Pronunciation

In a broad sense, creating an instance of a real object from an abstract template through assignment of properties.

In Master Data Management this refers to assigning type to an entity to create a unique instance of that entity. Type is a set of rules that dictate how the entity can behave. This allows entity to be assigned appropriate attributes and relationships.

The term can take on special meanings depending on field, such as programming where an object can be an instance of a class, or database design where an instance can be an individual row or entry.

Information Architecture