentonthe
componentDROPentities.
TheoverallownershipoftheRELATIONSHIPs,andhenceofthecorporateERmodel,willliewiththemetadatamanager.(SeealsoSection4.3.)Itisthemetadata
manager'sresponsibilitytoensurethatallbusinessrulesincludedinthis"model"arecorrectinthecontextofthebusinessandthatthemodelitselfisascompleteas
possible.
Whenapplicationsorproceduresareaddedoramended,themetadatamanager,inconjunctionwiththeprojectdataanalyst,shouldensurethatthemodelimpliedby
thenewoperationisconsistentwiththeenterprisemodel.Thisconsistencyisimpliedbythelackofconflictdefinedabove(i.e.,nothingcanhappenunderthe
constraintsofanewmodelthatexplicitlycontradictstheruleswithintheenterprisemodel).Itdoesnotmatterwhethernewrulesareintroduced,oroldrulesare
ignored,providedthebasicnoncontradictorynatureisestablished.
Providedrobustanalysisofthebusinessrulesisdoneateachstage,thisconsistencycanbepreservedastheapplicationinfrastructureevolves.However,theremaybe
timeswhenanewdevelopmenthashighlightedacasewheretheoperationshouldbefundamentallydifferentfromthatalreadyimpliedbytheenterprisemodel.The
realitybehindsuchaproblemmaybeoneofthefollowing:
1.Theenterprisemodelis"right"andthenewmodelis"wrong."
2.Theenterprisemodelis"wrong"andthenewmodelis"right,"butthereisnocontradictoryimplementationoftherule.
3.Theenterprisemodelis"wrong"andsystemsexistthathaveimplementedandenforcedthecontradictoryrule.
Ineachcase,thedifferencesbetweenthemodelsmustbereconciled.Theresponsibilityforthisreconciliationlieswiththemetadatamanagerandtheprojectdata
analyst,whomayhavetoinvolvefurtherbusinessandprojectmanagementandpersonneltoarriveatasatisfactoryconclusion.
Case1isinherentlythesimplestwithwhichtodeal,sinceitinvolvesadjustmentstoelementsoftheinfrastructurethatare"new."The

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resolutionofthissituationwillbeamatterforthenewproject,actingunderpressurefromtherestofthebusinesstofallintoline.
Case2willarisewheretheexistingversionoftheenterprisemodelhasassumedagreaterlevelofconstraintthanisactuallythecase.Thismighthappenwhereaone
tooneRELATIONSHIPhasbeenenforcedinthepast,butitturnsoutthatonetomanyisanaccuratereflectionofthebusiness.Insuchanexample,itispossiblefor
theapplicationsandproceduresthathavebeencreatedtocomplywiththeoldversiontocoexistwiththosethatcomplywiththenew.
AllapplicationsthatmakeuseofboththeENTITYsinvolvedintheRELATIONSHIPshouldbechecked(byexaminationoftheDATAMODELENTITYentity)to
ensurethattheirimplementationis,infact,noncontradictory.Oncethishasbeenestablished,theenterprisemodelshouldbechangedbyhavingthecardinalityofthe
necessaryRELATIONSHIPsadjusted,togetherwithanydefinitionsthatarenotinlinewiththenewstructure.Itshouldbenoted,however,thatnochangesare
requiredtoexistingapplicationsinthiscase.
Case3isbyfarthemostserious,sinceitimpliesthatexistingapplicationsareoperatinginflatcontradictiontotherealitiesofthebusiness.Fortunatelyitisalsothe
leastcommoncase,since,weresuchacircumstancetoarise,itislikelytohavebeencorrectedasa"standalone"problemalready.Onceagain,itistheresponsibility
ofthemetadatamanagerandtheprojectrepresentativetoensurethattheproblemisbroughttolightandthatadequatestepsaretakentoensureitsresolution.
ManagementofRelationshipMetadata
Ingeneral,theRELATIONSHIPentitywillbemanagedbythemetadatamanagerandwillevolveinaseriesofsteps,dependingontheareasofactivitywithinthe
applicationinfrastructure.Whenanewprojectisinitiatedtodevelopanewprocessorapplication,apersonwithinthatprojectshouldbeidentifiedashavingdata
analysisresponsibility.
Thisperson,inconjunctionwiththemetadatamanager,willberesponsiblefordevelopingalogicaldatamodelforthescopeofhisorheractivity.Thisprocesswillbe
structuredasfollows:
1.Selectionofexistingentitiesfromtheenterprisemodel(ENTITYentity)thatarerelevant

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2.Selectionofbusinessrulesinvolvingthoseentities(RELATIONSHIPentity)thatarerelevant
3.Augmentationoftheentitylistwithnewinstancesthathavebeenconsideredforthefirsttimeandconstructionoftheapplicationmodelview(DATAMODEL
ENTITYentity)
4.Inclusionofnewbusinessrulesandreconciliationwiththeenterprisemodel(ENTITYandRELATIONSHIPentities).
Dependingonthecomplexityandpoliticalsensitivityoftheproject,therewillbeconsiderableanalysis,"selling,"andrefinementbehindeachofthesesteps,butthe
structureofthisactivityholdsgoodforthegeneralcase.
8.2.4
TheKEYATTRIBUTEEntity
Identifiercontroliscriticalforproperdatamanagementontwolevels:domaincontrol,makingthepossiblesetofvaluesthattheidentifierofanentitycantakethe
same,regardlessofwhichsystemwearetalkingabout,andbusinessidentifiercontrol,whichisneededtomakesurethatanidentifierusedintwodifferentsystemsis
referringtothesame"reallife"instanceoftheentityandthat,whereareallifeentityoccursontwosystems,itisidentifiedinthesameway!
8.2.5
TheSUBTYPINGEntity
AnENTITYsetcanbesplitintomanysubsets.Eachofthesesubsetsformapotentialsubtypeentity,althoughnotallwillberelevanttothebusinessandwillhence
remainimplicit.Thesubtypesdefinedcanbedistinctfromeachotheroroverlap,evenwithinthescopeofthesamecategorization.
TheConceptofClassification
Classificationsbasedondifferentcategorizingattributes(knownasorthogonalcategorizations)can,ofcourse,overlaptoanyextent.SubtypesofanENTITYare,of
course,ENTITYsintheirownrightandarethuscapableofpartakinginthemetamodelinexactlythesamewayasotherENTITYs(i.e.,formingRELATIONSHIPs,
beingfurthersubtyped,takingdistinctATTRIBUTEs,etc.)

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AswithRELATIONSHIPs,thereisnoentitywithinthemetamodelsuchasDATAMODELSUBTYPING.Thisimpliesthat,ifasubclassificationexists,itis
applicable(althoughnotnecessarilyexplicitlyapplied)toallDATAMODELsthatcontainbothrelevantentities(i.e.,instancesoftheDATAMODELENTITY
entity).Thisisparticularlysignificant,sinceitemphasizesthepotentiallyglobalnatureofallbusinessrules,includingclassifications,andthustheeliminationofbusiness
rulesthatareexplicitlycontradictoryfromonepartofthebusinesstoanother.Thereisnosenseinassumingthatoneentitycanbeasubtypeofanotherforonepartof
thebusinessonly.Itmustbethecaseglobally,ifatall.
ManagementofClassificationMetadata
ThemanagementofthewayinwhichENTITYsareclassifiediscloselyakintotheconstructionofERmodels.Eachsubtypingactivityrepresentstheimpositionofa
constraintonthewayabusinessoperatesanddefinesthebehaviorofcertaindataENTITYswithinthecontextofthatoperation.
Therefore,thecontroloftheSUBTYPEentitywithinthemetamodelshouldbehandledinmuchthesamewayastheRELATIONSHIPentitynamely,thefollowing
shouldbetrue:
1.ThemetadatamanagershouldhaveoverallownershipoftheSUBTYPEentity.
2.ThemetadatamanagerandthedataanalystfromadevelopmentprojectshouldhavejointresponsibilityforevolvingtheSUBTYPEstructuretomatchnew
developments.
3.Theresolutionofproblemsresultingfromattemptstoreconcilethesubtypestructurefornewprojectswiththeexistingenterprisemodelshouldbecoordinatedby
themetadatamanager.
8.2.6
TheDATAMODELEntity
Asageneralrule,adatamodelshouldreflectthewayinwhichpeopleviewdata.Therefore,eachuseofdataisonlyrelevantinthecontextofthedefinitionofthat
datawithinoneandonlyonemodel.

