Information Domain

The Information domain encompasses data assets, knowledge resources, and information flows that enable decision-making and value creation across the enterprise. This domain integrates information assets into business architecture, connecting them with capabilities, processes, stakeholders, and strategic objectives.

Schema: information.schema.json
Specification: JSON Schema Draft-07

Overview

What is Information?

Information represents any data, knowledge, or intellectual asset that provides value to the organization through decision support, operational efficiency, compliance, or competitive advantage. Information can range from:

• Structured databases — Relational data, transactional records
• Analytical reports — Business intelligence, dashboards
• Unstructured documents — Procedures, contracts, knowledge articles
• Real-time streams — IoT sensor data, event streams
• Tacit knowledge — Organizational expertise and insights

Information is fundamentally about knowledge power—how to capture it, organize it, access it, analyze it, and leverage it for strategic advantage.

Purpose and Value

The Information domain enables architects and planners to:

• Catalog information assets with consistent structure and metadata
• Define data governance through policies, ownership, and quality rules
• Map data lineage by documenting sources, transformations, and consumers
• Ensure compliance by linking information to regulatory requirements
• Support analytics by connecting information to business outcomes

For Data Engineers

The Information domain maps directly to your data catalog:

• Information Asset → Data Asset /Dataset
• Information Category → Domain /Collection
• Data Classification → Sensitivity tier
• Data Quality → Quality score /dimensions
• Information Elements → Tables, fields, schemas
• Lineage → Data pipeline flow

Core Components

The Information domain includes essential elements that work together:

1. Information Elements: Specific data structures, datasets, or knowledge components
2. Information Architecture: Technical and logical structure of how information is organized
3. Data Governance: Policies, procedures, and controls for quality, security, and compliance
4. Information Flow: Processes through which information moves across the organization
5. Knowledge Management: Capabilities for capturing and sharing organizational knowledge

Domain Attributes

Core Attributes

Attribute	Type	Description	Required
informationID	String	Unique identifier for the Information asset, e.g. INFO-001	✓
title	String	Name or title of the Information asset	✓
description	String	Detailed explanation of what the asset contains	✓
purpose	String	Intended purpose or function within the Organization	✓
owner	String	Individual or team responsible for the Information asset	✓
orgUnitTitle	String	Organization unit(s) to which the asset is linked
orgUnitID	String	ID of the organization unit named in orgUnitTitle
informationCategory	Enum	Broad categorization of information type
informationType	Enum	Specific type of information
dataClassification	Enum	Security and sensitivity classification
dataQuality	Enum	Quality level of the information
format	String	Technical format or structure
volume	String	Size or scale of the information asset
updateFrequency	None	How often the information is updated (shared frequency list, plus static)
retention	String	Data retention policies and schedules
sources	String	Origin systems or processes that generate the information
consumers	String	Systems, processes, or users that utilize the information
dependencies	String	Other information assets or systems this depends on
interfaces	String	Technical interfaces and access methods
governance	String	Data governance policies and procedures
dataOwner	String	Party accountable for the information asset
dataSteward	String	Party responsible for the quality and governance of the information
compliance	Array[Enum]	Regulatory and compliance requirements
security	String	Security measures and access controls
privacy	String	Privacy protection measures and policies
quality	String	Data quality measures and monitoring
lineage	String	Data lineage and transformation history
metadata	String	Descriptive information about the data
lifecycle	Enum	Current stage in information lifecycle
businessValue	String	Business value and impact of the information
costs	String	Costs associated with maintaining the asset
risks	String	Potential risks associated with the information
riskCategories	Array[Object]	Categories of risks (shared risk category list)
accessPatterns	String	How the information is typically accessed and used
performance	String	Performance characteristics and requirements
integration	String	Integration with other systems and platforms
analytics	String	Analytical capabilities and use cases
archiving	String	Archiving strategies and procedures
backup	String	Backup and recovery procedures
monitoring	String	Monitoring and alerting capabilities
documentation	String	Documentation and knowledge management
training	String	Training and skills development for information users
innovation	String	Innovation opportunities and emerging technologies
partnerships	String	External partnerships for data sharing or enrichment
scalability	String	Scaling capabilities and future growth plans
standardization	String	Adherence to data standards and frameworks
strategicAlignment	String	Alignment with organizational goals
competitiveAdvantage	String	How this information provides competitive differentiation
relatedInformation	String	Information assets that are related or linked
relatedInformationIDs	Array[String]	IDs of related Information assets
technologyStack	String	Underlying technologies used
roadmap	String	Future development plans
localization	String	Multi-language and regional adaptations
adoptionMetrics	String	Usage and adoption measurements
qualityMetrics	String	Quality assessment measures
userBase	String	Description of current user base
usage	String	How the information is typically used
revenueModel	String	How the information generates revenue or value
marketPosition	Enum	Information maturity position relative to industry
investmentLevel	Enum	Required investment level for information management
stakeholderImpact	String	Impact on key stakeholders
parentInformation	String	Parent information asset this is derived from
parentInformationID	String	ID of the parent Information asset this is derived from
childInformation	String	Child information assets derived from this
changeManagement	String	Approach to managing information changes and updates
knowledgeManagement	String	How information knowledge is captured and shared
inputs	String	The resources, information or materials required for the information management element
outputs	String	The deliverables or results produced by the information management element
processes	String	The set of processes that define how the information management element operates
performanceIndicators	String	Metrics used to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of the information management element
relatedInformationElements	String	Information elements that are related or linked to this element
maturityLevel	Enum	Current maturity level of the information management (shared maturity list)
toolsAndTechnologies	String	Tools and technologies used to support or enable the information management element
complianceAndStandards	String	Regulatory requirements and standards the information management element must adhere to
improvementOpportunities	String	Areas for enhancement
informationElements	Array[Object]	Specific elements within the information asset (see Information Element below)

