Data models are a logical representation of business processes and are divided into three phases: domain, logical, and physical models. Domain models are high-level views of business units and their relationships. Logical models represent actual business requirements, while physical models are the blueprints for the actual database.
A software application typically stores business information in files and databases. Data models are a logical representation of business processes in an organization. They define how the company interacts with people, places and things. The data model is used as a reference point for determining the rules of relationships between entities within an organization.
The process of creating the data model is divided into three main phases. These are domain models, logical models and physical models. Each stage completes in a progression ending with the physical model, which represents the actual database structure.
Domain model design is the first step in creating a data model. This is a high-level view of business units within an organization and their relationships to each other. Domain data models define the conceptual relationship between organizations and the processes needed to complete a business function. An example of a domain model is the relationship between ordering a product and the effect that order has on the shipping department.
The enterprise domain model is typically a very high-level view of the organization and doesn’t require exact details on every type of business requirement. It is important, however, to include all affected business units within the design of the domain model. This high-level design is required for the project team to understand the detail features needed to complete the business functions.
Logical data models are the versions of data models that represent the actual business requirements of a company. These models are designed based on the high-level domain models of specific business units within an organization. A solid logical design is key to building the physical database. This process must clearly define the data elements needed to complete a specific business requirement. Logical data models include how data is accessed and the relationships between entities within a business process.
A good example of a logical data model would be a customer model for a telephone company. Each customer has a specific name, phone number, address, and phone characteristics. The logical data model would provide the relationships between these types of items, including how information would be reported and retrieved.
The final layer of data models is the physical data model. This is the data model area used in creating the actual database. The physical data model is the database-specific blue print, which defines how data will be stored within the software application.
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