Inter-Unit Relationships

Inter-unit domain relationships describe how organizational units (business units, departments, divisions, teams) interact with domain entities across the enterprise. While cross-domain relationships connect entities of different domain types, inter-unit relationships focus on the organizational dimension—capturing who owns, provides, consumes, governs, or supports specific domain entities.

Schema Version: 2.1
Schema Location: /schemas/extensions/inter-unit-relationships.schema.json
Specification: JSON Schema Draft-07

Overview

Why Inter-Unit Relationships Matter

Modern organizations are complex networks of units that collaborate, share resources, and exercise oversight across boundaries. Inter-unit relationships make these interactions explicit:

Accountability clarity — Define who owns and who governs domain entities
Service relationships — Model internal provider-consumer patterns
Dependency visibility — Understand which units depend on others
Governance mapping — Track oversight and stewardship responsibilities
Resource optimization — Identify shared capabilities and reduce duplication

Relationship with RACI

Inter-unit relationships extend and complement traditional RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) models by providing richer semantic meaning. Where RACI answers "who does what role," inter-unit relationships answer "how do organizational units interact with domain entities."

Core Relationship Types

The Orthogramic Metamodel defines eight core inter-unit relationship types:

Owning

A unit that has primary ownership, control, and accountability for a domain entity.

Property	Description
Semantics	Ultimate authority and decision rights over the entity
Implied	Budget responsibility, strategic direction, lifecycle management
Typical Domains	Capabilities, Products, Services, Information

{
  "interUnitRelationship": {
    "id": "iur-001",
    "unitId": "wealth-management-division",
    "domainType": "capabilities",
    "entityId": "portfolio-management",
    "relationshipType": "owning",
    "effectiveDate": "2023-01-01",
    "description": "Wealth Management owns the Portfolio Management capability"
  }
}

Providing

A unit that delivers, supplies, or makes available a domain entity for use by others.

Property	Description
Semantics	Creates, maintains, and offers the entity as a service
Implied	Service levels, operational responsibility, availability commitment
Typical Domains	Services, Products, Information, Technology

{
  "interUnitRelationship": {
    "id": "iur-002",
    "unitId": "enterprise-technology",
    "domainType": "services",
    "entityId": "identity-management-service",
    "relationshipType": "providing",
    "serviceLevelAgreement": "SLA-IAM-001",
    "availabilityTarget": "99.9%"
  }
}

Consuming

A unit that uses, depends on, or receives outputs from a domain entity.

Property	Description
Semantics	Relies on the entity for operational or strategic purposes
Implied	Usage requirements, dependency on availability
Typical Domains	Services, Capabilities, Information, Products

{
  "interUnitRelationship": {
    "id": "iur-003",
    "unitId": "retail-banking",
    "domainType": "capabilities",
    "entityId": "customer-data-management",
    "relationshipType": "consuming",
    "criticality": "high",
    "usagePattern": "real-time",
    "description": "Retail Banking consumes customer data management capability for onboarding"
  }
}

Benefiting

A unit that receives indirect value or advantage from a domain entity without direct operational involvement.

Property	Description
Semantics	Gains value from outcomes or existence of the entity
Implied	Stakeholder interest, indirect dependency
Typical Domains	Initiatives, Value Streams, Products, Performance

{
  "interUnitRelationship": {
    "id": "iur-004",
    "unitId": "corporate-strategy",
    "domainType": "initiatives",
    "entityId": "digital-transformation-program",
    "relationshipType": "benefiting",
    "benefitType": "strategic-positioning",
    "description": "Corporate Strategy benefits from improved market position"
  }
}

Custodian

A unit that has stewardship responsibility for a domain entity's quality, compliance, or standards without ownership authority.

Property	Description
Semantics	Maintains quality, ensures compliance, guards standards
Implied	Quality oversight, compliance monitoring, standards enforcement
Typical Domains	Information, Policy, Products, Services

{
  "interUnitRelationship": {
    "id": "iur-005",
    "unitId": "data-governance-office",
    "domainType": "information",
    "entityId": "customer-master-data",
    "relationshipType": "custodian",
    "stewardshipScope": ["data-quality", "classification", "retention"],
    "description": "Data Governance Office ensures customer data quality and compliance"
  }
}

Dependent

A unit whose operations are materially affected by the availability or performance of a domain entity.

Property	Description
Semantics	Operations would be impacted if the entity is unavailable
Implied	Risk exposure, continuity requirements
Typical Domains	Capabilities, Services, Technology, Information

{
  "interUnitRelationship": {
    "id": "iur-006",
    "unitId": "trading-operations",
    "domainType": "technology",
    "entityId": "market-data-feed",
    "relationshipType": "dependent",
    "dependencyLevel": "critical",
    "impactIfUnavailable": "Trading halt - regulatory reporting failure",
    "recoveryTimeObjective": "PT15M"
  }
}

Supporting

A unit that provides assistance, resources, or enablement to help another unit with a domain entity.

Property	Description
Semantics	Enables or assists without primary responsibility
Implied	Advisory role, resource provision, specialist expertise
Typical Domains	Capabilities, Initiatives, Services

{
  "interUnitRelationship": {
    "id": "iur-007",
    "unitId": "enterprise-architecture",
    "domainType": "initiatives",
    "entityId": "cloud-migration-program",
    "relationshipType": "supporting",
    "supportType": "advisory",
    "engagementModel": "embedded-architect",
    "description": "EA provides architecture guidance and standards support"
  }
}

Governing

A unit that exercises oversight, control, or regulatory authority over a domain entity.