Enumeration Values

Information Category (informationCategory)

Value	Description	Example
operationalData	Day-to-day transactional data	Transaction records, operational logs
analyticalData	Data prepared for analysis	Data warehouse, analytics marts
referenceData	Standard codes and lookups	Country codes, product categories
masterData	Core business entity data	Customer master, product master
metadata	Data about data	Data dictionaries, schemas
content	Unstructured content	Documents, images, videos
knowledge	Organizational knowledge	Procedures, best practices
intelligence	Strategic insights	Market research, competitive analysis

Information Type (informationType)

Value	Description	Example
database	Structured database systems	PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server
dataset	Curated data collections	Analytics datasets, training data
report	Analytical reports	Business reports, dashboards
document	Text documents	Procedures, contracts, policies
knowledgeBase	Organized knowledge repository	Wiki, knowledge articles
apiData	Data accessed via APIs	REST endpoints, GraphQL
realTimeStream	Live data streams	Event streams, sensor feeds
archive	Historical archived data	Compliance archives, backups
model	Analytical models	ML models, statistical models
dashboard	Interactive visualizations	BI dashboards, monitoring views

Data Classification (dataClassification)

Value	Description	Example
public	Can be freely shared	Product descriptions, company news
internal	For internal organizational use	Employee directories, procedures
confidential	Sensitive, requires protection	Customer data, financial details
restricted	Highly sensitive, limited access	PII, payment data, trade secrets
topSecret	Highest classification level	Strategic plans, M&A data

Data Quality (dataQuality)

Value	Description	Example
highQuality	Excellent quality, well-governed	Master data with validation
goodQuality	Above average quality	Curated analytical data
acceptableQuality	Meets minimum standards	Operational data with known issues
poorQuality	Below standards, needs improvement	Legacy data, ungoverned sources
unknownQuality	Quality not assessed	New or ungoverned data

Update Frequency (updateFrequency)

Value	Description	Example
continuous	Updated continuously, as a stream	Sensor telemetry
realTime	Updated as events occur	Event streams, live feeds
hourly	Updated every hour	Near real-time analytics
daily	Updated daily	Daily batch loads
weekly	Updated weekly	Weekly reports
monthly	Updated monthly	Monthly aggregates
quarterly	Updated quarterly	Quarterly reports
semiAnnually	Updated twice a year	Half-year statements
annually	Updated annually	Annual summaries
eventDriven	Updated when a defined event occurs	Updated on regulatory change
onDemand	Updated when requested	User-triggered refreshes
adHoc	Updated as needed, without a set schedule	Occasional corrections
static	Not regularly updated	Reference data, archives

Information Lifecycle (lifecycle)

Value	Description	Example
creation	Initial data creation	New data capture
activeUse	Actively used in operations	Production data
maintenance	Being maintained and updated	Active master data
archive	Archived for retention	Historical records
disposal	Being disposed or deleted	End of retention
migration	Being migrated to new systems	System transitions

Compliance Requirements (compliance)

Value	Description
gdpr	EU General Data Protection Regulation
hipaa	US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
sox	US Sarbanes-Oxley Act
pciDss	Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard
industryStandards	Industry-specific standards
internalPolicies	Organization-specific policies

Market Position (marketPosition)

Value	Description
industryLeader	Information management sets the standard for the industry
strongPosition	Ahead of most peers
competitive	On a par with peers
developing	Behind peers but improving
lagging	Well behind peers

Investment Level (investmentLevel)

Value	Description
highInvestment	Significant ongoing investment required
mediumInvestment	Moderate investment required
lowInvestment	Limited investment required
minimalInvestment	Little or no investment beyond running costs

maturityLevel uses the shared maturity list (initial, repeatable, defined, managed, optimizing) and riskCategories the shared risk category list, both in common.schema.json.

