10/20/24, 1:48 PM Data modeling - Wikipedia

Data modeling
Data modeling in software
engineering is the process of creating
a data model for an information
system by applying certain formal
techniques. It may be applied as part
of broader Model-driven engineering
(MDE) concept.

Overview
Data modeling is a process used to
define and analyze data requirements
needed to support the business
processes within the scope of
corresponding information systems in The data modeling process. The figure illustrates the way data models
organizations. Therefore, the process are developed and used today . A conceptual data model is developed
of data modeling involves based on the data requirements for the application that is being
professional data modelers working developed, perhaps in the context of an activity model. The data
model will normally consist of entity types, attributes, relationships,
closely with business stakeholders, as
integrity rules, and the definitions of those objects. This is then used
well as potential users of the
as the start point for interface or database design.[1]
information system.

There are three different types of data models produced while progressing from requirements to the
actual database to be used for the information system.[2] The data requirements are initially recorded
as a conceptual data model which is essentially a set of technology independent specifications about
the data and is used to discuss initial requirements with the business stakeholders. The conceptual
model is then translated into a logical data model, which documents structures of the data that can be
implemented in databases. Implementation of one conceptual data model may require multiple
logical data models. The last step in data modeling is transforming the logical data model to a physical
data model that organizes the data into tables, and accounts for access, performance and storage
details. Data modeling defines not just data elements, but also their structures and the relationships
between them.[3]

Data modeling techniques and methodologies are used to model data in a standard, consistent,
predictable manner in order to manage it as a resource. The use of data modeling standards is
strongly recommended for all projects requiring a standard means of defining and analyzing data
within an organization, e.g., using data modeling:

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to assist business analysts, programmers, testers, manual writers, IT package selectors,

engineers, managers, related organizations and clients to understand and use an agreed upon
semi-formal model that encompasses the concepts of the organization and how they relate to one
another
to manage data as a resource
to integrate information systems
to design databases/data warehouses (aka data repositories)
Data modeling may be performed during various types of projects and in multiple phases of projects.
Data models are progressive; there is no such thing as the final data model for a business or
application. Instead a data model should be considered a living document that will change in response
to a changing business. The data models should ideally be stored in a repository so that they can be
retrieved, expanded, and edited over time. Whitten et al. (2004) determined two types of data
modeling:[4]

Strategic data modeling: This is part of the creation of an information systems strategy, which
defines an overall vision and architecture for information systems. Information technology
engineering is a methodology that embraces this approach.
Data modeling during systems analysis: In systems analysis logical data models are created as
part of the development of new databases.
Data modeling is also used as a technique for detailing business requirements for specific databases. It
is sometimes called database modeling because a data model is eventually implemented in a
database.[4]

Topics

Data models
Data models provide a framework for data to be
used within information systems by providing
specific definitions and formats. If a data model is
used consistently across systems then compatibility
of data can be achieved. If the same data structures
are used to store and access data then different
applications can share data seamlessly. The results
of this are indicated in the diagram. However,
systems and interfaces are often expensive to build,
operate, and maintain. They may also constrain the
business rather than support it. This may occur How data models deliver benefit.[1]
when the quality of the data models implemented in
systems and interfaces is poor.[1]

Some common problems found in data models are:

Business rules, specific to how things are done in a particular place, are often fixed in the
structure of a data model. This means that small changes in the way business is conducted lead

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to large changes in computer systems and interfaces. So, business rules need to be implemented
in a flexible way that does not result in complicated dependencies, rather the data model should
be flexible enough so that changes in the business can be implemented within the data model in a
relatively quick and efficient way.
Entity types are often not identified, or are identified incorrectly. This can lead to replication of
data, data structure and functionality, together with the attendant costs of that duplication in
development and maintenance. Therefore, data definitions should be made as explicit and easy to
understand as possible to minimize misinterpretation and duplication.
Data models for different systems are arbitrarily different. The result of this is that complex
interfaces are required between systems that share data. These interfaces can account for
between 25 and 70% of the cost of current systems. Required interfaces should be considered
inherently while designing a data model, as a data model on its own would not be usable without
interfaces within different systems.
Data cannot be shared electronically with customers and suppliers, because the structure and
meaning of data have not been standardised. To obtain optimal value from an implemented data
model, it is very important to define standards that will ensure that data models will both meet
business needs and be consistent.[1]

Conceptual, logical and physical schemas

In 1975 ANSI described three kinds of data-model
instance:[5]

