Overview

Having completed an analysis of individual column properties, the next step is to look at structure constraints that are, or should be, defined over the data. This may reveal additional problems in the data.

There are two issues to look for in structure analysis. One is to find violations to the rules that should apply. This points to inaccurate data. The other is to determine and document the structure rules of the metadata. This can be extremely valuable when moving data, mapping it to other structures, or merging it with other data.

Structure rules are often ignored when looking at data. This can have serious consequences when trying to extract the data for use in other data structures. The primary reason for ignoring them is that the analyst is not familiar with the basic concepts of database architecture. This makes structure analysis difficult. It is important that this step be performed by someone who has the right background. Any analyst can learn the basic concepts and should take the time to do so.