Systems, Data Domains & Operating Landscape
System inventory
| ID | System | Primary learning role |
|---|---|---|
| WEB | E-commerce website/app | Browse, cart, click/event and order initiation. |
| CRM | Customer relationship management | Customer identity, preferences, service/marketing context. |
| POS | Store point of sale | Store purchases/returns and local customer references. |
| PIM | Product information management | Product descriptions, attributes, categories and stewardship. |
| OMS | Order management system | Orders, order items and fulfillment status orchestration. |
| WMS | Warehouse management | Inventory, picks, locations and fulfillment events. |
| ERP | Finance/procurement | Supplier, purchasing and financial reference/reporting context. |
| SERV | Customer service platform | Cases, reason codes, notes and interaction history. |
| HRIS | Human resources | Synthetic employees, departments, employment status. |
| IAM | Identity/access management | Users, roles, entitlements and recertification evidence. |
| DWH | Analytical warehouse | Integrated historical data for BI. |
| CAT | Metadata/catalog layer | Definitions, ownership, classification and lineage — initially incomplete. |
| DOC | Document repository | Policies, contracts, invoices, procedures and knowledge content. |
Data domains
| Domain | Examples / boundaries |
|---|---|
| Customer | Identities, profiles, contact points, preferences, consent/marketing indicators. |
| Product | SKU/product attributes, descriptions, categories, lifecycle states. |
| Order | Order headers, items, statuses, amounts and dates. |
| Inventory | Product/location stock levels and inventory events. |
| Supplier | Supplier identities, statuses, product relationships. |
| Location | Stores, fulfillment centers and organizational locations. |
| Return | Return requests, items, reason/status reference codes. |
| Service | Cases, contact reasons, notes and outcomes. |
| Marketing | Campaigns, segments, audience selections and engagement. |
| Employee / Access | Synthetic employees, roles, entitlements and access events. |
| Document / Content | Policies, contracts, invoices, product/service content. |
| Metadata | Definitions, technical metadata, ownership, lineage and classifications. |
Important modeling rule
Business meaning and physical storage are separate questions. A PostgreSQL table, a CSV, or a system field does not become the authoritative definition of “Customer,” “Product,” “Net Sales,” or another business concept simply because it stores values. The lab must distinguish:
- business concept / definition;
- data domain;
- system of capture or storage;
- physical object/file/table;
- authoritative decision rights and stewardship;
- downstream use.
Architecture learning pattern
When tracing a Meridian data element, record:
Business process → source system → data object → transformation/movement → target/consumer → decision/use
Then add the relevant governance, quality, security, metadata, reference/master-data, retention, or operational controls.
Source: Meridian Commerce Group Enterprise Data Management Casebook, Sections 4–5.