EDR MDS: A Less Is More Approach to SOA Master Data Management

Date: September 2008 (JavaZone 2008, Oslo) — also presented at JavaONE 2007 Slides: slideshare.net/totto

Traditional MDM platforms are expensive, complex, and often solve the wrong problem. This talk proposes a simpler, domain-driven alternative: Enterprise Domain Repositories (EDR) and Master Data Services (MDS) — a service-oriented approach to master data management that controls data redundancy through dynamic rules rather than centralised platforms.

What the talk covers

The MDM problem. Existing approaches to master data management define the challenge and then introduce solutions that are disproportionately complex and costly. The talk critiques common MDM implementations and the assumptions behind them.

The EDR-MDS model. An Enterprise Domain Repository manages disparate business objects across multiple systems. Rather than enforcing a single golden record through a heavyweight platform, EDR-MDS enables standard software to coexist with SOA by applying dynamic, readable rules at the field and value level.

Core capabilities: - Simple, inexpensive strategy to control data redundancy - Dynamic rules for mastering at the field/value level — readable and auditable - Automatic updates enforced across sources - Governance through rules rather than platform lock-in - Standard software coexistence with service-oriented architecture

System integration. The approach addresses how disparate business objects across multiple systems can be synchronised without a centralised hub, reducing both complexity and the failure surface of traditional MDM deployments.

Domain-driven design. Emphasises modelling from the domain outward rather than forcing business data into a platform's data model — a less-is-more philosophy that anticipates what later became standard DDD practice.

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