Readiness & Changed-Fact Drills
Attempt each answer before revealing the check.
Seven readiness checks
1. Classify Reference, Master, Transaction, Metadata
Check: Reference = controlled values/classifications; Master = persistent entities; Transaction = events; Metadata = descriptions such as source, definition, steward, lineage, update schedule.
2. Separate SOR, System of Reference, Trusted Source, Golden Record
Check: SOR = create/maintain; System of Reference = consume/access; Trusted Source = governed best source/view; Golden Record = reconciled entity instance.
3. Choose Registry, Transaction Hub, or Consolidated
Check: Registry points to source-held data; Transaction Hub owns writes and is SOR; Consolidated stores reconciled copies while sources remain SORs.
4. Identify matching error/workflow and reversibility
Check: false positive = over-merge/link; false negative = under-match. Flag → link → merge increases intervention and generally reversal cost.
5. Write the five-step MDM processing flow
Check: Model → Acquire → Validate/Standardize/Enrich → Resolve + ID Management → Share + Steward.
6. Explain why governance/stewardship remain required with strong matching software
Check: business authority is still needed for source selection, definitions, DQ rules, thresholds, exceptions, survivorship, identifiers, changes, sharing, accountability, and adoption.
7. Name the metric families and what each answers
Check: DQ/compliance; change activity; ingestion/consumption; SLA/service; steward coverage; TCO; sharing/usage.
Changed-fact drills
Drill A — Code or entity?
Base: US, USA, and 840 need mapping. Answer: Reference cross-reference.
Changed fact: two records may be the same customer. New answer: Master Data entity resolution.
Drill B — SOR or System of Reference?
Base: CRM creates/maintains Customer; hub publishes enterprise Customer. CRM = SOR; hub = System of Reference.
Changed fact: every customer update must now occur through hub. Hub can become Transaction Hub/SOR.
Drill C — Trusted or Golden?
Base: governed environment has multiple useful customer perspectives. Trusted Source.
Changed fact: one reconciled Customer 123 record is the best current representation. Golden Record within the Trusted Source.
Drill D — False positive or negative?
Base: two different people share one enterprise ID. False positive.
Changed fact: one person has two enterprise IDs. False negative.
Drill E — Flag, link, or merge?
Base: high-risk uncertain duplicate. Duplicate identification + steward review.
Changed fact: identity confirmed but source values should remain intact. Match-link.
Changed again: business needs one reconciled profile. Match-merge + survivorship/history.
Drill F — Standardize or change matcher?
Base: phone formats differ. Standardize first.
Changed fact: standardized evidence remains too variable for fixed rules. Consider/tune probabilistic or deterministic matching as appropriate.
Drill G — Registry or Consolidated?
Base: enterprise index points to source-held records. Registry.
Changed fact: sources keep writes but consumers query one stored reconciled repository. Consolidated.
Drill H — SLA or DQ?
Base: valid master feed arrives four hours late. SLA/service problem.
Changed fact: feed arrives on time with invalid status codes. DQ problem.
Final readiness rule: You are ready when you can explain why the changed fact changes the answer.