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Data Classification

2026-02-25   0  Report

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Data is categorized and defined based on its characteristics and governance methods: internal and external data, structured and unstructured data, and metadata. Structured data is further divided into basic data, master data, transaction data, report data, observation data, and rule data.

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By data sovereignty

External Data

Data obtained through the public domain

It objectively exists, and its production and modification are not affected by the enterprise.

Country, region, currency, exchange rate

Internal Data

Data generated by operations within the enterprise

It is generated in the enterprise's business processes or defined in business management, and is affected by the enterprise's operations.

Contract, project, organization

By data storage characteristics

Structured Data

It can be stored in a relational database and use a two-dimensional table structure to express the realized data

❶ Relational databases can be used for storage.
❷ The data structure must be established first, then the data is generated.

Country, currency, organization, product, customer

Unstructured Data Unstructured Data

Data whose form is relatively unstable and is not convenient to be represented by two-dimensional logical tables of the database

❶ Diverse formats, unsuitable for storage using relational databases
❷ Typically large data volumes

Pictures, files, videos, audio, XML

Reference Data Basic Data

Data that describes attributes in a structured language and is used for classification or cataloguing, also known asreference data

❶ Typically has a limited range of allowed/optional values
❷ Static data, very stable, can be used for business purposes

Contract type, country, currency

Master Data Master Data

Data with high business value that can be reused across processes and systems within the enterprise, withthe only accurate and authoritative data source

❶ Typically, these are participants in business events and can be repeatedly invoked across processes and systems within the enterprise.
❷ Their values are not limited to a predefined data range.
❸ They objectively exist before the business event occurs and are relatively stable.
❹ Supplementary descriptions of master data can be categorized under master data.

Basic information of entity organizations, suppliers, customers, and personnel

Transactional Data

Used to record business events occurring during enterprise operations, and its essence is data generated by activities between master data

❶ It has a strong time sensitivity and is usually a one-time event.
❷ Transaction data cannot exist independently of master data.

BOQ, payment order, master production plan

Observation Data

Observers obtain recorded data on the behavior/process of the observed object through observation tools

❶ Typically involves large volumes of data
❷ The data is process-oriented and primarily used for monitoring and analysis
❸ Can be collected automatically by machines

System logs, IoT data, transportation processes
GPS data generated in

Conditional Data Rule Data

Data that structurally describes business rule variables (generally in the form of decision tables, association tables, score cards, etc.) is the core data for implementing business rules.

❶ Rule data cannot be instantiated; it exists only as a logical entity.
❷ The structure of rule data is relatively stable in both vertical and horizontal dimensions; changes primarily occur through content updates.
❸ Changes to rule data have a wide-ranging impact on business activities.

Employee reimbursement compliance scoring rules, travel subsidy rules

Report Data Report Data

Refers to the data that is used as the basis for business decisions after being processed

❶ Data processing is usually required.
❷ Data from different sources often needs to be cleaned, transformed, and integrated for better analysis.
❸ Dimensions and metrics can both be included in the report data.

Revenue, costs

Data description methods

Meta Data metadata

Data that defines data is information about the physical data used by an enterprise, technical and business process data rules and constraints, and the physical and logical structure of the data

These are descriptive tags that describe data (such as database data elements and data models), related concepts (such as business processes, application systems, software code, and technical architecture), and the relationships between them.

Data standards, business terms, indicator definitions