What is Data Modeling? Conceptual, Logical & Physical Explained

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A professional-level summary covering key definitions, frameworks, and exam-relevant points.

Data Modeling Levels Comparison

Level	Audience	Detail	Technology	Purpose
Conceptual	Business stakeholders	Low (entities and relationships only)	Independent	Requirements; communication
Logical	Business + technical	Medium (all attributes, keys, relationships)	Independent	Detailed design; documentation
Physical	Technical (DBAs)	High (tables, columns, types, indexes)	Specific	Database implementation

Normalisation Forms

Normal Form	Rule	Eliminates
1NF	Atomic values; no repeating groups	Repeating groups and multi-valued attributes
2NF	Full dependency on entire primary key	Partial dependencies (in composite key tables)
3NF	No transitive dependencies	Dependencies between non-key attributes
BCNF	Every determinant is a candidate key	Anomalies not addressed by 3NF

CDMP Exam Relevance

Data Modeling & Design is one of the four highest-weighted knowledge areas in the CDMP exam (11%). Key exam topics include: the three levels of data modeling and their differences, the normalisation forms and what each eliminates, the difference between star and snowflake schemas in dimensional modeling, and the role of data modeling in the data architecture and governance frameworks.

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