Informationsmodellierung

An information model, or Informationsmodell in German, is an abstract representation of information and its relationships designed to support the organization, storage, retrieval, and use of data. It defines what data are important and how they relate, independent of any particular technology or implementation. Information models aim to separate data structure from data content, enabling clear communication among stakeholders and facilitating data quality and interoperability.

Information models are typically described at three levels: conceptual, focusing on high-level entities and relationships; logical, organizing data into structures such as tables or classes and defining keys and constraints; and physical, detailing how the model is implemented in a specific database or storage system. Core elements include entities or classes, attributes, relationships, keys, and constraints such as cardinality and referential integrity. Models may employ different paradigms, including entity-relationship diagrams, UML class diagrams, ontology languages like RDF and OWL, or domain-specific modelling languages.

Standards and methodologies include database design, data governance, and metadata frameworks such as ISO 11179. Information modeling supports data integration, information architecture, and knowledge representation, and underpins activities from database design to the development of knowledge graphs. The concept originated in the database era with the entity-relationship model developed by Peter Chen, which influenced subsequent data modelling approaches and semantic technologies. Today, information modeling spans traditional relational design and modern semantic and ontology-based representations.