How to design the master data architecture: Findings from a case study at Bosch

Master data management (MDM) is a topic of increasing prominence both in the scientific and in the practitioners’ information systems (IS) community. As a prerequisite for meeting strategic business requirements, such as compliance with regulations, business integration, or integrated customer management, MDM comprises numerous activities. One of the central activities is designing and maintaining the master data architecture. Interestingly, though, the scientific community has remained almost silent with regard to the question as to how companies should proceed when designing the master data architecture. In order to shed light on this unexplored topic, the paper at hand presents the findings of a case study at Bosch Group. The case study shows that designing the master data architecture is a multidimensional task which requires balancing the interests of various organizational stakeholders, managing an array of technical opportunities, and meeting requirements of numerous master data classes. Also, the case study suggests that taking advantage of architectural design patterns may be an appropriate way to adequately address the complexity of the task.

► This paper reports on the design of the master data architecture at Bosch. ► Master data design comprises both organizational and technical aspects. ► Architectural design patterns are an adequate approach to address the complexity of the task. ► Master data architecture design is subject to contingency factors and evolves over time.