Information Element (informationElement)

Each entry in informationElements is an Information Element.

Attribute	Type	Description	Required
title	String	Name/title of the element	✓
description	String	Detailed explanation	✓
purpose	String	The intended purpose or function of the Information element	✓
owner	String	The individual or team responsible for the Information element
orgUnitTitle	String	The organization unit(s) involved with the Information element
orgUnitID	String	ID of the organization unit named in orgUnitTitle
elementType	Enum	Type of information element (see below)
dataType	String	Technical data type
size	String	Size or volume of the element
constraints	String	Data constraints and rules
defaultValue	String	Default values or behaviors
businessRules	String	Business rules applied
relationships	String	Relationships to other information elements
quality	String	Element-specific quality measures
sensitivity	Enum	Sensitivity level of the element (see below)
retention	String	Retention policies specific to this element
access	String	Access controls and permissions
transformations	String	Data transformations applied to the element
validations	String	Data validation procedures
sources	String	Source systems or processes for this element
usage	String	How the element is typically used
performance	String	Performance characteristics
monitoring	String	Monitoring and alerting
documentation	String	Documentation and metadata

Element Type (elementType)

Value	Description
table	A database table or equivalent structure
field	A single field or column
file	A file
stream	A data stream or topic
object	A structured object, such as a JSON or API object
document	A document
image	An image
reportSection	A section of a report

Element Sensitivity (sensitivity)

Value	Description
public	Can be freely shared
internal	For internal organizational use
confidential	Sensitive, requires protection
restricted	Highly sensitive, limited access

Domain Relationships

The Information domain integrates with other metamodel domains:

Target Domain	Relationship Type	Description
Organization	Ownership	Organization units own and manage information assets
Stakeholder	Consumption	Stakeholders consume and interact with information
Capabilities	Enablement	Information enables organizational capabilities
Strategy	Support	Information supports strategic objectives
Products	Integration	Information is integrated into products and services
Services	Utilization	Services consume and generate information
Performance	Measurement	Information provides metrics for performance monitoring
Initiatives	Development	Information assets developed through programs and projects
Policy	Governance	Information governed by organizational policies
Value Stream	Flow	Information flows through value streams

Examples

Example 1: Operational Database

{
  "informationID": "INFO-001",
  "title": "Customer Transaction Database",
  "description": "Comprehensive database containing all customer transaction records, payment details, and purchase history for operational and analytical purposes",
  "purpose": "Support real-time transaction processing and enable customer analytics and business intelligence",
  "owner": "Chief Data Officer",
  "orgUnitTitle": "Data and Analytics Division",
  "orgUnitID": "OU-001",
  "informationCategory": "operationalData",
  "informationType": "database",
  "dataClassification": "confidential",
  "dataQuality": "highQuality",
  "format": "PostgreSQL relational database with JSON fields for flexible attributes",
  "volume": "2.5TB database with 50M transaction records, growing by 100K records daily",
  "updateFrequency": "realTime",
  "retention": "Active transactions for 7 years, archived for additional 10 years",
  "sources": "POS systems, e-commerce platform, mobile app, customer service systems",
  "consumers": "Analytics platform, fraud detection system, customer service tools, executive dashboards",
  "dataOwner": "Chief Data Officer",
  "dataSteward": "Customer Data Steward, Data Governance Office",
  "compliance": [
    "gdpr",
    "pciDss",
    "internalPolicies"
  ],
  "security": "AES-256 encryption, role-based access control, audit logging, network isolation",
  "privacy": "Data masking in non-production, anonymization for analytics, consent management",
  "quality": "99.8% accuracy with real-time validation, automated quality monitoring",
  "lineage": "Source → ETL → Data warehouse → Analytics mart → Reports",
  "businessValue": "Enables $3M annual revenue optimization through customer insights and fraud prevention",
  "informationElements": [
    {
      "title": "Transaction Amount",
      "description": "Monetary value of individual customer transactions",
      "purpose": "Record the value of each transaction for financial reporting and analytics",
      "elementType": "field",
      "dataType": "DECIMAL(10,2)",
      "constraints": "NOT NULL, positive value only",
      "sensitivity": "confidential"
    }
  ]
}

