Glossary and roles
Purpose
This glossary consolidates the most important terms and roles of MDM for the first entry into the solution. It helps users read and apply relations, rules, and review steps with one shared business understanding.
Business value
- Standardizes the core MDM terminology across business teams, master-data maintenance, and review work.
- Makes communication easier between users, business owners, and administrators.
- Reduces misunderstandings around relations, DSR, substitutions, and consistency checks.
Content focus
Core terms
| Term | Meaning | Typical context |
|---|---|---|
| Source company | Company from which business-relevant data is read or compared with the target context. | Data origin, review start, reference context |
| Target company | Company in which data arrives, is checked, or is evaluated from a business perspective. | Data receipt, comparison, correction |
| MDM relation | Central business mapping between tables, companies, and processing rules. | Relation list, relation card |
| DSR | Abbreviation used for Selected Record Distribution and the business term for controlled record distribution in MDM. | Distribution matrix, DSR page, relation maintenance |
| DSR filter | Rule that excludes records from distribution for all or selected target companies. | Distribution filters, distribution matrix |
| Relation structure | Structured representation of which fields, levels, or relationships belong to one relation. | Relation Structure, field logic |
| Dependency | Rule that describes when a value or record depends on other information. | Dependency Lines, control rules |
| Exclusion | Rule that deliberately excludes specific fields or situations from processing. | Relation Exclusions, exceptions |
| Substitution | Replacement or derivation of a target value based on defined rules. | Substitutions, field-value control |
| Consistency check | Review that verifies whether records or field values between source and target contexts match the expected state. | Consistency Check, review results |
| Review entry | Documented result of a relation review or consistency check. | Check Entries, follow-up |
| MDM start area | Central entry point for working with relations, activities, and follow-up actions. | Profile, daily entry |
Roles and permissions
| Role | Typical task |
|---|---|
| MDM - Read | Read MDM content, understand results, and get oriented |
| MDM - User | Use relations, rules, and operational MDM functions in day-to-day work |
| MDM - Administrator | Own the setup, maintenance, release, and business control of MDM |
| MDM responsible user | Profile that uses the central MDM start area as the entry point for activities and insights |
Core logic between relation, rule, and review
The MDM relation is the business core object. Based on that, relation structure, dependencies, exclusions, and substitutions define the expected data behavior. Consistency checks then show whether the result in the target context matches the defined frame or whether follow-up work is required.
When DSR is enabled for a relation, Selected Record Distribution adds an extra decision layer for individual records. DSR filters and the distribution matrix then help business teams control which records should reach target companies and which should remain excluded deliberately.
Result
- The most important MDM terms are defined consistently for the following pages.
- Roles and permission levels are clearly separated for the initial entry.
- New users can classify relations, rules, and review results more reliably.
Links