{"id":7956,"date":"2018-06-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-12T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sisense.com\/glossary\/data-modeling\/"},"modified":"2024-09-24T05:43:17","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T09:43:17","slug":"data-modeling","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/www.sisense.com\/glossary\/data-modeling\/","title":{"rendered":"Data Modeling Definition"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<ul class=\"anchorlinks wp-block-list\">\r\n<li><a href=\"#what\">What is Data Modeling<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#types\">Types of Data Modelling<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#vs\">Data Modeling vs Data Analysis<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what\">What is Data Modeling?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Data modeling is a way of mapping out and visualizing all the different places that a software or application stores information, and how these sources of data will fit together and flow into one another.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>This is a hugely important stage in the design process for any business-critical IT system. When developers are figuring out how a new system will work, they establish what the most pressing needs of a business are, what kind of data they\u2019ll need to access in order to meet those needs, and how the data will be used.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>From there, they can start to create a diagram (or model) of how each pocket of data will flow into each other, and how they\u2019ll interact.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"types\">Types of Data Modelling<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>There are many different ways you can approach data modeling, but generally you\u2019ll want to work through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visual-paradigm.com\/support\/documents\/vpuserguide\/3563\/3564\/85378_conceptual,l.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">three of the most common<\/a> as you perfect your design:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Conceptual Data Modeling (or Enterprise Data Modeling)<\/strong>: This starts by looking at the main needs of the business and working out how the most important entities relate to one another. Think of this as the big picture of how you want your data to interact across the company.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Logical Data Modelling<\/strong>: A little more complicated than conceptual data modeling, this drills down to how each piece of the puzzle works within each specific business function. You\u2019re starting to look at how the technical details of the model will support the aims of the business.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Physical Data Modeling<\/strong>: This is your actual blueprint for the data model design. By this stage, you\u2019re laying out precisely how each database will be implanted and how the databases, applications, and features will interact in forensic detail.<\/p>\r\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What is a Data Model?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4qFZ-5i4GS8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"vs\">Data Modeling vs Data Analysis<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Data modeling and data analysis are terms that are often bandied about together. Actually, they\u2019re very different things, requiring <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bridging-the-gap.com\/data-analysis-data-modeling-difference\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">entirely different skill sets<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Data analysis is what you do with the information at your fingertips. It\u2019s about filtering through data to draw out the most important insights, whether that\u2019s in the form of reports, graphs and other visualizations, predictions for the future or assessments of how and why things in your business are working the way they are.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Data modeling, on the other hand, is purely about creating the conditions to make this analysis possible. It\u2019s about figuring out what types of data you\u2019ll bring together and how, to get the answers you need.<br \/>Picture it like a restaurant.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The data modeler is responsible for designing the kitchen, making sure all the right appliances are in place and the ingredients are stored in the correct way. They have nothing to do with preparing the food, but they need to talk with the chefs and restaurant manager in depth, to make sure they understand what\u2019s required to meet the demands of the business. (Learn more about <a href=\"\/blog\/10-techniques-to-boost-your-data-modeling\/\">data modeling techniques<\/a>).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>A data analyst is like the chef. They don\u2019t need to know how to install the kitchen, but they do need to know how to use it. It\u2019s up to them to use the tools the data modeler has provided to select the right ingredients, to make something digestible and presentable that helps the business to thrive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><a class=\"action-btn \" href=\"\/resources\/glossary\/\">Back to Glossary <\/a><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is data modeling and how does it relate to data analysis? This 3-minute read will walk you through the bare essentials.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":6055,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"application":[46,26],"department":[6],"glossary-category":[28],"industry":[177,25,423,11,471,424,420,427,428,38,429,430,422],"role":[18,17],"topic":[24,195],"class_list":["post-7956","glossary","type-glossary","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","application-bi-analytics-teams","application-product-teams","department-it","glossary-category-data-science","industry-digital-marketing","industry-enterprise","industry-government","industry-healthcare","industry-industrial-manufacturing","industry-insurance","industry-logistics-transportation","industry-operations-logistics","industry-pharma-life-sciences","industry-retail","industry-software-saas","industry-supply-chain","industry-travel-hospitality","role-data-engineer","role-developer","topic-bi-best-practices","topic-data-sources"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.5 (Yoast SEO v23.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Data Modeling Explained | Business Intelligence Glossary | Sisense<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is data modeling and how does it relate to data analysis? 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