> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL.
> For a complete documentation index, see https://tieback.io/docs/llms.txt.
> For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://tieback.io/docs/_mcp/server.

# Data Architecture

> The structural design describing what data an organisation holds, where it originates, how it is modelled, how it moves between systems and how it is governed and consumed.

## Definition

The structural design of an organisation's data: what information it holds, how that information
is modelled and classified, where each element originates, how it moves between systems, and how
it is governed, secured and consumed. It describes structure and intent rather than any particular
product or platform.

## Expanded Explanation

A data architecture is usually expressed as a set of related views. A conceptual view names the
entities the business cares about, such as product, supplier, material and batch, and the
relationships between them. A logical view defines attributes, data types, permitted values and
identifiers without reference to a specific technology. A physical view records how those structures
are implemented in the systems actually in use.

Alongside those views sit the flows: which system creates each element, which systems consume it, by
what mechanism, at what frequency, and which transformations occur along the way. Flow description
is what turns an inventory of systems into an architecture, because it exposes where authority is
lost, where values are duplicated and where a change in one system silently alters another.

A reference architecture is a related but distinct idea. A reference architecture is a general,
non-binding model showing how a class of capability can be structured. An organisation's data
architecture is its own specific design, which may or may not follow such a model.

## Why It Matters

Digital Product Passport publication draws on many systems at once and must produce one coherent,
externally visible answer per field. Without a described architecture, programmes cannot say where a
required attribute originates, whether it is duplicated, or what breaks when it changes, and they
tend to discover those answers during integration rather than during design.

## Common Misconceptions

#### Data architecture is a diagram of databases

System inventories are only the physical view. The architecture is the modelled meaning, authority
and movement of information, which a database diagram does not convey.

#### A reference architecture is a required design

Reference models are educational and non-binding. They inform an organisation's own architecture
rather than prescribing it, and they are not regulatory requirements.

## Related Terms

* [System of Record](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/system-of-record)
* [Master Data Management](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/master-data-management)
* [Product Master Data](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/product-master-data)
* [Product Data Governance](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/data-governance)

## Related Knowledge Base Articles

* [Building an Enterprise Digital Product Passport Architecture](/docs/knowledge-base/enterprise-systems-and-data-architecture/building-an-enterprise-digital-product-passport-architecture)
* [How Enterprise Systems Support Digital Product Passports](/docs/knowledge-base/enterprise-systems-and-data-architecture/how-enterprise-systems-support-digital-product-passports)
* [ERP vs PIM vs PLM: What's the Difference?](/docs/knowledge-base/enterprise-systems-and-data-architecture/erp-vs-pim-vs-plm)

## Related Articles

* [Authoritative Source](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/authoritative-source)
* [Golden Record](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/golden-record)
* [Product Data Governance](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/data-governance)
* [Product Data Quality](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/data-quality)
* [Product Data Stewardship](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/data-stewardship)
* [Product Master Data](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/product-master-data)
* [Source of Truth](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/source-of-truth)
* [System of Record](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/system-of-record)

## See Also

* [Enterprise Systems and Data Architecture](/docs/knowledge-base/enterprise-systems-and-data-architecture/overview)
* [Implementation](/docs/knowledge-base/implementation/overview)

## References

* ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010, architecture description: [https://www.iso.org/standard/74393.html](https://www.iso.org/standard/74393.html)
* ISO/IEC 11179, metadata registries: [https://www.iso.org/standard/78914.html](https://www.iso.org/standard/78914.html)

## About This Article

About This Article

<dl>
  <dt>
    Last Reviewed
  </dt>

  <dd>
    2026-08-09
  </dd>

  <dt>
    Next Scheduled Review
  </dt>

  <dd>
    2027-08-09
  </dd>

  <dt>
    Article Version
  </dt>

  <dd>
    1.0
  </dd>
</dl>

tieback Knowledge is a continuously maintained reference library covering Digital Product
Passports, product traceability, product compliance and related regulations. Articles are
reviewed regularly as legislation, standards and implementation guidance evolve.

## Related Docs

* [Enterprise Systems and Data Architecture](/docs/knowledge-base/enterprise-systems-and-data-architecture/overview)
* [Implementation](/docs/knowledge-base/implementation/overview)
* [Digital Product Passports](/docs/knowledge-base/digital-product-passports/overview)
* [Glossary](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/overview)