Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
same process of enrollment in a contract for medical
assistance changes according to the legislation in force;
several versions may co-exist for a certain time, according to
the conditions laid down by business regulations;
-
version control. The audit of data takes advantage of
the difference in values according to the versions. For
example, it is useful to examine the differences between the
classification of two versions of financial operations. The
audit of these differences allows the detection of unusual
changes which can reveal irregularities;
-
version merging. With two versions it is possible to
copy some modifications on to the other. For example, a new
version of a product description is built for the needs limited
to a test environment. Once the tests have been completed,
one part of the new values tested have to be merged with the
current version used in production. By avoiding double entry
of common data from one version to another, the risk of error
is reduced, helping to give better data quality.
Version management is therefore an indispensable
function to guarantee data quality. In its absence, it is
necessary to physically duplicate the data repository in as
many versions, with synchronization and merging issues to
be resolved on a case by case basis using specific technical
and programming procedures.
By contrast, an MDM system allows version management
under the control of the business users of the data
repository, on condition that they possess the appropriate
access rights. This management is similar to that of more
technical versioning of software. So, we find similar concepts
of a reference branch and sub-branches. Each branch
contains versions which are isolated in relation to the other
branches.
