Process catalog

Core processes and central functions of MDM from the end-user perspective.

Purpose

This process catalog describes the key work procedures in MDM from the perspective of responsible business users. The focus is on creating and releasing relations, handling controlled changes, steering DSR filters from a business perspective, working with substitutions, and running consistency checks.

Context

  • The functional baseline for these processes is described on the Setup and Master data and relation maintenance pages.
  • The processes target users who maintain relations, release changes, control DSR filters and substitutions, or evaluate review results.

Prerequisites

  • Source and target companies, routing defaults, and initial relations are configured in MDM.
  • The involved users have the permissions required to work with relations, DSR filters, substitutions, and consistency checks.
  • The business-relevant tables and rules are aligned before the process starts.

Process catalog

Process REL-01 - Create and release a relation A new relation is prepared, reviewed, and released for productive use.
  • Start by selecting the business-relevant table and defining between which source and target companies the relation should apply.
  • Use this workflow whenever an additional business-relevant table should become a permanent part of the existing distribution and review logic.
  • You are working in the relation setup or relation maintenance page. There you see the table, involved companies, and the main control fields.
  • Add the routing rule, distribution logic, and required rule components such as dependencies, exclusions, and substitutions.
  • Decide whether the relation is already complete enough for productive use or whether business rules are still missing.
  • Review the relation with the available review function before changing the status.
  • Release the relation only after the structure and rules are complete.
  • Use release without update only if no retroactive update should be triggered for changes made while the relation was in maintenance status.
  • The visible result is a released relation that can be used for data transfer and review.
Process REL-02 - Change a released relation in a controlled way Released relations are reopened only when needed, adjusted, and released again.
  • Reset a released relation to an editable state only when business-relevant changes are actually required.
  • This workflow is typical when field logic, target-company assignments, or the handling of exclusions and substitutions has changed from a business perspective.
  • You are in the existing relation and can see its current processing state.
  • Maintain the adjustments while the relation is in maintenance status so that source and target contexts remain controlled during editing.
  • Be aware that changes to source or target data can be restricted while the relation is not released.
  • Review the relation again after the update and release it once the changes are complete.
  • The visible result is a released relation with traceable changes.
Process REL-03 - Identify missing or related relations Support functions help complete the relation landscape in a consistent way.
  • Use the missing-relations suggestion function to identify relations that are missing for business-related tables.
  • Use this workflow also when business teams suspect new table relationships and you first need to clarify whether a relation is actually missing.
  • You see a proposal list with additional possible relations.
  • Use related-relation suggestions when dependencies must be analyzed across several table levels.
  • Do not adopt suggested relations blindly; review the business value and ownership first.
  • Refresh field-level relation information when the technical basis for additional rules needs to be sharpened.
  • The visible result is a clearer decision about which additional relations are really needed.
Process DSR-01 - Maintain DSR filters and re-evaluate existing data Responsible users define exclusion rules per relation and decide how filter changes are applied to records that already exist.
  • Open the distribution matrix from a released relation or directly from the central MDM start area when you need to review or adjust distribution decisions from a business perspective.
  • You see the records of the selected relation and the decision per target company.
  • From there, open the distribution filters and maintain new filters only in the context of the affected relation table.
  • Decide explicitly whether a filter should apply to all target companies or only to one specific target company.
  • After each change, review the distribution matrix to confirm that the expected records are excluded or distributed and that the decision source matches the intended business rule.
  • Use the function that applies DSR filters to existing data when the new filter logic should also be applied to records that already exist.
  • Decide consciously whether only default and automatically set decisions should be updated or whether manual decisions may also be overwritten.
  • Align business-critical changes with the affected teams before running a mass update so that exceptions and special cases are not removed unintentionally.
  • The visible result is an updated distribution matrix that shows the new decisions.
Process SUB-01 - Maintain substitutions and distribute changes Substitutions control derived target values and can be propagated to additional companies.
  • Open substitutions either in the context of a relation or directly from the central substitutions page.
  • You see the affected fields, target values, and open changes.
  • Define which target values should be replaced or derived when source and target contexts differ from a business perspective.
  • Review open substitution changes regularly so that pending delta updates remain visible.
  • Use Copy Substitutions when existing substitution logic should be transferred to additional companies in a controlled way.
  • Treat this workflow not only as rule maintenance, but also as the required follow-up processing for already affected target contexts.
  • The visible result is a clear view of adjusted target values and remaining follow-up work.
Process CHK-01 - Check consistency for records and field values Consistency checks show whether target data matches the expected state.
  • Open the relevant consistency check with the source company, target company, and table context you want to review.
  • You see the table, company context, and later the resulting findings.
  • Start either a record-based check or a field-based check depending on what you need to analyze.
  • Evaluate the review entries together with the underlying relations and rules.
  • If deviations appear, also assess whether the cause lies in missing relations, incomplete rules, open substitution changes, or in the source data itself.
  • Use the results as the basis for follow-up work, renewed release, or the completion of missing rule components.
  • The visible result is a traceable list of deviations and follow-up work.

Result

  • The key MDM processes for relations, DSR, substitutions, and consistency checks are described in a traceable sequence.
  • Relations, controlled changes, substitutions, and consistency checks are classified as connected workflows.
  • The page now covers the most important application scenarios directly inside the relevant process context.

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