Master Data Management5% of the exam

MDM styles, matching, enrichment and canonical models

The MDM toolkit an architect compares: hub versus linking styles, a canonical model that maps each source once, deterministic and probabilistic matching with weights and thresholds, steward review for uncertain matches, enrichment from external reference data, and alternate hierarchies over one set of golden records.

Official exam objective
Compare and contrast the various techniques, approaches and considerations for implementing master data management (MDM) Solutions (for example, MDM implementation styles; harmonizing and consolidating data from multiple sources; establishing data survivorship rules, thresholds and weights; leveraging external reference data for enrichment; canonical modeling techniques, hierarchy management).

~6 min read · 6 practice questions ·

What the exam expects

  • Compare MDM implementation styles (a central hub that writes a golden record versus linking that leaves sources intact) and name the source of truth per entity.
  • Harmonize many sources through a canonical model instead of pairwise mappings.
  • Explain deterministic and probabilistic matching, match weights and thresholds, and when uncertain matches go to a data steward.
  • Recommend enrichment with external reference data and alternate hierarchies over one master.

Key terms: golden record (the consolidated "best" record per entity); canonical model (one common schema every source maps to once); match threshold (the score a pair must reach to match); enrichment (adding values internal systems lack); alternate hierarchy (another roll-up of the same master records).

Key facts

Golden record vs unified profile
Detail
Golden record overwrites sources; unified profile links and keeps lineage
Mailing Street weights
Detail
Name 50%, number 20%, suffix 15%, suite 15%; name and number alone (70) aren't a match
Fuzzy threshold
Detail
AI model with a 0.7 confidence threshold; not on Account fields
Precision trade-off
Detail
Less precise methods raise consolidation and undesirable matches
Probabilistic matches
Detail
Flagged for steward review, not merged automatically
Enrichment sources
Detail
Postal authority data; industry classification codes
Alternate hierarchies
Detail
All trace back to the same golden records
Sources for this section (4)
  • Why does a canonical model scale better than pairwise mappings?
  • When should a probable duplicate go to a steward instead of merging automatically?
  • Why can two streets sharing a number and name still fail standard matching?
  • What fills a gap such as industry that no internal system holds?

The questions are free to read. Answers with their sources and self-grading are included with the pack.

Keep reading with the Platform Data Architect pack

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