Master data

Master Data is a term used in computer science (data management ) and business administration include ( in connection with the use of business application software ) are called with the data, the basic information on operationally relevant objects ( such as products, suppliers, customers, employees) (for B. Description and price, discount agreements, name and address, admission date ... ), which are necessary for running (eg periodic ) processing. They are also called static data, basic data or reference data, English also "master data" or "core data".

Master data are stored as master records in different storage media such as databases or flat files.

Related categories of data: In the context of operational quantity and value considerations, it is next to the master data and the term inventory data form and change (english inventory data or quantity on hand data), extending over so-called transaction data ( such as data about orders, orders, reminders, payments). (Lit.: Hansen) data generated in connection with the change of master data, change data is called. They are ( often as part of the operational processes ) edited in master data management.

These data categories are reported with regard to the organization and storage form of data sets no mandatory dependencies. However there are certain preferences; For example, master data is often stored in databases and processed (which they are well evaluated and their quality is good protectable ), operative movement data (such as ' payments received ') are often in a conventional operating system-specific file format.

Formal criteria

Master data can be defined by other data categories on three criteria:

Master data in the above example the customer data, while the order data covered by transaction data.

1 definition by means of existential dependence

In an entity-relationship diagram ( ER diagram ) the entity can be arranged so that the original, that is existentially independent entity ( the left believed ) and the existentially dependent entity types are further to the right on a page. Data of the leftmost entity types are called master data, while data of the rightmost entity types are called with the strongest dependencies movement data. Also, the data of the intervening object types can be assigned to the master and transaction data gradually depending on the location. Then for each two existentially interdependent entity that the existentially independent entity, the sturdier and the dependent entity contains the more mobile data. The two terms master and transaction data are thus gradually antonym here. Because the more mobile data refer to the sturdier data, the latter are also called reference data. (Lit.: Sinz )

Example, it covers customer and product data under Master data, while data for order and invoice item are transaction data.

In this context, master data, a distinction is sometimes in so-called main master data ( eg customer) and auxiliary master data (eg, industry, region, shipping method, terms of delivery or payment ).

Second definition means change volume ( static vs.. Dynamics)

Data that change frequently (production, amend, delete ) are often referred to as " transaction data " - where the volume change (the change frequency) alone is not an exclusive criterion for this classification. Nevertheless, data movement builds dynamically over time occurring events and usually much more common than the parent or inventory data on which they act. Their existence (from creation to deletion ) is - apart from backup and historicization - often limited only to the time until the process represented by them has been reflected in the common stock or inventory data. " Master data is data that remains unchanged over a long period of time. " (Lit.: SAP)

3 Definition according to content and process-oriented and temporal aspects

Master data is condition-based data used for the identification, classification and characterization of the facts, and are available unchanged over a long period of time. They are also referred to as fixed data.

Movement data are settlement -oriented data, the newly Time and again, the operational performance processes, continuously incorporated into the operations of the data processing and thereby cause a change in the inventory data. The movement operations are called transactions ( engl. transaction).

Inventory data are - as the master data - state-oriented data, which characterize the operational quantity and value structure, and therefore not the same. You are - unlike the master data - through the company's operations to a systematic change, which is caused by the processing of motion data. (Lit.: Scheithauer )

Example: A ' cash withdrawal ' (= motion) is created - in the same transaction or business process - at any given time and leads to a change in the ' Account ' (= master or inventory data). Without these and similar movements that account for a long time remain unchanged, so static.

Summary

The three definitions do not always lead to the same circumferences of the terms master and transaction data; the definitions are therefore not equivalent. Thus, for example, the inventory of an item in a supermarket according to Definition 1, a master data; since it is a property of existentially independent entity articles. Since the stock changes relatively frequently, it is according to Definition 2, a motion date. According to Definition 3, it is a position date, because the inventory describes the quantitative status of an article.

The property of a date to be classified as a regular date or movement date is dependent on the environment ( context). What in an application or database master data (eg product data in a warehouse management system) (eg product data in a database to create a group-wide product catalog ), in another database transaction data.

Definition 1 on the basis of existential dependence is mainly used for data structuring and data storage (eg, data managers and data ( banking ) administrators ). Definition 2 based on the change in volume is often ( change management) used in connection with data- changing processes (eg by application developers ), while Definition 3 is used more in the consideration of business processes based on business process- oriented and temporal aspects.