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Thisfurtherimpliesthattheenterprisedatamodelisnotuseddirectlybutinsteadplacesacommonframeworkonallothermodels,enablingthemtobeusedina
mutuallycompatiblemanner,whileretainingtheirownrichnessandcomplexity.
LocalandGlobalViewsofMetadata
TheoveralldefinitionoftheDATAMODELrelatingtoaparticularproject,businessactivity,orapplicationshouldbetheresponsibilityofadataanalystassignedfor
thepurpose.Dataanalystsshouldreporttoarelevantbusinessprocessownerwhowillretainoverallresponsibilityforthequalityofthebusinessdatamodelandall
thatitmayimply.
Theenterpriseview(asdefinedwithininstancesoftheENTITYentityandtheATTRIBUTEentity)andtheviewsofparticulargroupsofusers(asdefinedinthe
DATAMODELENTITYentityandtheDATAMODELATTRIBUTEentity)willfrequentlydiverge.
ReconciliationofConflictingViews
Difficultiesareoftenencounteredduringtheprocessoftryingtoreconciletheseviews.Inpractice,thereshouldbeatendencytokeeptheenterpriseviewassimpleas
possible,whiletakingcarenottoomitbusinessrulesthatareuniversallyapplicableandimportant.Thescopeoftheenterprisemodelshould,ofcourse,beconsidered
"universal"or"neutral"atalltimes.
Bycontrast,effortshouldbemadetocaptureallrelevantbusinessruleswithinthedatamodels,enablingarichandrobustpictureoftheoperationtobedefined,while
maintainingconsistencywiththeenterprisemodeltobemaintainedwithinaprecise,relativelynarrowscopeineachcase.
8.2.7
TheDATAMODELENTITYEntity
AgivenENTITYmayormaynotberelevanttothefunctionofapartofthebusinessandhencemayormaynotbeincludedinthatpart'sdatamodel.However,ifan
ENTITYisincludedinaparticularview,thenitsbehaviorisdeterminedbythatview.Thisimpliesthattheviewmustbeconsistentwith,butnotnecessarilyidentical
to,theenterpriseview.(SeealsoAppendixA.)

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DataModelControl
Thekeyissue,onceagain,isensuringthattheDATAMODELENTITYentityisactivelycontrolledovertime.Thiswillensurethatitsuseremainsaccurateand
completefromabusinessperspective,whilebeingmutuallyconsistentwithother,overlappingDATAMODELs.
AswiththeDATAMODELATTRIBUTE,anongoingmetamodelsupportroleshouldbedefined,reportingtotherelevantbusinessprocessowner.Thisperson
shouldbemaderesponsibleforensuringthattheDATAMODELforhisorherapplicationremainsconsistentwitheverythingelse.Inparticular,thispersonshould
takeactionwhenheorshedoesthefollowing:
Detectsevolutionarychangestothedatamodelthatwillaffectexistingcomponentsoftheenterprisemodel(instancesoftheENTITY,ATTRIBUTE,or
RELATIONSHIPentities,interalia).
DetectsevolutionarychangestothedatamodelthatintroducenewDATAMODELENTITYinstances.TheseshouldbecheckedforcorrespondencewithDATA
MODELENTITYinstancesinothermodels,orwithENTITYinstancesintheenterprisemodel.
Becomesawareofchangestoothermodelsthatcouldaffecthisorherowndatamodel,throughpeersinotherareasorthroughthemetadatamanager.
8.2.8
TheDATAMODELATTRIBUTEEntity
LocalViewsofAttributes
NotallattributesofanENTITYarerelevanttoagivendatamodel.However,allDATAMODELATTRIBUTEsmustberecordedasATTRIBUTEsandhence
formpartoftheenterpriseviewofdata.Thisenablesthemaximumappropriatelevelofconsistencytobedrawnbetweenonedatamodelandthenext,sinceit
facilitatesthereuseofdataitemsacrossdifferentpartsofthebusiness.
AgeneraldiscussionofthewayinwhichDATAMODELATTRIBUTEandATTRIBUTEentitiesshouldbemanagedisgivenundertheATTRIBUTEentryin
Section8.2.2.Particularcareshouldbetakenatthetimethatadatamodeliscreatedtoensurethatitnotonly

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meetstheneedsoftheapplicationorbusinessareaforwhichitisbeingconstructedbutisconsistentwiththe"restoftheworld"(asrepresentedbytheenterpriseview
andotheroverlappingDATAMODELs).
DataModelControl
ExplicitanalysisandcarefulcrosscheckingofthewaythatENTITYs,ATTRIBUTEs,andRELATIONSHIPsareusedforaparticularcontextisstrongly
recommended.Thiswillensurethatapictureisbuiltthatpreservesthismutualconsistencyandthusavoidsmuchoftheconfusionarisingfrommultisystem
infrastructuresincomplexbusinessenvironments.
Animportantfacetofmetadatamanagementthatisfrequentlyoverlookedistheneedtoevolveanapplicationsviewoftheworldovertime.Inmoreenlightened
organizations,someeffortwillbedevotedtoensuringthatagooddatamodelisbuiltforanewsystem.Veryrarely,however,doesthisresponsibilitygettranslated
intoongoingstewardshipofthebusinessrulesthatareoperatedbyanapplication,onceithasbecomealiveandstablepartoftheinfrastructure.
Itisimperativetoidentifysomeonewhowillensurethattheapplicationdatamodelremainsconsistentwiththerestoftheworld.Sucharesponsibilityshouldbe
explicitlybuiltintothejobroleofsomeonemoregenerallychargedwiththesupportoftheliveapplication.Heorshewillberesponsibleforensuringthatany
significantchangestotheoperationoftheapplicationaretranslatedintoappropriatechangesonthemetamodel.Thispersonwillalsocoordinatewiththemetadata
managertoensurethatchangesmadewithinhisorherownorotheroverlappingapplicationsdonotresultininconsistency.
8.2.9
TheDATAMODELRELATIONSHIPEntity
ThisentitywillbeusedtoindicatethoserelationshipsbetweenENTITYsthatarecarriedoverintoaparticularDATAMODEL.Theprecisenatureofthe
RELATIONSHIPswillbedeterminedonacasebycasebasisbutwilldeterminethebusinessrulesthatapplytothesubjectareainquestion.
ThesimplestwayinwhichRELATIONSHIPscanbemappedontoDATAMODELRELATIONSHIPsistoconsidertheENTITYsthatarechosenfromthe
enterprisedatamodeltoformthesubjectareadata

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model.AlltheRELATIONSHIPsthatexistbetweenpairsoftheseENTITYsarecandidatesforinclusioninthelistofDATAMODELRELATIONSHIPs.
Somemaybeleftout(forinstance,iftheattributesthatareforcinga''foreignkey"relationshiparenotpresentonthesubjectareamodel).Othersmaybeadded
wheretherearespecificbusinessrulesthatapplytoonesubjectareaonly(providedtheyrepresentaconstrainedversionoftheenterprisemodelandremain
compatiblewithit).SeealsoAppendixA.
8.2.10
TheDATAMODELSUBTYPINGEntity
AswithotheraspectsoftheDATAMODELconcept,theDATAMODELSUBTYPINGentityisintendedtoindicatewhichSUBTYPINGsarerelevanttoa
particularsubjectareamodel.Itisunlikelythattherewillbesubtyperelationshipsexistingbetweentwoentitiesinaparticularsubjectareaandnowhereelse.Most
differencesbetweentheDATAMODELSUBTYPINGsetandtheSUBTYPINGrecordsthatarerelevanttotheDATAMODELENTITYrecordschosenwill
thereforebeintheformofeliminatingunnecessaryorirrelevantstructures.
Inthefirstcase,simplificationwilltakeplacewheretheenterprisemodelhas,forinstance,ahierarchyofsubtypesoftheformAisasubtypeofB,Bisasubtypeof
C,CisasubtypeofD.OnaparticularDATAMODEL,itmayonlybenecessarytorecordtheDATAMODELSUBTYPEfor"AisasubtypeofD"sincethe
ENTITYsBandCmaynotbeincluded,orforsomeotherreason.
Thesecond,andpossiblymoreobvious,caseistheexclusionofasubtypebecauseitis,byitsnature,irrelevanttothesubjectareaforwhichtheDATAMODELis
beingdeveloped.
8.3
MetadataandDataValueControl
Oncethebasicstructureforthedataisdefined,furtherconstraintscanbeplacedonitsbehaviorbyrestrictingthepopulationofvaluesthatparticularpartsofthe
databasecantake.Itisverycommonpracticeindeedtoenforcesuchrulesasthefollowing:

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"Thecustomer'snamemustbetwentycharacters,alphabetic."
"Eachcurrencycodemustcorrespondtoanentryinthecurrencytable."
"AllorderdatesmustbelaterthanJanuary1,1998."
"Creditriskratingmustbe'H,''M,'or'L.'"
ThemetadatadefinedinthissectionwillalsobefoundwithinCASEtoolsanddatadictionarystructuresandwillalsobefoundembedded(inanonobviousform)
withinprogramlogicforapplications.
8.3.1
TheATTRIBUTETYPEEntity
Itisvitallyimportanttorecognizethat,evenwhentheneedforaparticularATTRIBUTETYPEisidentified,itwillnotbeatrivialmattertogetallinterestedpartiesto
agreetoitsdefinition.Whereverpossible,externalstandardsshouldbeconsidered(e.g.,ISOandCCITT).Thestandarddatatypesusedwithincommon
programminglanguagescanalsoprovideausefullibraryofbasictypesinthiscontext.
GeneralizingonAttributeBehavior
TheATTRIBUTETYPEentitywillbyitsnaturebeverystableandconstrainedinthevaluesitshouldtake.Nominally,ownershipofthisentityshouldfallwithinthe
responsibilitiesofthemetadatamanager.ItwillbepartofhisorherresponsibilitytoensurethattheallocationofATTRIBUTETYPEsandDOMAINstoindividual
ATTRIBUTEs,bothwithintheenterprisemodelandwithineachdatamodel,isoptimized.
ThiswillbedonebyperiodicallyreviewingsuchusagetoensurethatwherepatternsofrepeateddatatypesoccurstandardATTRIBUTETYPEsexisttocovertheir
definition.Forinstance,themetamodelmaybesetupinthefirstinstancewithbasicATTRIBUTETYPEsforinteger,text,flag,realnumber,etc.Periodicreviews
mayindicatethatadditionalstandardtypesareneededforpostalcode,vehicleregistrationnumber,nationalinsurancenumber,productcode,etc.

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ManagingAttributeTypes
ItwillbetheresponsibilityofthemetadatamanagertoensurethatentriesaremadeintheATTRIBUTETYPEentity,thusenablinganappropriatedegreeof
consistencytobeusedacrossthewholeorganizationwhendealingwithdataofthesespecifictypes.Thisinturnwillrelieveindividualprojectteamsanddevelopersof
thedecisiononthebasicvalidationlogictobeusedformanyATTRIBUTEscapturedbytheirapplications.
8.3.2
TheDOMAINEntity
Themaintenanceofpropercontroloverthedataonadaytodaybasisdependstoalargeextentonthecontrolofdomains.Alargeproportionofthedatawithinan
enterpriseisconstrainedbyonedomainoranother.Thecurrencycodesthatareallowed,theaccountnumberswithinthechartofaccounts,andtheunitsofmeasure
applicabletoparticularpurposeswillallbedefinedassetsofvalues,oftenstoredinareferencetablewithinaparticulardatabase.Unlessthedependenciesbetween
thediverseoccurrencesofthesecodesandthedomainsthatcontroltheirvalueareunderstoodbythebusinessusersandimplementedbythedevelopersof
applicationsystems,thentheintegrityoftheoveralldatabasewilldegradeovertime.
OverlappingandInterdependentDomains
DOMAINshaveapotentiallycomplexnature,sinceeachDOMAINrepresentsasetofvaluesthatmaybeappliedtootherdataitems(ATTRIBUTEs)withinthe
organization.Assuch,theyaresubjecttothenormalmathematicalpropertiesofsets,whichwilltoagreaterorlesserextentberelevanttothewaytheyaremanaged
bythebusiness.
SomeDOMAINswillbesubsetsofothers.(Thesetofworkingdayswillbeasubsetofthedaysoftheweek,andtheDOMAINswillbehaveaccordingly.)
SomepairsorgroupsofDOMAINswillbecomplementary.(WithinthesuperdomainofVEHICLEREGISTRATIONNUMBERs,SHIPREGISTRATION
NUMBERsandAIRCRAFTREGISTRATIONNUMBERswillbemutuallyexclusivesiblings.)

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SomeDOMAINswillhaveotherDOMAINsembeddedinthem.(TheDOMAINforfullpostalcodeintheUnitedKingdomcontainsanembeddedreferencetoa
postaltown.)
Forpractical,organizationalpurposes,someDOMAINswillbesplittoenableeffectivemanagementofthesetasawhole.(Anarbitrarysplitbetweenonesetof
productsandanothermaybemade,basedonsomeembeddedmeaning,andthetwopartsoftheDOMAINadministeredseparately.)Thisseparationof
responsibilitymaysimplifytheprocessofadministeringeachindividualpart,butextralevelsofcontrolwillbeneededtoensurethatthesplitis"clean"(i.e.,thatthere
arenooverlapsorgapsbetweenonesetofresponsibilitiesandanother).
ControlofDomainswithinLargeOrganizations
ForeachentryintheDOMAINentity,thereshouldbeaprocessbywhichthatDOMAINwillbecontrolledandindividualsidentifiedtoexercisethatcontrol.
Becauseofitsnatureasacorporaterepositoryofdatacontrolinformation,onlyonemastercopyoftheDOMAINentitymustbemaintained.
AsfortheATTRIBUTETYPEentity,theoverallresponsibilityforthisentityshouldrestwiththemetadatamanager.Topreserveaconsistentpictureforthevalue
controloversimilardataspreadoverdiverseandphysicallydispersedsystemsthroughouttheorganization,thekeyaspectstoconsiderwhenstewardingthisentityare
thefollowing:
DefinitionofstandardDOMAINscoveringaslargeaproportionoftheATTRIBUTEbaseaspossible,withoutintroducingunnecessaryandirrelevantconstraints(it
ispossibletogotoofarwiththis,recordingformal,enterprisewidedefinitionsofdomainthatareonlyofinteresttoonesmallpartofthecompany)
Ensuringthatnewprojects/applicationsmakeuseofallappropriatedomainconstraintsandareimplementingdatavalidationconsistently
Ensuringthatthecommunicationwiththosesupportinglegacyapplications(alreadyinplacebeforearegimeofmetadatacontrolwasintroduced)areactively
managedtoensuredomainconsistency

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Determiningandpreservingtheintegrityofthedomaininfrastructure(e.g.,recordingtherelationshipbetweenonedomainandanotherdomainscanbesubdomains
orcomplementsofothers)
EnsuringthatownersofeachoftheactualDOMAINsareidentifiedandproperlybriefedandareexecutingtheirresponsibilitiesinawayconsistentwiththeoverall
goodoftheenterpriseinadditiontoknowingthattheCURRENCYcodestobeusedareinaparticularset,knowingwho"owns"thisset,whoisresponsiblefor
addingnewcodeswhennecessary,whatistheprocessforgettinganewcodesetup,etc.
EnsuringthatprocessesaredefinedandproperlyexecutedforthedispersaloftheDOMAINacrosstheenterprise.EachindividualDOMAINwillbemanagedby
anindividualwhowillberesponsibleforitspopulation.WhatmechanismsmustbeinplacetoensurethatcopiesoftheDOMAINareavailabletootherindividuals
and/orapplicationsthatneedthem?
8.3.3
TheIDENTIFIEREntity
Thebasicrequirementinthisareaistounderstandwhateachtypeofdataisdoingintheorganization(theENTITYentity)andhowitbehavesinrelationtoothers(the
RELATIONSHIPentity).Followingfromthis,oneofthemajorpracticalissuesistoensurethatthemeansofuniquelyidentifyingoneinstanceofanENTITYis
definedandusedconsistentlyacrossasmuchoftheorganizationaspossible.
IdentificationofBusinessDataKeysandCoding
ThepracticaleffectofthisistheneedforcentralcustodyoftheIDENTIFIERandKEYATTRIBUTEentities.Onceagain,theroleofthemetadatamanageriskeyto
ensuringthatanynewapplicationbeingproposedconformstothestandardidentificationmechanismsdefinedfortheenterpriseor,attheveryleast,thatappropriate
mappingmechanismsarebuilttoensurea"bridge"tothestandard.
CommonCodingProblems
Asshouldbeobvious,havingtwoormoresystemswithinanorganizationthatcapturebasicallythesamedatabutidentifyitindifferentways

