Establish and Document the Application's Name, Alternate Names, and Semantic Identifier

This chapter explains how to establish and document the official name of an Application, the other names by which it is known, and the durable identifier that distinguishes it in the Application Inventory.

Definitions

The Application Name is the single, official, enterprise-approved name of an Application, used in its Application Record and Application Documentation. It must be unique within the Application Inventory.

Alternate Names are all other names by which an Application is known, such as its short name, Vendor Application Name, Business Application Name, IT Application Name, acronyms and abbreviations, former names, and colloquial aliases (for example, “the billing system”).

The Semantic Identifier is the durable, unique identifier assigned to the Application in the Application Inventory. Names can change; the Semantic Identifier does not.

Why Names and Identifiers Matter

People refer to the same Application in many ways. The business may call it by one name, IT by another, and the vendor by a third. Without a single official name and a record of all the others, people searching for information about an Application miss what they need, records are duplicated under different names, and conversations about “the same” Application turn out to be about different ones. A durable identifier ensures that the Application remains traceable even when it is renamed, rebranded, or reorganized.

Establish the Application’s Name, Alternate Names, and Semantic Identifier

• Establish one official Application Name through the enterprise’s naming standards, and confirm that it is unique within the Application Inventory.

• Gather every Alternate Name in use: business, IT, vendor, short names, acronyms, former names, and colloquial aliases.

• Assign a Semantic Identifier according to the enterprise’s inventory standards, and never reuse or change it.

• Manage renames deliberately. When an Application is renamed, the old name becomes an Alternate Name, and the Semantic Identifier stays the same.

Document and Share the Names and Identifier

Record the Application Name, all Alternate Names, and the Semantic Identifier in the Identity and Ownership section of the Application Documentation and in the Application Record. Make Alternate Names searchable in both the Digital Library and the Application Inventory, so that a search for any name finds the Application.

Best Practice: Establish and Document the Application’s Name, Alternate Names, and Semantic Identifier

It is a best practice to both establish and document the solution for an Application’s identity: give it one unique, official Application Name and a durable Semantic Identifier, record every Alternate Name by which it is known, and make all of them searchable.

Benefits: A single official name ends confusion about which Application is being discussed, while searchable Alternate Names let people find the Application by whatever name they know. The durable identifier keeps every record, link, and report pointing to the right Application through renames and reorganizations.

Connections to Related IF4IT Practices and Inventories

The Applications Inventory and Attributes describes the descriptive attributes, including names and identifiers, recorded for each Application. The Enterprise Inventory Management Best Practices addresses identifier standards across enterprise inventories.