Example 2: Business Intelligence Repository

{
  "informationID": "INFO-002",
  "title": "Market Intelligence Repository",
  "description": "Centralized repository of market research, competitive intelligence, industry trends, and strategic analysis",
  "purpose": "Provide comprehensive market insights to support strategic planning and competitive positioning",
  "owner": "Director of Strategic Intelligence",
  "orgUnitTitle": "Strategy and Planning Division",
  "orgUnitID": "OU-002",
  "informationCategory": "intelligence",
  "informationType": "knowledgeBase",
  "dataClassification": "confidential",
  "dataQuality": "goodQuality",
  "format": "Mixed format repository: documents, spreadsheets, databases, web content",
  "volume": "500GB of documents, reports, and datasets updated weekly",
  "updateFrequency": "weekly",
  "retention": "Current intelligence for 3 years, archived for historical reference",
  "sources": "Market research firms, industry reports, competitive analysis, internal research",
  "consumers": "Executive team, product managers, strategic planning team, business development",
  "dataOwner": "Director of Strategic Intelligence",
  "dataSteward": "Market Intelligence Analyst Lead",
  "compliance": [
    "internalPolicies",
    "industryStandards"
  ],
  "security": "Document-level access controls, watermarking, secure sharing protocols",
  "quality": "Expert review process, source verification, regular content updates",
  "businessValue": "Supports strategic decisions worth $10M+ annually in market opportunities",
  "strategicAlignment": "Directly supports market expansion and competitive strategy initiatives",
  "informationElements": [
    {
      "title": "Competitive Analysis Reports",
      "description": "Detailed analysis of competitor strategies, strengths, and market positioning",
      "purpose": "Inform strategic positioning against key competitors",
      "elementType": "document",
      "sensitivity": "restricted",
      "businessRules": "Quarterly updates required, executive approval for sharing"
    }
  ]
}

Example 3: Real-time Data Stream

{
  "informationID": "INFO-003",
  "title": "IoT Sensor Data Stream",
  "description": "Real-time data stream from IoT sensors monitoring infrastructure conditions, equipment performance, and environmental factors",
  "purpose": "Enable predictive maintenance, real-time monitoring, and operational optimization",
  "owner": "IoT Platform Manager",
  "orgUnitTitle": "Technology Operations Division",
  "orgUnitID": "OU-003",
  "informationCategory": "operationalData",
  "informationType": "realTimeStream",
  "dataClassification": "internal",
  "dataQuality": "highQuality",
  "format": "Apache Kafka streams with Avro schema",
  "volume": "10M events per day, 500GB daily storage",
  "updateFrequency": "realTime",
  "sources": "Temperature sensors, vibration monitors, GPS trackers, environmental sensors",
  "consumers": "Predictive maintenance system, operations dashboard, alerting platform",
  "dataOwner": "Chief Technology Officer",
  "dataSteward": "IoT Platform Manager",
  "interfaces": "Kafka Consumer API, REST API for historical queries",
  "quality": "99.9% data completeness, automated anomaly detection"
}

Implementation Guidelines

Information Modeling Best Practices

1. Start with business context — Understand how information supports business outcomes
2. Define clear ownership — Assign accountable owners for each information asset
3. Classify consistently — Apply classification standards across all assets
4. Document lineage — Track data from source to consumption
5. Measure quality — Establish and monitor quality metrics

Data Governance Framework

OpenMetadata Integration

For Data Platform Teams

The Information domain maps directly to OpenMetadata entities:

Triodian Element	OpenMetadata Entity	Notes
Information Asset	Table /Topic /Dashboard	Core data asset
Information Category	Domain	Business domain grouping
Data Classification	Tier	Sensitivity classification
Data Quality	Test Suite	Quality test results
Information Element	Column /Field	Schema elements
Lineage	Lineage	Data flow tracking
Owner	Owner	Ownership assignment
Compliance	Tag /Classification	Compliance tags

# Example: Map Triodian Information to OpenMetadata Table
def create_om_table(info_asset):
    """
    Map Triodian Information asset to OpenMetadata Table entity
    """
    return {
        "name": info_asset["title"].lower().replace(" ", "_"),
        "displayName": info_asset["title"],
        "description": info_asset["description"],
        "tableType": "Regular",
        "columns": [
            {
                "name": elem["title"].lower().replace(" ", "_"),
                "displayName": elem["title"],
                "dataType": elem.get("dataType", "STRING"),
                "description": elem["description"],
                "tags": [
                    {"tagFQN": f"Sensitivity.{elem.get('sensitivity', 'internal')}"}
                ]
            }
            for elem in info_asset.get("informationElements", [])
        ],
        "owner": {
            "name": info_asset.get("dataOwner", info_asset["owner"]),
            "type": "user"
        },
        "tags": [
            {"tagFQN": f"DataClassification.{info_asset['dataClassification']}"},
            {"tagFQN": f"InformationCategory.{info_asset['informationCategory']}"}
        ],
        "extension": {
            "informationID": info_asset["informationID"],
            "dataSteward": info_asset.get("dataSteward"),
            "updateFrequency": info_asset.get("updateFrequency"),
            "dataQuality": info_asset.get("dataQuality"),
            "businessValue": info_asset.get("businessValue"),
            "retention": info_asset.get("retention")
        }
    }

Schema Reference

• Repository: Triodian/Triodian_Metamodel
• Schema: information.schema.json
• Specification: JSON Schema Draft-07
• License: Apache License 2.0

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