10.10 Summary
10.10 Summary In this chapter, we defined metadata as the data that goes beyond data and it extends the data to give it meaning. This is especially important in the area of IEBI, an environment in which many disparate systems must communicate. All of these systems need to establish a way to communicate. Communication is more than just establishing a connection between two entities. We do that all day long on the Internet. It is also more than sending and receiving data in an understandable and reliable format. That is provided through TCP/IP. Communication occurs when all parties involved agree on the meaning of the data being communicated. The meaning of the data is contained within the metadata. Just as with the data, we need to establish a means to communicate the metadata. When communicating with human language, we have a dictionary with an established format and structure. In the IEBI environment, we have the Common Warehouse Metadata Interchange. With an agreed-upon format and structure, systems use CWMI to communicate the metadata. While valuable , CWMI is not the panacea that some would have us believe. CWMI is simply a standard for the structure and format of communicating metadata; it does not guarantee communication. The real star of this chapter is not metadata, or even CWMI. The real star, the lynchpin of metadata, is the data administrator. Metadata and CWMI are important. We need to keep in mind, though, that metadata is only data and CWMI is the structure in which it resides. We can have all the systems in the world sharing metadata through CWMI, but if it isn't correct, it doesn't amount to the proverbial hill of beans. Consider the common dictionary. Generally, dictionaries agree on the meaning and use of words. That's what makes them valuable. But what if they didn't? What if my dictionary defined the word coffee as a "a reptile with a scaly, elongated body, movable eyelids, four legs, and a tapering tail"? You would probably ask me for a cup of coffee once before we came to some agreement on the metadata for the word coffee. If this is true of the metadata of human language, what about IEBI metadata? Do we need to wait for the disagreement in metadata to cause such a fatal error that we are forced to come to some agreement? The data administrator is the individual responsible for the metadata. The importance of his or her role is directly correlated to the importance of metadata. Data validation, be it data or metadata, cannot be automated. It requires a human element. Just as in the dictionary example, while the structure can be perfect, the content can be flat out wrong. Not only is the quality of the data itself the responsibility of the data administrator, but so is the quality of the metadata. The data administrator is ultimately responsible for communication between systems, which is essential to IEBI. |
 | |
Team-Fly  |
| Top |
EAN: 2147483647
Pages: 113