Conceptual schema: describes the semantics of

a domain (the scope of the model). For
example, it may be a model of the interest area
of an organization or of an industry. This
consists of entity classes, representing kinds of
things of significance in the domain, and
relationships assertions about associations
between pairs of entity classes. A conceptual
schema specifies the kinds of facts or
propositions that can be expressed using the The ANSI/SPARC three level architecture. This
model. In that sense, it defines the allowed shows that a data model can be an external model
expressions in an artificial "language" with a (or view), a conceptual model, or a physical model.
scope that is limited by the scope of the model. This is not the only way to look at data models, but it
Simply described, a conceptual schema is the is a useful way, particularly when comparing
first step in organizing the data requirements. models.[1]
Logical schema: describes the structure of some
domain of information. This consists of
descriptions of (for example) tables, columns, object-oriented classes, and XML tags. The logical
schema and conceptual schema are sometimes implemented as one and the same.[2]
Physical schema: describes the physical means used to store data. This is concerned with
partitions, CPUs, tablespaces, and the like.

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According to ANSI, this approach allows the three perspectives to be relatively independent of each
other. Storage technology can change without affecting either the logical or the conceptual schema.
The table/column structure can change without (necessarily) affecting the conceptual schema. In each
case, of course, the structures must remain consistent across all schemas of the same data model.

Data modeling process

In the context of business process integration
(see figure), data modeling complements
business process modeling, and ultimately
results in database generation.[6]

The process of designing a database involves

producing the previously described three types
of schemas – conceptual, logical, and physical.
The database design documented in these
schemas is converted through a Data
Definition Language, which can then be used
to generate a database. A fully attributed data
model contains detailed attributes
(descriptions) for every entity within it. The
term "database design" can describe many Data modeling in the context of business process
different parts of the design of an overall integration.[6]
database system. Principally, and most
correctly, it can be thought of as the logical
design of the base data structures used to store the data. In the relational model these are the tables
and views. In an object database the entities and relationships map directly to object classes and
named relationships. However, the term "database design" could also be used to apply to the overall
process of designing, not just the base data structures, but also the forms and queries used as part of
the overall database application within the Database Management System or DBMS.

In the process, system interfaces account for 25% to 70% of the development and support costs of
current systems. The primary reason for this cost is that these systems do not share a common data
model. If data models are developed on a system by system basis, then not only is the same analysis
repeated in overlapping areas, but further analysis must be performed to create the interfaces between
them. Most systems within an organization contain the same basic data, redeveloped for a specific
purpose. Therefore, an efficiently designed basic data model can minimize rework with minimal
modifications for the purposes of different systems within the organization[1]

Modeling methodologies
Data models represent information areas of interest. While there are many ways to create data
models, according to Len Silverston (1997)[7] only two modeling methodologies stand out, top-down
and bottom-up:

Bottom-up models or View Integration models are often the result of a reengineering effort. They
usually start with existing data structures forms, fields on application screens, or reports. These
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models are usually physical, application-specific, and incomplete from an enterprise perspective.
They may not promote data sharing, especially if they are built without reference to other parts of
the organization.[7]
Top-down logical data models, on the other hand, are created in an abstract way by getting
information from people who know the subject area. A system may not implement all the entities in
a logical model, but the model serves as a reference point or template.[7]
Sometimes models are created in a mixture of the two methods: by considering the data needs and
structure of an application and by consistently referencing a subject-area model. In many
environments the distinction between a logical data model and a physical data model is blurred. In
addition, some CASE tools don't make a distinction between logical and physical data models.[7]

Entity–relationship diagrams

Example of an IDEF1X entity–relationship diagrams used to model IDEF1X itself. The name
of the view is mm. The domain hierarchy and constraints are also given. The constraints are
expressed as sentences in the formal theory of the meta model.[8]

There are several notations for data modeling. The actual model is frequently called "entity–
relationship model", because it depicts data in terms of the entities and relationships described in the
data.[4] An entity–relationship model (ERM) is an abstract conceptual representation of structured
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data. Entity–relationship modeling is a relational schema database modeling method, used in

software engineering to produce a type of conceptual data model (or semantic data model) of a
system, often a relational database, and its requirements in a top-down fashion.

These models are being used in the first stage of information system design during the requirements
analysis to describe information needs or the type of information that is to be stored in a database.
The data modeling technique can be used to describe any ontology (i.e. an overview and classifications
of used terms and their relationships) for a certain universe of discourse i.e. area of interest.

