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The Lifecycle of a Meaning

Every discipline manages its object across a lifecycle: services in ITIL, data in DAMA, models in model risk management. SMF manages meaning across this one:

Define → Establish authority → Resolve in context → Measure → Implement
      → Exchange → Consume → Assure → Evolve ─┐
   ▲                                          │
   └──────────────────────────────────────────┘
Stage What happens to the meaning Gross margin example Practice
Define The concept and its perspectives are written down Gross Margin; product, service and consolidated perspectives Discovery, Modeling
Establish authority Owners are named for each perspective; conflicts are decided or declared Services Lead owns service margin; Controller owns consolidated Semantic Authority
Resolve in context Rules say which perspective applies where, and when to ask Board → consolidated; leadership meeting → ask Semantic Resolution
Measure Each perspective gets a Metric Contract Service GM excludes product sales, cost is labor-based Measurement Management
Implement Contracts are built into reports, semantic layers, spreadsheets Service GM in the services KPI workbook Semantic Implementation
Exchange Meaning moves between systems without losing its perspective Export to a new BI platform Semantic Interchange
Consume People and AI use the meaning An AI assistant answers a margin question Semantic Resolution
Assure Checks confirm the right perspective was used; key numbers are backed up The assistant must ask in a leadership setting Semantic Assurance
Evolve Definitions change with the business; history stays readable Freight moves into product cost from next fiscal year Lifecycle Management

How the lifecycle and the practices relate

  • The lifecycle describes what happens to a meaning over time.
  • The practices are how an organization takes care of those stages.
  • Organizations can adopt one practice, several or all of them. A small business might only formalize Measure and Resolve. An enterprise might run all nine.
  • The lifecycle is not a waterfall. Most organizations enter partway, usually when two numbers disagree.