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Page175

seriouslyreducestheusefulnessofbothsystemsandimpairstheefficiencyandeffectivenessofanypartofthebusinessthathasdealingswithboth.
Forinstance,ifthewayinwhichasalessystemidentifiesproductisinconsistentwiththemeansofidentificationusedbyaproductionsystem,thenitwillbevery
difficulttodothefollowing:
Transferrelevantdatainanautomatedfashionfromonetoanother
Usethedatafromoneindiscussionswithpeoplewhoareonlyusedtodealingwithanother
Usethedatafrombothinaconsolidatedmannertoproduceaninformationaloverview(e.g.,forseniormanagement).
If,ontheotherhand,theIDENTIFIERentityisputundercontrolatthetimeanapplicationiscreatedandisactivelymanagedovertime,thenthefollowingaretrue:
Theopportunityforautomateddatasharingisincreased
Theabilitytocommunicatebetweendepartments/functionsisimproved
Reconciliationofdataacrosssystemsbecomessimplerandlesserrorprone.
ThereareacoupleofgeneralrulesthatshouldbefollowedwhendefiningthemannerinwhichanENTITYshouldbeidentified:
1.Avoidtheuseofindependentembeddedmeanings.Theimportantthingtorememberhereistheword"independent."Manypeoplegetverydogmaticabouttheuse
ofzonedfieldsinkeys,sincetheyhavebeentoldthatsuchusageimpliesembeddedmeaningandthatembeddedmeaningisinherentlyevil!Itmustberemembered
thattherealproblemwithsuchusageiswhereapossibilityexistsforacomponentofthekeytochange,withoutinherentlychangingtheinstanceintosomething
different.IfyouuseaconcatenationofaproductcodeandapackageidentifiertoidentifytheentityPACKEDPRODUCT,thisisnotaproblem,

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eventhoughthecomponentpartsofthekeyareinherently"meaningful."Wemaysafelyassumethatifthepackagecodechangestosomethingelse,thenwearetalking
aboutadifferentPACKEDPRODUCT.If,however,wehadusedacodeforthecolorofthewrappingaspartoftheprimarykey,anindependentembedded
meaningwouldexistsince,inmostbusinesses,thecolorofthewrapwillnotaffectthenatureoftheproductitself.
2.Donotmakeuseofmeaningfulidentifiersatall,unlessabsolutelyunavoidable.Infact,theissueofmeaninginkeysorpartsofkeysisbestavoidedaltogether.Even
whereweuse"safe"keyswithoutanydependentembeddedmeaning,thereisalwaysariskthatthebusinesswillchangeinherentlyandsoinvalidatetheuseofthe
originalcodeorconfusepeopleintowrongassumptions.
ForthegeneralapproachtomanagingtheIDENTIFIERentity,seealsoKEYATTRIBUTEentity(Section8.2.4).
8.3.4
TheFOREIGNIDENTIFIEREntity
TheFOREIGNIDENTIFIERentityandtheRELATIONSHIPentityareverycloselyrelated.TheFOREIGNIDENTIFIERprovidesthemeansbywhichthe
RELATIONSHIPisenforced,andbywhichtheexplicitcorrespondenceofaninstanceofoneentitytoaninstanceofanotherisdenoted.
EstablishingLinksbetweenEntities
Ingeneral,therefore,foraninstanceoftheRELATIONSHIPentitytoexisttheremustbeaninstanceoftheFOREIGNIDENTIFIERentity.Atalowerlevelof
abstraction,thevaluesattributedtoaFOREIGNIDENTIFIERwithinaninstanceofanENTITYimplytheexistenceofaninstanceofaparticularRELATIONSHIP.
Sinceitisafundamentalpartofthemetamodelstructure,custodyoftheFOREIGNIDENTIFIERentityfallswithintheremitofthemetadatamanager.Theirprime
purposeistoensureapropercorrespondencebetweeninstancesoftheFOREIGNIDENTIFIERentityandtheRELATIONSHIPentity,atthemetamodellevel,and
(inconjunctionwiththeprojectdataanalysts)toenforcetheimplementationof

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Page177

appropriaterulesforreferentialintegrity.Thiswillinvolveensuringthattherulesimpliedbyarelationshipareadheredto,nomatterwhatchangesaremadetothe
contentofthedatabase.
Thecorrespondencebetweentheforeignidentifiersandtherelationshipsthattheyareenforcingshouldbepreservedautomaticallyifpossible,manuallyifnot,forthe
overallintegrityofthemetadatabasetobepreserved.
8.3.5
TheENTITYOCCURRENCEEntity
Ingeneral,theentityENTITYOCCURRENCEwillnotbemanagedexplicitlybytheenterprise.Thisdataisthesupersetofall"real"recordsinthescopeofthe
organization.Anysuchrealentitywill,ofcourse,berepresentedexplicitly,leavingthesupersetentityemptyatalltimes.Thereisvalue,however,inincludingitinthe
metamodel,sinceitfacilitatestheexplanationofbehaviorcommontoallentities.
8.4
ApplicationDeploymentandConfigurationControlMetadata
Wenowprogresstoconsiderationofthemetadatathatwillhelpuskeepcontrolofthecomputerapplicationsthemselves.Thissectionwillincludemetadatadescribing
thecomputersystems,theirhistoryofreleases,indicationsofwhethertheywereacquiredfromthirdparties,andotherdatarelevanttochangeandconfiguration
control.
8.4.1
TheAPPLICATIONEntity
TheAPPLICATIONentityasawholewillbeownedbytheITmanagementfortheenterpriseasawhole.ThismaybetheITgroupdirector,oraspeciallyappointed
applicationarchitectdependingonthecomplexityandsizeoftheorganization.
EachinstanceoftheAPPLICATIONentityshouldhavean"owner"identified,whowillhaveoverallresponsibilityasdescribedabove,andbethesourceofall
informationtobe"filledin"ontheAPPLICATIONrecorditself.

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8.4.2
TheAPPLICATIONMODULEEntity
Ingeneral,thereisnofixedhierarchicaldecompositionforanAPPLICATION.AnAPPLICATIONcanbesplitdowninmanydifferentways,dependingonthe
purposeofthedecomposition.
8.4.3
TheAPPLICATIONINSTALLATIONEntity
ItwillbepossibletoimplementmorethanonephysicalcopyofanAPPLICATIONacrossanenterprise.Forinstance,ageneralledgersystemmaybedeveloped
centrallyanddeployedineachaffiliateofficewithinalargemultinational.Itwillbepossible(althoughnotnecessarilyadvisable!)fordifferentmodificationstobemade
toeachcopyoftheoriginalapplication.Itwillcertainlybepossiblefornewreleasesoftheapplicationtobeinstalledateachsiteatslightlydifferenttimes.Forthis
reason,thereisaneedtotracktheindividualinstancesofAPPLICATIONthataredeployed.TheAPPLICATIONINSTALLATIONentitymaybeusedforthis
purpose.TheactualreleaselevelofaparticularAPPLICATIONINSTALLATIONisindependentofthatofotherinstancesofthesameentity.
MultipleDeploymentofApplications
ThemanagementofAPPLICATIONINSTALLATIONswillvaryaccordingtotheorganizationalstructureandthecomplexityoftheITfunctionwithinanenterprise.
Broadlyspeaking,therearethreeareasofactivitythatwillaffectthemanagementofthisentity:
Applicationdeployment:WhenanAPPLICATIONisnew,thewayinwhichitisdeployedtovariouspartsoftheorganizationwillusuallybemanagedasaintegral
partofthedevelopmentproject.Duringthisphase,theownershipoftheAPPLICATIONINSTALLATIONentitywillbeassignedtotheAPPLICATIONowner,
onceheorsheisdetermined.The"custody"oftheentityimpliesresponsibilityforensuringthatthedataconcerningeachAPPLICATIONINSTALLATIONis
accurateandreflectsthebroaderneedsofthebusiness.Thisfurtherimpliesthatsuchdatawillremainunderthemanagementofthe"development"project.