Several techniques have been developed for the design of data models. While these methodologies
guide data modelers in their work, two different people using the same methodology will often come
up with very different results. Most notable are:

Bachman diagrams
Barker's notation
Chen's notation
Data Vault Modeling
Extended Backus–Naur form
IDEF1X
Object-relational mapping
Object-Role Modeling and Fully Communication Oriented Information Modeling
Relational Model
Relational Model/Tasmania

Generic data modeling

Generic data models are generalizations of
conventional data models. They define standardized
general relation types, together with the kinds of
things that may be related by such a relation type.
The definition of generic data model is similar to the
definition of a natural language. For example, a
generic data model may define relation types such
as a 'classification relation', being a binary relation
between an individual thing and a kind of thing (a
class) and a 'part-whole relation', being a binary
relation between two things, one with the role of
part, the other with the role of whole, regardless the
Example of a Generic data model.[9]
kind of things that are related.

Given an extensible list of classes, this allows the classification of any individual thing and to specify
part-whole relations for any individual object. By standardization of an extensible list of relation
types, a generic data model enables the expression of an unlimited number of kinds of facts and will

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approach the capabilities of natural languages. Conventional data models, on the other hand, have a
fixed and limited domain scope, because the instantiation (usage) of such a model only allows
expressions of kinds of facts that are predefined in the model.

Semantic data modeling

The logical data structure of a DBMS, whether hierarchical, network, or relational, cannot totally
satisfy the requirements for a conceptual definition of data because it is limited in scope and biased
toward the implementation strategy employed by the DBMS. That is unless the semantic data model
is implemented in the database on purpose, a choice which may slightly impact performance but
generally vastly improves productivity.

Therefore, the need to define data from a conceptual

view has led to the development of semantic data
modeling techniques. That is, techniques to define
the meaning of data within the context of its
interrelationships with other data. As illustrated in
the figure the real world, in terms of resources,
ideas, events, etc., is symbolically defined by its
description within physical data stores. A semantic
data model is an abstraction which defines how the
stored symbols relate to the real world. Thus, the Semantic data models.[8]
model must be a true representation of the real
world.[8]

The purpose of semantic data modeling is to create a structural model of a piece of the real world,
called "universe of discourse". For this, three fundamental structural relations are considered:

Classification/instantiation: Objects with some structural similarity are described as instances of

classes
Aggregation/decomposition: Composed objects are obtained joining its parts
Generalization/specialization: Distinct classes with some common properties are reconsidered in
a more generic class with the common attributes
A semantic data model can be used to serve many purposes, such as:[8]

Planning of data resources

Building of shareable databases
Evaluation of vendor software
Integration of existing databases

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The overall goal of semantic data models is to capture more meaning of data by integrating relational
concepts with more powerful abstraction concepts known from the artificial intelligence field. The
idea is to provide high level modeling primitives as integral part of a data model in order to facilitate
the representation of real world situations.[10]

See also
Architectural pattern
Comparison of data modeling tools
Data (computer science)
Data dictionary
Document modeling
Enterprise data modelling
Entity Data Model
Information management
Information model
Building information modeling
Metadata modeling
Three-schema approach
Zachman Framework

References
1. Matthew West and Julian Fowler (1999). Developing High Quality Data Models (https://sites.googl
e.com/site/drmatthewwest/publications/princ03.pdf) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/202009
09121755/https://d2024367-a-62cb3a1a-s-sites.googlegroups.com/site/drmatthewwest/publication
s/princ03.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7crjITgBSUdEyb3UlEOS2OxXk3r-iJk0-S4EfbK3PtqCZvEgcZwvp
BiF3VGC7M0IMhTWLZoERz8Otd2Tu5Bquzo4NmuOxyeAzvQa0DZlSIea0KlbnoKFHPK9zM3Pg1
p7f2b_OcaIv3_J8mkFK8rMoR_UABqsAM_Pa9wd6qHK1by_hBvYNRPKQZpTM4-rqh1D4x68mcR
DzADCED8sFixAn4Nezq0zd_hunEOcJ8m7FSTyRa2xnOA%3D&attredirects=0) September 9,
2020, at the Wayback Machine. The European Process Industries STEP Technical Liaison
Executive (EPISTLE).
2. Simison, Graeme. C. & Witt, Graham. C. (2005). Data Modeling Essentials. 3rd Edition. Morgan
Kaufmann Publishers. ISBN 0-12-644551-6
3. Data Integration Glossary (http://knowledge.fhwa.dot.gov/tam/aashto.nsf/All+Documents/4825476
B2B5C687285256B1F00544258/$FILE/DIGloss.pdf) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20090
320001015/http://knowledge.fhwa.dot.gov/tam/aashto.nsf/All+Documents/4825476B2B5C687285
256B1F00544258/%24FILE/DIGloss.pdf) March 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, U.S.
Department of Transportation, August 2001.
4. Whitten, Jeffrey L.; Lonnie D. Bentley, Kevin C. Dittman. (2005). Systems Analysis and Design
Methods. 6th edition. ISBN 0-256-19906-X.
5. American National Standards Institute. 1975. ANSI/X3/SPARC Study Group on Data Base
Management Systems; Interim Report. FDT (Bulletin of ACM SIGMOD) 7:2.