Property	Description
Semantics	Sets rules, approves changes, enforces compliance
Implied	Authority over decisions, approval rights, enforcement power
Typical Domains	Policy, Capabilities, Products, Services, Initiatives

{
  "interUnitRelationship": {
    "id": "iur-008",
    "unitId": "group-risk-management",
    "domainType": "capabilities",
    "entityId": "credit-decisioning",
    "relationshipType": "governing",
    "governanceScope": ["risk-appetite", "model-validation", "policy-compliance"],
    "escalationPath": "CRO",
    "description": "Group Risk governs credit decisioning capability compliance"
  }
}

Extended Relationship Types

Beyond the eight core types, organizations may require additional relationship types for specific contexts:

Contributing

A unit that provides partial input, expertise, or resources without being the primary provider.

{
  "relationshipType": "contributing",
  "contributionType": "subject-matter-expertise",
  "allocationPercentage": 20
}

Reviewing /Approving

A unit responsible for validation, approval, or sign-off on domain entity outputs or changes.

{
  "relationshipType": "reviewing",
  "reviewScope": ["compliance", "security"],
  "approvalAuthority": true
}

Monitoring

A unit that tracks performance, usage, or compliance without direct operational involvement.

{
  "relationshipType": "monitoring",
  "monitoringScope": ["SLA-compliance", "usage-patterns"],
  "alertThresholds": {"responseTime": "PT500MS", "availability": 99.5}
}

Coordinating

A unit that facilitates collaboration between multiple units involved with a domain entity.

{
  "relationshipType": "coordinating",
  "coordinationRole": "program-management-office",
  "unitsCoordinated": ["unit-a", "unit-b", "unit-c"]
}

Escalating To

A unit that receives escalated issues, exceptions, or decisions related to the domain entity.

{
  "relationshipType": "escalatingTo",
  "escalationTriggers": ["policy-exception", "threshold-breach"],
  "responseTimeExpectation": "PT4H"
}

Complete Relationship Reference

Relationship	Direction	Description
`owning`	Unit → Entity	Primary ownership and accountability
`providing`	Unit → Entity	Supplies or delivers as a service
`consuming`	Unit ← Entity	Uses or depends on for operations
`benefiting`	Unit ← Entity	Receives indirect value
`custodian`	Unit → Entity	Stewardship without ownership
`dependent`	Unit ← Entity	Operations affected by availability
`supporting`	Unit → Entity	Provides assistance or enablement
`governing`	Unit → Entity	Exercises oversight and control
`contributing`	Unit → Entity	Provides partial input
`reviewing`	Unit → Entity	Validates or approves
`monitoring`	Unit → Entity	Tracks without operational role
`coordinating`	Unit ↔ Units	Facilitates multi-unit collaboration
`escalatingTo`	Unit ← Entity	Receives escalated issues

Schema Definition

{
  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
  "$id": "https://orthogramic.com/schemas/extensions/inter-unit-relationships.schema.json",
  "title": "Inter-Unit Domain Relationship",
  "type": "object",
  "required": ["id", "unitId", "domainType", "entityId", "relationshipType"],
  "properties": {
    "id": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Unique identifier for the relationship"
    },
    "unitId": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Identifier of the organizational unit"
    },
    "domainType": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "The domain type of the entity"
    },
    "entityId": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Identifier of the domain entity"
    },
    "relationshipType": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": [
        "owning", "providing", "consuming", "benefiting",
        "custodian", "dependent", "supporting", "governing",
        "contributing", "reviewing", "monitoring", "coordinating", "escalatingTo"
      ]
    },
    "effectiveDate": {
      "type": "string",
      "format": "date"
    },
    "expiryDate": {
      "type": "string",
      "format": "date"
    },
    "description": {
      "type": "string"
    },
    "metadata": {
      "type": "object",
      "additionalProperties": true
    }
  }
}

Visualization Example

Usage Guidelines

When to Use Inter-Unit Relationships

Operating model design — Define how units collaborate around capabilities
Service catalog development — Map providers and consumers
Data governance implementation — Assign custodianship and ownership
Organizational change — Understand impact when restructuring
RACI enhancement — Provide richer context than basic RACI

Modeling Best Practices

Map ownership first — Start with clear owning relationships
Identify provider-consumer pairs — These drive service thinking
Don't over-model — Focus on material relationships
Include temporality — Use effective/expiry dates for transitions
Connect to governance — Ensure governing relationships support accountability

Federation Scenarios

For organizations modeling across enterprise boundaries (joint ventures, shared services, multi-agency programs), inter-unit relationships can span external organizations. See External Organizations for cross-enterprise modeling patterns.

For Data Engineers

Inter-unit relationships map directly to data ownership and stewardship concepts in data governance frameworks. When integrated with OpenMetadata, these relationships can populate owner assignments and data steward roles across business glossary terms.

Cross-Domain Relationships — Relationships between domain types
Relationship Directionality — Understanding relationship direction conventions
Organization Domain — Modeling organizational units

Overview​

Why Inter-Unit Relationships Matter​

Relationship with RACI​

Core Relationship Types​

Owning​

Providing​

Consuming​

Benefiting​

Custodian​

Dependent​

Supporting​

Governing​

Extended Relationship Types​

Contributing​

Reviewing /Approving​

Monitoring​

Coordinating​

Escalating To​

Complete Relationship Reference​

Schema Definition​

Visualization Example​

Usage Guidelines​

When to Use Inter-Unit Relationships​

Modeling Best Practices​

Federation Scenarios​

Related Documentation​