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Applicationevolution:OnceanAPPLICATIONisinstalledandinuse,therewillbeaseriesofevolutionarysteps,usuallyintheformofAPPLICATION
RELEASEsthataredeployedacrosstheAPPLICATIONINSTALLATIONs.Anorganization(usuallywithintheITfunction)willberesponsibleforthesupportof
eachliveAPPLICATIONandhencewilltakeoverthecustodyoftheAPPLICATIONINSTALLATIONentityoncetheoriginalprojectteamisdisbanded.Ifthere
aremanyseparateinstallationsoftheapplicationthataresupportedfroma"centerofexpertise"orsomesuchorganization,thenthecustodyofthisentityclearlyrests
withthem.Ifthereisdispersedmanagementoftheapplication(tobediscouraged),thenthecustodyismergedwiththeresponsibilityforinstallationmanagement.(See
installationmanagemententry.)
Installationmanagement:Anotherorganizationwillberesponsibleforthemachinesandwhatrunsonthem.TheywillseetheAPPLICATIONINSTALLATION
lessasanissueof"onwhichmachinesaremyAPPLICATIONsbeingrun"thanof"whatAPPLICATIONsarerunningonmymachine?"Amoredetailedpictureof
themanagementofAPPLICATIONINSTALLATIONsfromthisperspectiveisgivenundertheinfrastructuremanagementmetamodel.Althoughnotforcedbythe
datamodel,thetendencyshouldbetokeepreleasesbroadlyinline.Separateownersmaybeidentifiedforeachofthedecompositions,dependingoncontext,but
overallconsistencybetweenthemisachievedbyresponsibilityoftheapplicationowner.
8.4.4
TheSOFTWARESUPPLIEREntity
TheSOFTWARESUPPLIERisasubclassoftheSUPPLIERentitythatisverylikelytooccurelsewhereinamainstreambusinesscontext.Whetherthereisany
distinctionofpurposebetweenthesetwoactivitiesdependsontheactualpurchasingmanagementresponsibilitywithintheorganization.Ifthereisdistinctpurchasing
activityandorganizationalresponsibilityattachedtothebuyingofcomputersoftware,thenthisentitymaybemanagedexplicitlyaspartoftheITmetadatabase.Ifthe
purchasingofsuchitemsishandledcentrally,alongwithpaperclips,companycars,andnewdesks,thentheonlymajorproblemistoensure

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thatattributesspecifictothisITsubclassaredefinedandmonitoredintheappropriateway.Theconceptofpurchasinginalargeorganizationreliesondifferentpeople
orgroupshavingdelegatedauthorityforspecifyingandauthorizingthepurchaseofgoodsandservices.Theywilldothiswithreferencetodifferentcriteria,depending
onthenatureoftheproposedpurchase.Providedtheflexibilityexiststomanagethesecriteriaproperly,asameansofmanagingthesuppliersinturn,thennoexplicit
SOFTWARESUPPLIERfacilitieswillberequired.
Insuchcases,theSOFTWARESUPPLIERisreducedtotheroleofa''hook"entity,attheperipheryofthemetadatamodel.Themanagementofthisentityisonly
relevanttothemetamodelwhereAPPLICATIONsarepurchasedfrom,andsupportedbyathirdparty,andthecontrolofthisarrangementisanexplicitfunctionof
theITdepartment.
8.4.5
TheAPPLICATIONRELEASEEntity
ThereisnotanexplicitdesignprinciplebehindtheAPPLICATIONRELEASEentity.Onceagain,thenatureofthisentitydependsfundamentallyontheoperationof
areleasemanagementpolicywithintheenterprise.Assuch,whatconstitutesanAPPLICATIONRELEASEdependsonhowtheatomicpoints(fromtheperspective
oftheintendedendusers)withinthelifecycleofanAPPLICATIONarepositioned.
ApplicationReleaseManagement
TheactualmanagementofAPPLICATIONevolutionwillvaryfromsystemtosystem,fromlocationtolocation,andfrombusinesscontexttobusinesscontext.The
provisionofmetadatastructurestomanagetherelevantmetaentities(APPLICATION,APPLICATIONMODULE,APPLICATIONRELEASE,and
APPLICATIONMODULERELEASE)givesmaximumflexibilitywhilemaintainingaconsistentbackbonetotheapplicationdevelopmentactivities.
WheretheAPPLICATIONislargeorcomplex,itsmanagementwillbeperformedattheAPPLICATIONDEVELOPMENTMODULElevelotherwisethe
principlesdiscussedinrelationtotheAPPLICATIONMODULEandAPPLICATIONMODULERELEASEentitieswillbeappliedatthehigherlevel.

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8.4.6
TheAPPLICATIONDEVELOPMENTMODULEEntity
ThemanagementoftheAPPLICATIONDEVELOPMENTMODULEentityovertimeisacombinedresponsibilityoftheapplicationmoduleownerandthe
applicationmodulecoordinator.Theapplicationmoduleownerisanindividualwithinthebusinesswhowillberesponsibleforthefunctionalevolutionanduseofthe
APPLICATIONDEVELOPMENTMODULEacrossthefullscopeofitsuse.Thisindividualshouldhavetheauthoritytomakedecisions,orattheveryleastto
coordinatethedecisionmakingprocessrelatingtoitsuseinallotherplacesandbyallrelevantdepartments.ForsmallorsimpleAPPLICATIONs,thisresponsibility
willbecombinedforallmodulesintotheAPPLICATIONOWNERrole.
TheapplicationmodulecoordinatoristhepersonintheITfunctionwhohastechnicalresponsibilityforthewayinwhichthemoduledevelopsasanITdepartment
product.Typically,heorshewillbeateamleaderwithintheapplicationsupportorganizationandwillberesponsibleforthistechnicalevolutionforallinstallationsof
theAPPLICATIONDEVLOPMENTMODULE.Onceagain,forsmallorsimpleprojects,thisresponsibilitywillbeattheAPPLICATION,ratherthanthe
APPLICATIONMODULE,level.
8.4.7
TheAPPLICATIONMODULERELEASEEntity
ThereisnotanexplicitdesignprinciplebehindtheAPPLICATIONMODULERELEASEentity.Itsnaturedependsfundamentallyonthetypeofreleasemanagement
policyoperatedwithintheenterprise.ThechangestoanAPPLICATIONthatappearinvisible,oratomic,totheenduserwillnotfollowanyuniversalpattern.What
actuallyconstitutesanAPPLICATIONMODULERELEASEineachcasedependsonhowthesechangesaremanagedwithinthelifecycleofanAPPLICATION
DEVELOPMENTMODULE.
ApplicationmodulecoordinatorsareresponsibleforensuringthattheAPPLICATIONMODULERELEASErecordswithintheirresponsibilityreflectthewayin
whichsystemsaredeployedacrosstheenterpriseinanaccurateandtimelymanner.Thisimpliesthattheyshouldbeawareof,andreactto,changesinthestatusof
eachrelevantAPPLICATIONMODULEandtherelationshipbetweenAPPLICATIONMODULERELEASEsandAPPLICATIONINSTALLATIONs.

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8.4.8
TheAPPLICATIONUSEREntity
Themainimplicationofmetadatacontrolintheareaofsystemsecurityisthat,althoughthepracticalbasisuponwhichtheallocationofaccessprivilegestoindividuals
willvaryacrossAPPLICATIONsfortechnicalandhistoricalreasons,themanagementinfrastructuredefinedbythemetamodelshouldremainthesameinallcases.
Inherently,therelationshipsthatexistbetweenINDIVIDUALsandtheAPPLICATIONsorpartsofAPPLICATIONsthattheyareentitledtomakeuseofhavea
broadlysimilarpattern,regardlessofthebusinesscontext.Theconstructionandmaintenanceoffacilitiestomanagethismetadataistheresponsibilityofthesecurity
architect.
AspectsofAccessPermissionandControl
Agreatdealofdetailisrequiredtodescribethemanagementofasecurityconfigurationfullyinallbutthesimplestoforganizations.Thekeyissuestobeconsideredin
thiscontextarethefollowing:
Managementofusers:
IstheINDIVIDUALstillemployedbytheenterprise?
Isheorshestilldoingthesamejob?
Arethedetailsrecordedcorrect?
Howcanusersbegroupedlogicallyforoptimalmanagementofsystemsuserids?
ManagementofAPPLICATIONs:
WherearetheAPPLICATIONsdeployed?
Howaretheyused?
Whatbusinesstransactionsaretheyintendedtoautomate?
ManagementofAPPLICATIONMODULEs:
WherearetheAPPLICATIONMODULEsdeployed?
Howaretheyused?
Whatbusinesstransactionsaretheyintendedtoautomate?

