Data3Sixty Govern (“Govern”) gives customers the flexibility to customize their metamodel to their specifications at any given time. This article explores standard guidelines that Infogix recommends for customers to consider when making such modifications. The guidelines will standardize the look and feel of your Govern environment across assets.

Field Configurations

Make All Fields 'Show If Empty?’

The “Show If Empty?” checkbox allows the field to appear even if there is no information in the field, which lets users see the field as an option to populate but is currently blank.

‘Part Of Key?’ fields should also be ‘Is Required?’ fields

If a field needs to be part of a unique key identifier in order for the asset to be distinct, then also make the field required. Making the field required will ensure the user populates it with information.

Create a ‘Category’ for Relation Lookup and Ownership Lookup field types

Relation Lookup and Ownership Lookup fields often have many options listed and take up valuable space on an asset’s wiki page. Therefore, these field types should be put into a ‘Category’ to minimize the space they use on the page.

Use the Relationship field option when displaying an asset to model relationship

Using the Relationship field option allows:

• The information to export
• The information to be listable on the asset grid
• A user to filter by the information on the asset grid

For more general information on the field types that are available in Govern and the functionality of each field please visit Data3Sixty Govern Documentation.  

Relationships

Subject versus Object for a new relationship type

When creating a new relationship type ensure the subject is the higher level attribute and the object is the lower level attribute. This means that the subject is a concept that can be used to categorize the object. For example, when creating a relationship between a model and a business term the model should be the subject and the business term should be the object, because the model is used to categorize the business term.

Relationship type conversion

When  setting up a new relationship type the Govern administrator must know the cardinality of that relationship type. If the cardinality might change in the future, then the Govern administrator should err on the side on less inclusive, because a relationship can change from less inclusive to more inclusive, but not more inclusive to less inclusive. The following are relationship conversions that are allowed and not allowed:

• Allowed conversion: One to Many -> Many to Many
• Not allowed conversion: Many to Many -> Many to One

Ownership Rules

Naming an ownership rule: When filter criteria – Then filter criteria

When naming ownership rules base the naming on the criteria in the “When” Filter combined with the criteria in the “Then” Filter. This approach makes the identification and understanding of a rule easier for Govern administrator without clicking into it.

Example - Rule for business terms:

• When Filter: the data domain is HR
• Then Filter: it will be owned by the HR Data Steward group
• The rule name would look be: HR – Data Steward