Chapter 5: Data and Knowledge Management

Attribute

each characteristic or quality of a particular entity

Best practices

The most effective and efficient ways to accomplish business processes.

Big data

a collection of data so large and complex that it is difficult to manage using traditional database management systems

Binary relationships

a relationship that exists when two entities are associated

Bit

A binary digit, either 0 or 1.

Business rules

precise descriptions of policies, procedures, or principles in any organization that stores and uses data to generate information

Byte

a group of eight bits that represents a single character

Clickstream data

Data collected about user behavior and browsing patterns by monitoring users' activities when they visit a website

Connectivity

The classification of a relationship: one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-many.

Database management system

The software program (or group of programs) that provides access to a database.

Data dictionary

A collection of definitions of data elements; data characteristics that use the data elements; and the individuals, business functions, applications, and reports that use these data elements.

Data file

a collection of logically related records

Data governance

an approach to managing information across an entire organization

Data lake

a central repository that stores all of an organization's data, regardless of their source or format

Data mart

A low-cost, scaled-down version of a data warehouse that is designed for the end users needs in a strategic business unit (SBU) or a department

Data model

a diagram that represents entities in the database and their relationships

Data warehouse

a repository of historical data that are organized by subject to support decision makers in the organization

Entity

any person, place, thing, or event of interest to a user

Entity-relationship diagram

document that shows data entities and attributes and relationships among them

Entity-relationship modelling

the process of designing a database by organizing data entities to be used and identifying the relationships among them

Explicit knowledge

the more objective, rational, and technical types of knowledge

Field

a characteristic of interest that describes an entity

Foreign key

A field (or group of fields) in one table that uniquely identifies a row (or record) of another table.

Functional dependency

a means of expressing that the value of one particular attribute is associated with, or determines, a specific single value of another attribute

Instance

each row in a relational table, which is a specific, unique representation of the entity

Join operation

A database operation that combines record from two or more tables in a database

Knowledge management

A process that helps organizations identify, select, organize, disseminate, transfer, and apply information and expertise that are part of the organization's memory and that typically reside within the organization in an unstructured manner.

Knowledge management systems

Information technologies used to systematize, enhance, and expedite intra- and interfirm knowledge management.

Master data

A set of core data, such as customer, product, employee, vendor, geographic location, and so on, that spans an enterprise's information systems.

Master data management

A process that provides companies with the ability to store, maintain, exchange, and synchronize a consistent, accurate, and timely "single version of the truth" for the company's core master data.

Multidimensional structure

Storage of data in more than two dimensions; a common representation is the data cube.

Normalization

A method for analyzing and reducing a relational database to its most streamlined form for minimum redundancy, maximum data integrity, and optimal processing performance.

Primary key

A field (or attribute) of a record that uniquely identifies that record so that it can be retrieved, updated, and sorted.

Query by example

A method to obtain information from a relational database by filling out a grid or template—also known as a form—to construct a sample or a description of the data desired.

Record

A grouping of logically related fields

Relational database model

Data model based on the simple concepts of tables in order to capitalize on characteristics of rows and columns of data

Relationships

operators that illustrate an association between two entities

Secondary key

A field that has some identifying information, but typically does not uniquely identify a record with complete accuracy.

Structured data

Highly organized data in fixed fields in a data repository such as a relational database that must be defined in terms of field name and type (e.g., alphanumeric, numeric, and currency).

Structured query language

the most popular query language for requesting information from a relational database

Table

A group of logically related records

Tacit knowledge

The cumulative store of subjective or experiential learning, which is highly personal and hard to formalize.

Ternary relationship

a relationship that exists when three entities are associated

Transactional data

data generated and captured by operational systems that describe the business's activities, or transactions

Unary relationship

a relationship that exists when an association is maintained within a single entity

Unstructured data

data that do not reside in a traditional relational database