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Doesthemodularityreflectanoptimalstructureformanagementofthesecuritysystem?
Managementoftheorganization:
Isthewayinwhichthebusinesstransactionisbeingperformedchanging?
HowdoessuchchangereflectupontheAPPLICATIONsthathavebeendesignedtoautomatethesebusinesstransactions?
Doestheorganizationalstructureconflictwiththewayinwhichthebusinessprocessesand/ortheAPPLICATIONsaremanaged?
Managementofthesecuritysystem:
Arealluserspermittedtousethosefacilitiesthattheyneedtodotheirjob?
Areanyusersallowedtousefacilitiesthatarenotrequiredtodotheirjob,andwhichrepresentapotentialrisktotheenterprise?
Howcanweensurethatthesecuritysystemhasenoughconceptualflexibilitytoaccuratelyreflectchangesintheorganizationorinthestructureoruseof
APPLICATIONs?
8.4.9
TheAPPLICATIONSECURITYMODULEEntity
Oncethesecurityprofileshavebeenestablished,thejobofadministeringtheAPPLICATIONSECURITYMODULEentityispassedtothesecurityarchitect.The
responsibilitiesinvolvedincludethefollowing:
Recognitionofchangingbusinesscircumstancesandreflectingtheseonthemodularstructureofthesecuritysystem
Monitoringofactualsystemusageandfinetuningthesecuritystructureasappropriate
Ensuringthatindividualusersareassignedtothecorrectsecuritygroupsandcontinuetobeso
Ensuringthatthesecuritysystemreflectstheevolvingfunctionoftheapplication.

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8.5
ProcessModelingMetadata
Inmanyorganizations,formalbusinessprocessmodelsexist.Thesemodelsaredefinitionsoftheactivitiesperformedwithintheenterpriseandareoftenintendedto
representanauthoritativestructurewithinwhichtheseactivitiesshouldtakeplace.Thispartofthemetadataallowsthisstructuretoberecordedandcrossreferenced
tothecomputerapplicationsthataredesignedtoautomatepartsoftheprocesses.Italsoensuresthatanybusinessprocessreengineeringactivitiesthatareperformed
areformallyrecordedandtheresultingstructurestakenintoaccountwithinthemoretechnicalpartsoftheITinfrastructure.
8.5.1
TheBUSINESSPROCESSEntity
Theactivitiesthatmakeupanenterprisewideprocessmodelingexercisecanbecomplex.Theytendtobefraughtwithdifficultiesofbothtechnicalandpolitical
nature.Unfortunately,achievingagreementontheBUSINESSPROCESSesthatmakeuptheenterpriseactivityandtheirdefinitions,contexts,andtriggering
EVENTsiskeytotheunderstandingofthebusinessasawhole.Inmany,ifnotmost,oftheapproachestorealignmentofthebusinesstomeetchanging
circumstances,theimportanceofaclearprocessdrivenviewofthebusinessisemphasized.Withoutsuchanunderstanding,theenterpriseislayingitselfopentothe
riskthatnotonlyitscomputersystemsbutitswholewayofoperatingwillbeunabletorespondtosuchchanges,withpotentiallydireconsequences.
ABUSINESSPROCESShasonlyonetriggeringevent.If,afterinitialanalysis,thisdoesnotappeartobethecase,thensomerealignmentofthewayinwhicheither
theBUSINESSPROCESSesortheEVENTsarestructured,defined,anddecomposedwillbenecessary.
SuccessfulProcessModeling
Thecriticalsuccessfactorsinensuringthatasoundprocessmodelisbuiltfortheenterpriseincludethefollowing:
Theabilitytopositionthemodelinauniversalcontext:Aprocessmodelmustbebuilt,atthetoplevel,encompassingtheentirebusiness,anditmustbedecomposed
inawaythatreflectsthevisionoftheenterpriseasawhole.Thisdoesnot,ofcourse,implythata

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detaileddecompositionshouldbebuiltfortheentirecompanyinonego.Thisisunlikelytogainmanagementsupportortosucceedduetothecomplexityofthe
analysisrequired.Itmust,however,beclearjustwhereeachpartofthebusinesswillfitonthedecomposition,oncetheappropriateanalysishasbeenperformed
(possiblyatsometimeinthefarfuture!).Atatypicalpointofitsevolution,aprocessmodelwillbebuiltthatcomprisesperhapstwolevelsofdecompositionfornearly
allofthebusiness.Thiswillincludeanagreeddefinitionforallsubprocessesandamuchmoredetailedanalysisforoneortwo"islands"ofactivitythathavebeen
selectedforearlyattention.
Managementsupportfortheanalysis:Itisextremelyunlikelythatananalysisoftheentirecompany,whichislikelytouseconsiderableresources,willbesuccessful
withoutthesupportofseniorITandlinemanagement.Abusinesscasemustbebuiltemphasizingthelinkbetweenthesoundnessoftheprocessmodelandthelikely
successofnewsystemsdevelopmentand/orprocessreengineering.
Managementcommitmenttoongoingsupport:Notonlywilltheprocessmodelrequireresourcestobuild,butitwillneedtobeadjustedtokeepinlinewiththe
prevailingbusinessconditions.Thisadjustmentandtheneedtoanalyzeitseffectonthesystemsandproceduresalreadyinplaceinthebusinessisafurthersignificant
exerciseandwillonceagainnotbefeasiblewithoutmanagementsupport.
Agreedonorganizationalandproceduralstructuresforprocessmanagement:Managementmustagreeonthewayinwhichtheprocessdefinitions,decompositions,
andtriggersaredevelopedanddocumentedandtheappropriateorganizationalelementsputinplacetoensurethattheyareexecuted.Theseorganizationalelements
includethefollowing:
Appointmentofacorporatemetadatamanager
Existenceofprojectprocessanalystswithinmajordevelopmentactivities

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Useofprocessmodelingasafundamentalpartofbusinesschangeactivities,aswellassystemsdevelopment
Appointmentofprocessownerswithappropriateauthorityandknowledgewhomaintainactiveinvolvementinallprocessrelatedactivities.
Formalintegrationwithsystemandproceduredevelopmenttechniques:Thewayinwhichthepersonnelinvolvedperformthetasksofcreating,agreeingon,and
stewardingtheprocessmodelshouldbeagreedonandformallyincorporatedinappropriateproceduresforITdevelopmentandorganizationalanalysisingeneral.
Theroleoftheprocessowners,themetadatamanager,andotherindividualsinmanagingtheBUSINESSPROCESSentitywasdiscussedinChapter4.
8.5.2
TheBUSINESSPROCESSDECOMPOSITIONEntity
Manyofthosewhohavespentlongperiodsoftimedesigningprocessdecompositions,onlytohavetheirworkdismissedbyothersasincorrect,incomplete,or
inaccuratewillbeawareofthesensitivitiesinvolvedinthisactivity.Farfrombeingaclearcut,analyticaltechnique,processdecompositionisahighlysubjectiveand
oftenpoliticallychargedminefieldfortheunwary.Thosewhohaveonlyusedthistechniqueatatacticallevel,asanaidtosystemsdesign,maybesurprisedbythis
conclusion.Thereasonsbehinditmightthereforebearfurtherexamination.
ModelingtheBuildingBlocksoftheBusiness
Thefirstfactortokeepinmindistheneedforaprocessmodeltoreflectthewholebusiness.Thetoplevelofsuchaprocessdecompositionisclearlynoproblem,
sinceitwillbeasingle,almostselfdefining,universalprocess.
Thebottom,or"leafnode"levelofauniversalprocessdecompositionisalsostraightforward.Whiletheidentificationanddefinitionofall"atomic"processesis
undoubtedlyatimeconsumingandtechnicallytaxingactivity,itisneverthelesspurelyanalyticalinnature.

