The Purpose of the Raw Model is to describe the data to be loaded into the Raw Vault layer of the Data Vault.
The structure of the Raw Model is highly dependent on the format of the source data, but it does not have to be identical to it. If it makes sense to restructure the data in order to get a more usable Raw Model, it should be done, or at least considered. However, the auditability of the solution should not suffer due to any restructuring, so only hard rules may be applied at this point. Usually this might involve normalizations and other kinds of restructuring, as long as the process does not change the content of the data.
Even though the structure is dependent on the source data, care should be taken that the terminology used in the model (class, role and attribute names) is business driven.
Once the Raw Model is augmented with mapping data (source data mapped to model elements) and other metadata, D♯ Engine will generate a fully functional Raw Vault of it, complete with ETL/ELT code. On top of the Data Vault structure, D♯ generates a view layer that publishes the content of the Raw Vault in a 3NF-normalized view layer that fully corresponds to the original Raw Model, as modeled. So for all practical purposes, D♯ abstracts away the entire Data Vault implementation and lets the Data Scientist / BI Developer work with “normal” database objects that do not require knowledge of Data Vault.
The Business Model
The Business Model is a source system independent model that describes the real world using well-established terms, and on a detail level that serves the purpose of the solution. It represents the real world the way the customer interprets it, so whereas the Raw Model is data driven, the Business Model is a pure business driven model.
Technically, the Business Model represents the publishing layer of the data defined by the Raw Model.
A class in the Business Model is implemented using a hub/satellite/link structure that can be populated using any desired technique. The content in these tables is then published as a view, exactly like in the case of the Raw Model. Additionally, other classes can be directly mapped to the Business Model class, in which case each incoming data flow defined by the mapping will be added to the data in the Business Vault structure at the view level.
See how to implement the Business Model mappings in Visual Paradigm here.
Ellie does not currently support Business Model mappings.
