Data and Information Inventory and Attributes

The Data and Information Inventory is one of 38 recognized Noun Types in the IF4IT Enterprise Inventory Management taxonomy. The full taxonomy, its governance principles, and the Inventory of Inventories are documented in the IF4IT Enterprise Inventory Management Best Practices document.

The six most closely related Noun Types to Data and Information, with their named relationships: (1) Application — an Application is the authoritative source or primary consumer of one or more Data and Information types; the Applications Inventory and Attributes is published. (2) Capability — a Capability produces Key Output Data and Information types and consumes Key Input Data and Information types; the Capabilities Inventory and Attributes is published. (3) Integration — an Integration carries Data and Information types as its Payload; the Integrations Inventory and Attributes is published. (4) Data Store — a Data Store physically houses instances of one or more Data and Information types; the Data Stores Inventory is not yet published — refer to the IF4IT Enterprise Inventory Management Best Practices document. (5) Data Sensitivity Type — every Data and Information type carries a Sensitivity Classification referencing the Data Sensitivity Types Inventory; not yet published — refer to the IF4IT Enterprise Inventory Management Best Practices document. (6) Systems Deployment Pipeline — a Systems Deployment Pipeline moves Data and Information types across environments; the Systems Deployment Pipelines Inventory is not yet published — refer to the IF4IT Enterprise Inventory Management Best Practices document.

The Data and Information Noun Type is not the same as a specific record, file, database, or data store. It is the governed class of content — the logical type — that exists independently of any physical asset containing it. A customer record in Salesforce, a customer record in the data warehouse, and a customer record in a CSV export are all instances of the same “Customer Profile” Data and Information type. Governing the type governs all its instances, wherever they appear.