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However,theintermediatelevelsofdecompositioncauseagreatdealofcomplexityandpoliticaldifficultythatarisesduringtheconstructionofacorporateprocess
model.Thewayinwhichtheuniversalprocessisdecomposed(or,ifyouprefer,inwhichtheleafnodeprocessesaregrouped)iskeytothedevelopmentofan
efficientprocessdrivenbusinessandyetisalsofraughtwithagreatdealofdifficulties.
ManagingImprecisionandSensitivitytoChange
Unlesstheprocessdecompositionisanexactreflectionoftheexistingorganizationalstructure,inwhichcaseitisunlikelytoformthebasisforanyradicalchange,there
willbeagreatdealofsensitivitytoitsstructure.Peoplewillseeit(toacertainextentrightly)asablueprintforthefutureorganization.Responsibilitieswillbe
regrouped,sometimestotheapparentdetrimentofcertainpartsoftheorganization.Insomecases,wholefunctionsmaybeeliminatedfromthecorporatemodelor
reallocatedassubfunctionsofsomethingelse.Themanagerswhoarebeingaskedtohelpdevelopandimplementthismodelmayseethattheirresponsibilitiesare
reduced,increased,outsourced,orplacedundersomeoneelse'ssupervision.Noneofthisislikelytomakethetaskofagreeingonaprocessdecompositionthat
reflectsthenewwayofoperatingeithereasyornoncontentious.Thisonlyreinforcestheneed,asdiscussedunderBUSINESSPROCESSinSection8.5.1,forthe
priorestablishmentofmanagementsupport.Thosecompaniesthataresuccessfulintheuseofprocessmodelingasasupporttobusinessprocessreengineeringora
processdrivenrealignmentoftheircomputersystemsarchitecturearethoseinwhichtheneedforsuchchangehasbeensoldandwhereactive,ongoingsupporthas
beengivenatthemostseniorlevel.
ManagingtheProcessDecomposition
Itistobeexpectedthatthebusinessprocessdecompositionfortheenterprisewillevolveovertime.Initially,askeletonstructurewillbeputinplacetoensurethatthe
entirescopeoftheenterpriseiscovered.Thiswillgraduallybefleshedout,asaresultofreengineeringprojects,orITdevelopments,overanextendedperiod
(possiblyamountingtoseveralyearselapsed,inalarge,complexorganization).

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Theoverallmanagementofthedecompositionistheresponsibilityofthemetadatamanager.Heorshewillcoordinatetheactivitiesthatareevolvingthemodeland
ensurethatasingle,authoritativecopyoftheentiredecompositioniskeptuptodate.Indoingso,metadatamanagerswillcoordinatetoalargedegreewiththe
individualprocessorsubprocessownersandtheITdevelopmentteamsasappropriate.Theywillalsobecalledupon,fromtimetotime,toactasarbitratorsincase
ofparticularsensitivitiesbeingencountered.PleasenotethatthedecompositionisastandardmetastructureconceptthatisdiscussedinmoredetailinChapter5.
8.5.3
TheBUSINESSEVENTEntity
Generallyspeaking,BUSINESSEVENTswillactasthetriggereithertoonebusinessprocessortoseveralbusinessprocessesthatfallwithinacloselyrelatedareaof
theenterprise'sactivity.TheresponsibilityforrecognizingandinitialdefinitionoftheBUSINESSEVENTwillthereforefalljointlyontherelevantbusinessprocess
ownerandthedataanalyst.Ongoingstewardshipoftheentitywillrestwiththebusinessprocessowner,whowillensurethatthedefinitionsgivenreflectanaccurate
pictureoftheoperationofthebusiness.
DefiningTriggersforBusinessProcesses
IncaseswheretheBUSINESSEVENTtriggerswidelydiverseprocesses,thenthesituationismorecomplex.Thissituationisunlikelytoberecognizedattheinitial
definitionoftheBUSINESSEVENT,sinceitwillbefocusedononlyoneareaofthebusiness.Infact,itislikelytoresultfromtherecognition,duringananalysis,that
thetriggerbeingproposedforaBUSINESSPROCESSalreadyexistswithintheBUSINESSEVENTentityandactsasthetriggerforanother,currentlyunrelated
process.ThedefinitionoftheexistingBUSINESSEVENTshouldbecheckedandagreedonbythemetadatamanagerandthetwoprocessownersconcernedto
ensurethatitdoesmatchtherequirementsofbothcases,beforetheanalysisprogresses.
ManagementofBusinessEventMetadata
Theownershipofsuchinstancesisreallocatedtothemetadatamanager,whowillstewarditsongoinguseinbothareasofactivity.

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8.6
ProjectandPeopleManagementMetadata
Themetadatamodelcanbefurtherextendedtoincludeprojectmanagemententities.Theneedforthis,andwhethervalueisaddedoverandaboveuseofstandard
projectmanagementsoftwaretools,shouldbeconsidered.
8.6.1
ThePROJECTEntity
ThePROJECTentityisdefinedbyasinglestartandenddate(plannedandactual)andistheresponsibilityofasinglemanager.Inthecaseofamorecomplexpiece
ofwork,whereaPROJECTneedstobedecomposedintoasetofsubPROJECTs,thenitispossibletousethestandardhierarchicaldecompositionconstructto
achievethis.Inmorerestrictedcases,thePROJECTPHASEentitymaybeused(seebelow).
Moregenerally,thedetailedplanandbreakdownwouldbemanagedseparatelyfromthemetadataentity.Assuch,asimplereferenceisincludedasanattributeto
storeenoughinformationforthesedetailstobefound,eitheronpaperorinelectronicform.
ManagementofProjectMetadata
Thismetadataentityisnotintendedasameansofmanagingprojects,perse.Itdoesactasa"librarycard"recordoftheprojectsundertakenunderaparticulararea
ofresponsibility,andprovidesthenecessaryreferentialintegritycheckforASSIGNMENTs(indirectly),JOBROLEs,PROJECTPHASEs,etc.Theownershipof
thisentity,implyingtherightandresponsibilityfordeterminingwhichprojectsexistandhowtheyshouldbedescribed,lieswiththeITmanagementinatypical
organization.
8.6.2
ThePROJECTPHASEEntity
Thismodelisonlyrelevanttoahierarchicallystructuredproject.Foramoredetaileddiscussiononhierarchiesandmatrices,asanorganization/taskmodel,see
Chapter5.
Whereaprojectissplitintophaseswithinthemetadatabase,theownershipofthephasesisdelegatedbygeneralITmanagementtothemanagementofthe
PROJECTitself.

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8.6.3
ThePROJECTPLANEntity
Inpractice,therewillbemuchmorecomplexitytothis,intermsofattributesandstructureassociatedwithaprojectplan.Thisentityhasbeenincludedinthe
metamodelasa''placeholder,"sincethiscomplexitywillbefarbetterhandledusingaseparatetool.Theexistenceofsuchplansshould,however,beincludedinthe
metadatabase,asa"library"facility.(SeealsoPROJECT,PROJECTPHASEinthischapter.)
8.6.4
TheTASKEntity
Thisentitywillonlybeexplicitlyincludedinthescopeofthemetamodelifnomoresophisticatedactivitymonitoringisnecessaryand/orpresent.Amoregeneralcase
forthemanagementofworkbeingdonewithinanITdepartmentisthataprojectlistwillexist,withafewsimplemilestones(denotedbyPROJECTPHASEs)thatwill
betrackedbytheSUPERVISORconcerned.
Inaddition,usewillbefoundfortheJOBROLEentitysince,moreoftenthannot,theworkrequiredinaparticularfunctionisredefinedandrestatedeachtimeanew
employeeisassigned.Havingalibraryofsuchdefinitionscanbevaluable.
ThebreakdownofworkefforttothepointofTASKsislikelyeithertobeperformedwithinafullscaleplanningtoolornotatall.Onceagain,thisentityhasbeen
includedinthemetamodelforthesakeofstructuralcompleteness.
8.6.5
TheITEMPLOYEEEntity
Onceagain,thereisageneralneedforanentitythatrepresentsallindividualswithinthesphereofITrelatedactivities,butthelevelofdetailrequiredandthe
complexityoftherelatedstructureswilldependonthecontextinwhichitisused.Atthemostbasic,thisentitywillserveasanintegritycheckforallthoseoccasions
whereanindividualisidentifiedinconnectionwithITactivity.Itwillhelptoensurethattheidentificationofeachpersonisconsistentanduniqueacrosswhateverscope
isappropriateandthustoimprovetheoverallusefulnessofthemetadatabase.
ItshouldbenotedthattheallocationofattributeslistedinAppendixDimpliesastrictlyhierarchicalorganization(thatis,eachITemployeehasstrictlyonesupervisor
withresponsibilityforseveralsubordinates).The

