Core Models
3D Core → Domain Core → Business-Unit Core → Local Extension
The layers run from definitions we can reuse widely to requirements specific to one implementation.
3D Core
Structures used across organizations and domains.
Domain Core
Structures shared within a sector or domain.
Business-Unit Core
Structures, relationships, values, and supported functionality for a particular business function. These can be reused across jurisdictions and implementations.
Local Extension
Additional definitions for a jurisdiction, organization, or implementation.
Stable Structures at the Core
When we compare similar information across systems, many of the same attributes keep appearing. They often change very little over time.
A financial transaction still needs many of the attributes used in early financial systems. An application may need extra information, but the basic concepts remain much the same.
We can define these common structures once and reuse them for functionality and data exchange. Each system does not have to invent another way to represent the same information.
Extend Rather Than Redesign
Business units have different requirements. Reuse what they share and add what each one needs.
Two jurisdictions can extend the same Business-Unit Core differently. They can still exchange the information they share because its definitions remain compatible.