Source / Target mappings

[Yves Mulkers]

I'm pretty new to EA and the visual modelling stuff, before I did it all in excel.

I'm looking for some guidance on how to set the following up:.

I want to document dataflows and map processes to tables and information elements to fields of a table, so I can have lineage on which process uses which data element.

I want to map user interface elements (make a printscreen or uml model) to map the user interface elements to the fields of a table.

How to best report on which interface elements / processes use which data elements? Is this possible in the standard reporting to see the dependencies (what data is where used)?.

Untill now I haven't found an easy way to create for example an information store that maps to a table, so the information store can be used on the flow / transformation between two entities or processes.
I know this kind of behaviour in Oracle SQL data modeler, but was hoping to find this in EA, since there are more possibilities to document user interfaces and intermediate layers (business and logical).

[Geert Bellekens]

Yves,

There problem with these kind of things is that there are too much possibilities.
Whichever option you choose depends on your exact requirements, environment etc...

In general we use trace links (looks like a dependency with <<trace>> steretoype) between our different layers of abstraction.
We have those between:
Business Process <-> Use Case
Business Entity <-> Logical Data Model entity
Use Case <-> Logical Data Model entity
Logical Data Model entity <-> reverse engineered table
Logical Data Model entity <-> ReportSet (sort of like a view for reporting)
Business Entity <->External Message definition <-> Logical Data Model entity.

But depending on the context we also use other ways to document the traceability. We use Logical Data Model Entities as the type of parameters and attributes.
We use "information items conveyed" to model the relationship between Business Processes and Business Entities, etc...

So you see, there is no easy answer to your question.

Geert

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You can always hire me to do some consultancy work and help you figure these things out.</shameless commercial plug>

[Yves Mulkers]

Geert,

Thanks for giving some direction, I already understood that there was no one answer. Having now some approaches eases to make the choice.