Using Dublin Core to Build a Common Data Architecture

The corporate world is drowning in disparate data. Data elements, field names, column names, row names, labels, metatags, etc. seem to reproduce at whim. Librarians have been battling data disparity for over a century with tools like controlled vocabularies and classification schemes. Data Administrators have been waging their own war using data dictionaries and naming conventions. Both camps have had limited success. A common data architecture bridges the gap between the worlds of tabular (structured) and non-tabular (unstructured) data to provide a total solution and clear understanding of all data. Using the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set Version 1.1 and its Information Resource concept as building blocks, the Rohm and Haas Company Knowledge Center has created a common data architecture for use in the implementation of an electronic document management system (EDMS). This platform independent framework, when fully implemented, will provide the ability to create specific subsets of enterprise data on demand, enable interoperability with other internal or external systems, and reduce cycle time when migrating to the next generation tool. 1. A new hybrid Organizing information has become a core compe-tency for corporations. Moving from a paper-based world to an electronic-based one is a difficult and lengthy transformation. Paper forced us to behave in certain ways because of physical limitations associated with its tangibility. However, paper also had inherent strengths in its universality and this is something we have taken for granted. Blending the features of paper and electronic formats is an enormous challenge. We must create something new. The plant world provides us with a helpful analogy. A hybrid plant is the combination of two separate entities into something completely new and unique, yet shares the attributes of both parent plants. This does not happen by accident. Two different species of plants will not merge to create a new one without purposeful human intervention, management , and care. And therein lie both the problem and the opportunity. In the past, tabular and non-tabular data have been managed and accessed in very different ways. However, the ever-demanding user population wants to see all the available data integrated together and presented in a manner individually tailored to their specific needs. It has become impossible to separately manage non-tabular data and tabular data. This demands we address seemingly mutually exclusive issues in a way that satisfies all parties. The creation of a common data architecture is the most effective way to …