Chapter 15.1

The System of Record

Abstract

At the heart of all data processing is the need to believe the data on which one is
operating. There is no point to doing data processing if you can’t believe the data that are
being operated on. Central to the success of believability of data is the concept known as
the “system of record.” The system of record is the place where the one and only
believable version of data resides. The system of record must be carefully constructed
and protected.

Keywords

System of record; Cycle of awareness; End state architecture; Data lake; Data mart; Data
warehouse; Flow of data; Auditing; Text

End users throughout time have gone through a predictable cycle when it comes to the
awareness of the end user to the computer. This cycle of end user awareness is as old as
the day the first computer was built, and this cycle appears and reappears in many forms.
The first part of the cycle starts when the end user first encounters the computer, saying
“I want my data.”

The End User Cycle of Awareness

Fig. 15.1.1 shows the first thing the end user wants.

Chapter 15.1: The System of Record