Custom MIM integration development
Appfront builds integrations with MIM, the Metamodel Informatiemodellering from Geonovum. Many public bodies record their registers and data in an information model based on MIM. We make sure that model does not remain mere documentation: we read the model in, generate schemas, APIs and validation from it, and check whether the software and data still match the model when it changes.
What is a MIM integration?
The Metamodel Informatiemodellering (MIM) is a Geonovum standard for how information models are structured. It is mainly used for public-sector registers, such as the basic registers, but it can be applied more widely. An information model based on MIM describes which objects exist, what data they hold, how they relate to one another and what they mean. It can be expressed in UML or as Linked Data.
Often the model remains documentation. It sits in a modelling tool, and developers build the database and API alongside it, by hand. When the model changes, the software falls behind. A value list in the model has different values from the database. And anyone wanting to know whether the data in the register matches the model has to work that out for themselves.
We build custom because every model and every organisation is different: which modelling tool you use, at what level the model is worked out, which software needs to connect to it, and how often the model changes. MIM is maintained by Geonovum; we make sure your software follows the model rather than running alongside it.
Model as source
The information model read in from the modelling tool or as Linked Data, as the source for the software.
Schemas and APIs
Database schemas, API specifications and validation rules derived from the model, not copied by hand.
Differences made visible
An overview of what changes between versions of the model, and where software or data diverge.
How we build your MIM integration
We start with your model: which tool, at what level of detail, which software needs to connect to it, and where things currently go out of step.
Your information model, modelling tool, level of detail and the software that connects to it.
Object types, attributes, relationships and value lists from the model.
Schemas, API specifications and validation derived from the model, and checks on software and data.
Differences between versions made visible, and management of new versions of the model or of MIM.
What a MIM integration concretely does
The components below feature in almost every MIM integration. Which ones you need depends on your model.
Reading in the model
From the modelling tool or as Linked Data.
Schemas
Database schemas derived from the model.
API specifications
API specifications following the model.
Validation
Rules for checking data against the model.
Documentation
Readable documentation of objects and definitions.
Versions
Differences between versions of the model.
Who we build a MIM integration for
The integration is intended for organisations where the information model and the software have drifted apart.
Register managers
A registration with its own model. Software that follows the model is the core.
Executors
Many systems with the same data. Shared definitions matter most.
Architects and modellers
Models that need to be usable. Deriving schemas from them is what's required.
Software suppliers
Building on a client's model. Checking for deviations is the core.
Technology and integrations
This page is about using information models in software according to MIM. For an Omgevingswet information model, see our page on an IMOW integration, for a base register, our page on a BAG API integration, and for architecture, our page on microservices architecture. You can read about our way of working under building software.
For conceptual frameworks published and used according to SKOS and NL-SBB, see our page on a SKOS integration.
Why choose Appfront for your MIM integration?
A model that is only documentation falls behind the software. We build on that: the model as the source, the schemas and APIs derived from it, and deviations made visible.
One source
The model determines the software, not the other way around.
Less manual work
Schemas and specifications are derived.
Deviations visible
Where software or data doesn't match, it is flagged.
Security and privacy in a MIM integration
The integration works with models and, at times, with data from registrations, which may contain personal data. Checks on data run within your environment where needed, and access is set up by role.
The integration runs in a European data centre or in your own environment, with encrypted storage and daily backups.
Frequently asked questions about a MIM integration
Questions that information architects and suppliers ask before getting started.
The Metamodel Informatiemodellering (MIM) is an agreement from Geonovum on how information models are drawn up. It is mainly used for government registrations, and can be elaborated in UML or as Linked Data.
It reads in an information model based on MIM, derives schemas, API specifications, validation rules and documentation from it, and checks whether software and data still match the model. This keeps the model as the source, even when it changes.
From the tool you use, if it can export the model, or as Linked Data. We'll look at which route suits your tool in the first step.
It can derive an API specification, following the conventions you use for that. We build the API itself from that specification, so it follows the model. Names and definitions in the API then match those in the model, which helps consumers.
The integration shows what changes between versions, and which schemas, specifications and software need to be adjusted as a result. This stops software quietly falling behind. A change that affects existing data, such as an attribute becoming mandatory, is flagged more prominently, so you know what needs to be filled in.
Yes. Data in a registration or database is checked against the rules in the model, such as mandatory data and value lists. Deviations are listed in an overview, per object type and per rule, so the registration's administrator knows where to start.
For organisations with an information model that changes often or that many systems connect to, and for suppliers building software on a client's model.
Software that follows the information model?
Tell us which model you have, which tool it lives in, and which software connects to it. We'll show you what the integration would look like.