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metamodelbecomesmorecomplexincaseswhereadifferentmanagementmodelisinplaceinthefollowingsituations,forexample:
Matrixmanagement(whereanindividualeffectivelyreportstoadifferentmanageraccordingtothecontext,suchaslinemanagementversusprojectmanagement)
Whereanindividualreportstoacommittee
Wheresupervisionisatthetasklevel.
Thedegreetowhichthisentityisusedasadistinctdatatype,ratherthanasasubsetoftheEMPLOYEEentityasawhole,andthelevelofdetailrequiredwilldepend
onthecontextandthetypeofworkfallingwithintheremitoftheITdepartment.Ingeneral,theoverallownershipforthisentitywillbetheresponsibilityofIT
management,whichwillseefittodelegateportionsoftheentityscopetoprojectortaskmanagerswithintheirsphereofinfluence.
8.6.6
TheJOBROLEEntity
TheJOBROLEentityrepresentstheleveltowhichtheworkactivitiesoftheITdepartment(ortheenterpriseasawhole)aresplit,denotingworkitemsthatcanbe
performedbyoneEMPLOYEEforoneperiodoftime.TogetherwiththeEMPLOYEEandASSIGNMENTentities,itformsthebasicmetastructurebywhichtheIT
departmentworkisdefinedandmonitored.
TheinstancesoftheJOBROLEentityarethedirectresponsibilityofthepersonidentifiedassupervisorandareusedastheelementsofaworkplanforthe
INDIVIDUALstowhomtheyareassigned.SeealsoEMPLOYEEandASSIGNMENTinthischapter.
8.6.7
TheASSIGNMENTEntity
TheASSIGNMENTentityrepresentsanintersectionbetweentheINDIVIDUALandtheJOBROLE.Inotherwords,theinformationthatisofinteresttothe
enterpriseconcerningtheperformanceofaparticularJOBROLEbyaparticularEMPLOYEEiscontainedinaninstanceoftheASSIGNMENTentity.

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BecauseofthewayinwhichthedatesduringwhichapersonfulfilledtheJOBROLEinquestionhavebeenincludedasattributesofthisentity,theassumptionisthat
eachrecordcanonlyrepresentonespellforaparticularpersoninaparticularrole.Itispossiblewithintheorganizationforthisroleassignmenttoberepeatedina
discontinuousmanner.Insuchcases,eithertheJOBROLEconcepthastoberedefinedtoreflectthetimedependencyoftheactivity,orthedatehastobeincludedin
theidentifieroftheASSIGNMENTentitytopreventpossibleduplication.
Thereareatleasttwowaysinwhichthisentitycanbeused.Thefirst,whichrequiresonlyasummaryoftheactivityperformedbytheindividual,withperformance
criteriaifnecessary,isthe"personnel"perspective.Thiswillbearelativelysimplecollectionofdata,associatedwithaparticularemployeeandusedtorecorda
sequenceofactivitiesthatgotomakeuphisorher"career"withintheenterprise.
Thesecond,moredetaileduseisinconnectionwithprojectanddepartmentmanagement,wheretheentitywillformpartofamuchmorecomplex,separateplanning
database.AmetadatastructureexampleforsuchafacilityisdescribedinAppendixD.
ThedegreetowhichthisentityisusedandthelevelofdetailrequiredwilldependonthecontextandthetypeofworkfallingwithintheremitoftheITdepartment,as
describedabove.Ingeneral,theoverallownershipforthisentitywillbetheresponsibilityofITmanagement,whichwillseefittodelegateportionsoftheentityscope
toprojectortaskmanagerswithintheirsphereofinfluence.
8.6.8
TheRESPONSIBILITYEntity
ARESPONSIBILITYformsasubdivisionofaJOBROLEintoanaturalgroupofactivitiesthatmaybeperformedbyoneEMPLOYEEunderthesupervisionof
another.Inessence,ifaformaljobdescriptionisdevelopedforaJOBROLE,thentheRESPONSIBILITYentityisfilledwiththe"lineitems"withinit.
Forexample,ananalystprogrammerJOBROLEmightconsistofseveralRESPONSIBILITYs,asfollows:
Responsibility1:DevelopmentofprogramspecificationsfortheXsystem(reportingtotheprojectmanagerforX)

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Responsibility2:SupportoftheexistingYsystem(reportingtotheapplicationsupportmanager)
Responsibility3:Schedulingofworkandprioritizationoftasklistforaccountingapplicationenhancementrequests(reportingtothechiefaccountant).
ThekeyfacetofthisentitytonoteisthewaythatRESPONSIBILITYs"belong"toaparticularJOBROLEbutmayneverthelessbeperformedindependentlyofeach
other.
ThemetadatabaseofRESPONSIBILITYs,ifmanagedatall,willbetheresponsibilityoftheITmanagement.Itshould,ofcourse,benotedthattheconstructswithin
theportionofthemetamodelarebynomeansuniquetotheITactivitiesoftheenterprise.PeoplearegivenASSIGNMENTsJOBROLEsaredefinedand
PROJECTsareplannedandmanagedinnonITdepartmentsaswell.Assuch,itmaywellbethecasethatthisstructurewillberepeatedmanytimesacrossthe
enterprise.Thisservestoreinforcetheusefulnessofacommonframeworkormetamodelthatmaybeappliedinallcases.
8.6.9
TheSUPERVISOREntity
AllSUPERVISORsmustberecordedasINDIVIDUALs.Asusual,withasubtypingrelationship,ageneralrequirementexistsforaninstancetobepresentingthe
supertypebeforeoratthetimethecorrespondinginstanceiscreatedinthesubtype.Withoutthisrule,theintegrityofthesubtypingrelationshipcannotbepreserved.
Also,asisgenerallythecasewithsubtypes,itisassumedthattheattributesofthesupertypeimplicitlybelongto,andformanextensionof,thesubtyperecord.Forthis
reason,onlythoseattributesthataredirectlyrelevanttotheroleofaSUPERVISOR,ratherthanhisorherexistenceasanINDIVIDUAL,willbeincludedonthis
entity.Atitssimplest,thisentityismaintainedtoensurethatallITEMPLOYEEswithsupervisoryresponsibilitiesarerecordedandthatthepossibilityforcheckingthe
referentialintegrityfromotherentities(PROJECTPHASE,PROJECT,TASK,RESPONSIBILITY)exists.
Aswiththisentiremetamodel,afarmorecomplexstructurecanbeenvisagedthatprovidesacompleteworkandpersonnelmanagement

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toolfortheITfunction,ifrequired.Thenatureofthisentitywillvaryquiteradicallyaccordingtothestructure,background,andunderlyingmanagementphilosophyof
eachorganization.Theintentionhereistoprovidebuildingblocksforastructureappropriatetoall.
8.7
ITInfrastructureManagementMetadata
ThefinalsectionofthemetadatamodelthatweshallconsiderconcernsthenutsandboltsoftheITworldmanagementofhardwareandthenetworkinfrastructure.
Thiswillprobablybemanagedinternally,withintheITdepartment,ratherthanbeingvisibletothebusinesscommunity.
8.7.1
TheCOMPUTEREntity
ItmaybeimaginedthatmostpeopleworkinginthefieldofIThaveaveryclearideaofwhataCOMPUTERis.Themainclarificationthatmaybenecessaryinthis
caseistheassumption,inourmetamodel,thattheCOMPUTERisnotthefollowing:
Avirtualmachine
Aprocessor.
HardwareManagementandMetadata
Asyoumaywellbeaware,itispossible,andincreasinglycommon,forasinglecomputertoactverymuchasifitwereseveral,independentmachines,running
differentoperatingsystemsandhavingtocommunicatewitheachother"atarmslength."Forthepurposesofourmodel,suchmachinesarerepresentedasone
instanceoftheCOMPUTERentity.Similarly,therearemanymultipleCPUmachinesthatactasasingleCOMPUTERandthatshouldberecordedassuch,byour
definition.Thekeyprincipleunderlyingthisdefinitionisthereforethefactthatitisimpossibletodividetheunitwhilepreservingitsinherentnature.
ITIssuesFacilitatedbyEffectiveMetadata
Inatypicalenterprise,therewillbeasinglemanagerororganizationalunitthathasresponsibilityfortheCOMPUTERsused.Thekeyinteractingissuesfacedbythese
peoplewillbethefollowing:

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