page_title: IDEF1X
section_title: Modeling guidelines
hierarchical_section_title: IDEF1X / IDEF1X topics / Modeling guidelines
caption_attribution_description: English: Figure A3 2 Synthesizing an Entity
context_page_description: Integration DEFinition for information modeling is a data modeling language for the development of semantic data models. IDEF1X is used to produce a graphical information model which represents the structure and semantics of information within an environment or system.
  IDEF1X permits the construction of semantic data models which may serve to support the management of data as a resource, the integration of information systems, and the building of computer databases. This standard is part of the IDEF family of modeling languages in the field of software engineering.
context_section_description: The modeling process can be divided into five stages of model developing.
  Phase zero – project Initiation
  The objectives of the project initiation phase include:
  Project definition – a general statement of what has to be done, why, and how it will get done
  Source material – a plan for the acquisition of source material, including indexing and filing
  Author conventions – a fundamental declaration of the conventions (optional methods) by which the author chooses to make and manage the model.
  Phase one – entity definition
  The objective of the entity definition phase is to identify and define the entities that fall within the problem domain being modeled.
  Phase two – relationship definition
  The objective of the relationship definition phase is to identify and define the basic relationships between entities. At this stage of modeling, some relationships may be non-specific and will require additional refinement in subsequent phases. The primary outputs from phase two are:
  Relationship matrix
  Relationship definitions
  Entity-level diagrams.
  Phase three - key definitions
  The objectives of the key definitions phase are to:
  Refine the non-specific relationships from phase two
  Define key attributes for each entity
  Migrate primary keys to establish foreign keys
  Validate relationships and keys.
  Phase four - attribute definition
  The objectives of the attribute definition phase are to:
  Develop an attribute pool
  Establish attribute ownership
  Define monkey attributes
  Validate and refine the data structure.
caption: Synthesizing an entity in phase one – entity definition
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