Problem
When designing your Collibra Operating Model, it is good to consider the already existing organizational structures. A good place to start is with a company organization chart. The existing divisions or subject areas can be created in Collibra with Domains and Communities. Following this strategy will speed up design and adoption by creating familiarity for users. For example, Assets that are managed by the accounting department can be put into a Community called "Accounting".
Example Scenario
In this example, the Operating Model is designed around the office and branch territories of an insurance company. The company has an organizational structure that assigns responsibilities to branches across the United States. The organizational structure consists of the following:
- Region
- City
- State
- Branch
Example of West Region
| Region | City | Branch | Office Code | State |
| West Region | Albuquerque | Albuquerque 1 | 162 | New Mexico |
| Albuquerque 2 | 155 | New Mexico, Texas | ||
| Albuquerque 3 | 255 | New Mexico | ||
| Albuquerque West | 188 | New Mexico | ||
| Phoenix | Phoenix Main Branch | 034 | Arizona, California | |
Phoenix Branch 1 | 035 | Arizona | ||
| Phoenix Branch 2 | 032 | Arizona |
Branches are contained within a City and a Region. A Branch has Office Code and serves customers in one or many states.
Operating Model
This structure is modelled in Collibra with Structural Concepts such as Communities, Domains, Assets, and Relations.
Diagram
The example scenario model for the West region is illustrated by the following diagram.
This includes all Phoenix branches and one Albuquerque branch.
Additional Relation between Branch and Office Code.
This diagram demonstrates that the Phoenix Main Branch has an Office Code of 034.
Communities
This structure could be placed in a Community at any level, but the enterprise-level Community is used for this example.
Enterprise Level Community
This is the top level Community for the enterprise.
Domains and Asset Types
When creating a structure for administrative reference data, every existing classification or physical asset should be given its own domain. This will better organize Assets and allow for more defined assignments of stewardship, attributes and relations.
The following Domains and Asset Types are necessary for this example:
| Domain Name | Domain Type | Asset Type |
|---|---|---|
| Branch | Glossary | Business Term |
| City | Glossary | Business Term |
| Office Code | Code List | Code Value |
| Region | Glossary | Business Term |
| State | Glossary | Business Term |
Assets
Every branch, city, state, region and office code will be stored in Collibra as an Asset.
Relations
Relying on Relations rather than custom Attributes is a more robust and future-proof way to construct the operating model. The advantages are highlighted below.
All the relationships are created with Relations; many of which are custom. Here is an example based on the Phoenix Main Branch:
| Asset | Role | Corole (Opposite Direction) | Asset |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix Main Branch | Code | Business Term | 034 |
| Phoenix Main Branch | Handles | Is Handled By | Arizona, California |
| Phoenix Main Branch | Located In | Contains | Phoenix |
| Phoenix | Located In | Contains | West (Region) |
The top line reads "The Phoenix Main Branch has a Code Value of 034" and "034 relates to Business Term Phoenix Main Branch."
Custom Asset Types
Custom Asset Types can be used instead of out-of-the-box ones to provide additional information about the Asset. Creating custom Asset Types and Attribute Types allows for custom filtering of Views in the Business Glossary.
For example, the Phoenix Main Branch was originally created as a Business Term. It could instead be created as a custom Asset Type called Branch. This allows the assignment of a branch manager and other information that is specific to a branch such as Annual Sales and Address.
| Asset Type | Symbol | Attributes |
|---|---|---|
| Business Term |
|
|
| Branch (New Attribute Type) |  |
|
The Phoenix Main Branch modeled as a Branch instead of a Business Term.
Result
The result is a model of the the administrative structure of the insurance company modeled in Collibra. By relying heavily on Relations, every Asset can be managed and governed individually.
Traceability Diagram for the Phoenix Main Branch
Branch Domain > Phoenix Main Branch > Traceability > Diagram
Attachments:
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