Master data history

Since long-term usually also changes all that was thought to be constant and invariable medium term, also master data often have an expiration date ( Valid from, Valid to). In the master data history then these slow changes are recorded. The master data history plays an important role there, where master data - for example, cost centers or profit centers after a reorganization of the company - from one financial period to change to the next. Often lie in an ERP system at the same time transaction data from different business periods before, eg for evaluation purposes. Now it must not be done eg in the document display that a document from the previous period is ' today, the current definition of the state of the cost center '1000 regarding accountability and organizational assignment' appears with a Kostenstellenkontierung '1000; Rather, the display of these departments attributes must match the date of receipt posting.

Properties of the master and transaction data

Despite all the differences in the definitions above, there are several similarities:

Master Data

• Characterized by a certain statics from (time invariant ) and usually have no time reference,
• Are often used by multiple applications and business sectors, such as part master records (purchase, construction, scheduling, accounting, sales, production scheduling),
• In analytical evaluations are often the criteria is evaluated according to which (eg, product, store, customer). Thus, they are candidates for the dimensions in the Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) and
• Are mostly kept long term.

Movement data

• Characterized by a certain dynamic of (time- variant) and usually have a time reference ( Effective Date )
• Are often used by a few applications,
• Often provide the facts in analytical evaluations, thus they are candidates for the cell contents in the OLAP,
• Are usually needed only limited in time and therefore
• Short or medium term hold.

Inventory data

• Characterized by a certain dynamic of (time- variant),
• Often provide the facts in analytical evaluations. Thus, they are candidates for the cell contents in the OLAP and
• Are mostly kept long term.

Master data maintenance

The reason for the master record maintenance arises usually from the necessity of intent or acceptance is to use stored data several times or long term.

To, at a regular business relationship for example, to a customer, its people or not having to specify completely reappeared every business transaction company data such as name, address, bank account etc., these data are still unique in a customer master record for all subsequent contracts used by this customer using the customer number as an internal data source.

Master data, preventing data redundancy and effort in data collection. The records are primarily used to uniquely identify the affected unit. By means of an identification concept can be, for example, called master records in an ERP system by authorized persons as well as other system functions at any time, displayed, tested, modified, or taken as a record in a secondary process.

Master data are used in various areas, mostly in applications of companies and other organizations use. As examples, the following master data types and their identification criteria can be:

• Customer master record (customer number one customer at a department store or a hotel )
• HR master record (personnel number of the employee in the human resources management of a company)
• Material master record ( material number of inventory-managed Article in Materials Management )
• Vendor master record ( vendor number in the Accounts Payable)
• Customer master record ( account number in the Accounts Receivable)
• L Account Master Record (property account number in the accounts )
• Asset master record ( Anlangennummer in Asset Accounting )
• Patient master record ( patient number in a doctor's office or clinic )

Other examples of master and transaction data

• In an application to materials management master data, for example, the article or item master data, transaction data are eg storage access and departure data.
• In an MRP system include BOMs and routings to the master data. Transaction data is data about orders, orders and deliveries.
• For a product configurator product characteristics form the master data, the single configuration that makes a customer when a product he puts together himself according to his wishes, one of the movement data.
• In a library system catalog and user data (eg name and address) master data, while the data on the borrowed books from a user and to report a return are transaction data.

History of the terms

The division of the world data in master and transaction data was done in the early days of electronic data processing. When there were no computer workstations for direct input of data were the Master Data as a sorted punched cards stack, as a magnetic tape or on the then still relatively expensive magnetic disk files. Changes were collected or stacked to then be processed in a single pass to the master data for a certain period in motion files.

With the start of dialogue processing and the attitude of almost all data on direct access storage devices and the use of database management systems, the focus shifted in the 80s of the last century away from the update service through to semantics - the existential (in) dependence of entity and its manifestations in the tables of relational database management systems. The importance of original data, ie data of existentially independent entity, is also reflected in the fact that an instance for the management of master data has been established for this data in some companies.

In various laws (Information and Communication Services Act IuKDG, the Teleservices Data Protection Act TSDPA) Master data deviating designated by the derivation of stocks as stock data, if they are necessary for the establishment, implementation or modification of a contract for the transport of information. Examples of inventory data are there customer data ( name, address, account book, etc.) and associated permanent system data ( phone number, terminal ID, passwords, etc). In this context, the term inventory data used as a synonym for master data, where the term master data would be appropriate in order to avoid confusion and misunderstandings.