Application Discovery and Understanding
Encyclopedia
Application discovery and understanding (ADU) is the process of automatically analyzing artifacts of a software application and determining metadata
structures associated with the application in the form of lists of data element
s and business rule
s. The relationships discovered between this application and a central metadata registry
is then stored in the metadata registry itself.
Impact analysis allows managers to know that if specific structures are changed or removed altogether, what the impact of those changes might be to enterprise-wide systems.
The output of the ADU process frequently includes:
Note that a registered data element is any data element that already exists within a metadata registry
Metadata
The term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...
structures associated with the application in the form of lists of data element
Data element
In metadata, the term data element is an atomic unit of data that has precise meaning or precise semantics. A data element has:# An identification such as a data element name# A clear data element definition# One or more representation terms...
s and business rule
Business rule
A Business rule is a statement that defines or constrains some aspect of the business and always resolves to either true or false. Business rules are intended to assert business structure or to control or influence the behavior of the business. Business rules describe the operations, definitions...
s. The relationships discovered between this application and a central metadata registry
Metadata registry
A metadata registry is a central location in an organization where metadata definitions are stored and maintained in a controlled method.-Use of Metadata Registries:...
is then stored in the metadata registry itself.
Business benefits of ADU
ADU saves a great deal of time and expense for organizations that are involved in the change control and impact analysis of complex computer systems.Impact analysis allows managers to know that if specific structures are changed or removed altogether, what the impact of those changes might be to enterprise-wide systems.
ADU process
ADU software is usually written to scan the following application structures:- RDBMS tables and columns
- Application source codeSource codeIn computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
- User interfaces (searching for labels of forms)
- Reports
The output of the ADU process frequently includes:
- Lists of previously registered data elements discovered within an application
- List of unregistered data elements discovered
Note that a registered data element is any data element that already exists within a metadata registry
See also
- metadataMetadataThe term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...
- metadata registryMetadata registryA metadata registry is a central location in an organization where metadata definitions are stored and maintained in a controlled method.-Use of Metadata Registries:...
- data elementData elementIn metadata, the term data element is an atomic unit of data that has precise meaning or precise semantics. A data element has:# An identification such as a data element name# A clear data element definition# One or more representation terms...
- ASG-becubic
- EZ Legacy
- Mapador