General Guidelines for Setting Up an Information Model


The Information Model (IM) concept aims to supply each end user with the data they need, with a minimum of effort and confusion.  Consequently, when building an IM, it is important to understand who the end users are and what data they require for their work.

Who are the end users?

Permissions are set on the folder level. Finding groups of users who work on related data will give you a good clue about the folder structure you should implement. Do not give all users access to everything - this will only cause confusion.

What data do they need?

What information is needed? How much data can users handle in a single request? Are there any commonly used threshold values? Answering these questions will guide you in setting up the correct joins, columns and filters.

Will users build their own information links?

Some end users will want to use the column and filter elements that you design, and assemble their own information links using Information Designer. Others will be less experienced, or may perform repetitive tasks. For these you should consider preparing complete information links in advance.

Tip: If your data source contains well-ordered data you can right-click on the data source and select Create Default Information Model... in order to quickly set up a simple information model.

See also:

Creating a New Folder

Creating a Join

Creating a Column Element

Creating a Filter Element

Setting Folder Permissions