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6. Paul R. Smith & Richard Sarfaty (1993). Creating a strategic plan for configuration management
using Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools. (https://www.osti.gov/energycitations/p
url.cover.jsp;jsessionid=6192EDBFBAB7DCED13883C55F221221A?purl=/10160331-YhIRrY/)
Paper For 1993 National DOE/Contractors and Facilities CAD/CAE User's Group.
7. Len Silverston, W.H.Inmon, Kent Graziano (2007). The Data Model Resource Book. Wiley, 1997.
ISBN 0-471-15364-8. Reviewed by Van Scott on tdan.com (http://www.tdan.com/view-book-review
s/5593). Accessed November 1, 2008.
8. FIPS Publication 184 (http://www.itl.nist.gov/fipspubs/idef1x.doc) Archived (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20131203223034/http://www.itl.nist.gov/fipspubs/idef1x.doc) December 3, 2013, at the
Wayback Machine released of IDEF1X by the Computer Systems Laboratory of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). December 21, 1993.
9. Amnon Shabo (2006). Clinical genomics data standards for pharmacogenetics and
pharmacogenomics (https://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=1263&mode=2)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20090722232240/http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt?op
en=512&objID=1263&mode=2) July 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
10. "Semantic data modeling" In: Metaclasses and Their Application. Book Series Lecture Notes in
Computer Science. Publisher Springer Berlin / Heidelberg. Volume Volume 943/1995.
This article incorporates public domain material from the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (https://www.nist.gov)

Further reading
J.H. ter Bekke (1991). Semantic Data Modeling in Relational Environments
John Vincent Carlis, Joseph D. Maguire (2001). Mastering Data Modeling: A User-driven
Approach.
Alan Chmura, J. Mark Heumann (2005). Logical Data Modeling: What it is and how to Do it.
Martin E. Modell (1992). Data Analysis, Data Modeling, and Classification.
M. Papazoglou, Stefano Spaccapietra, Zahir Tari (2000). Advances in Object-oriented Data
Modeling.
G. Lawrence Sanders (1995). Data Modeling
Graeme C. Simsion, Graham C. Witt (2005). Data Modeling Essentials'
Matthew West (2011) Developing High Quality Data Models

External links
Agile/Evolutionary Data Modeling (http://www.agiledata.org/essays/agileDataModeling.html)
Data modeling articles (http://www.softdevarticles.com/modules/weblinks/viewcat.php?cid=21)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20100307022237/http://www.softdevarticles.com/modules/
weblinks/viewcat.php?cid=21) March 7, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
Database Modelling in UML (http://www.methodsandtools.com/archive/archive.php?id=9)
Data Modeling 101 (http://www.agiledata.org/essays/dataModeling101.html)
Semantic data modeling (http://www.jhterbekke.net/SemanticDataModeling.html)
System Development, Methodologies and Modeling (http://www.cems.uwe.ac.uk/~tdrewry/modelin
g.htm) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20120307100041/http://www.cems.uwe.ac.uk/~tdrew
ry/modeling.htm) March 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Notes on by Tony Drewry
Request For Proposal - Information Management Metamodel (IMM) (http://www.omg.org/cgi-bin/d
oc?ab/05-12-02) of the Object Management Group
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Data Modeling is NOT just for DBMS's Part 1 (https://web.archive.org/web/20120625215800/htt

p://www.ipl.com/papers/Data%20modelling%20is%20NOT%20JUST%20for%20DBMS%20part%
201.pdf) Chris Bradley
Data Modeling is NOT just for DBMS's Part 2 (https://web.archive.org/web/20120626144315/htt
p://www.ipl.com/papers/Data%20modelling%20is%20NOT%20JUST%20for%20DBMS%20part%
202.pdf) Chris Bradley

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