# ATS and CRM Data Architecture: practice workbook
Talent Engineering Academy | An education initiative by Vitae
Edition 2026.09 | Updated 2026-09-24
Course: https://talentengineering.org/courses/ats-crm-architecture

Model recruitment entities, relationships and events so records stay usable across search, sales and delivery.

## Your deliverable
An entity model, field dictionary and integration ownership map.

Use fictional information. Keep your completed work in your own secure notes. Exercises and capstone work are self-directed, not independently assessed.

## 1. Entities and stable identifiers

Your notes:



## 2. Relationships and cardinality

Your notes:



## 3. Field definitions and ownership

Your notes:



## 4. Events versus current state

Your notes:



## 5. Integration source of truth

Your notes:



## 6. Migration and reconciliation checks

Your notes:



## Lesson exercises

### 1. Model entities and relationships

Draw six entities and their relationships for a fictional agency.

Your response:


Worked example: A candidate applies for two roles. Their contact details belong to the person record, while interview stage and decision belong to each application. Rejecting one application must not mark the person rejected everywhere.

Self-review guidance: Include person-to-application and organisation-to-vacancy relationships. Explain where role-specific notes belong. Avoid using an email address as an immutable identity because addresses can change or be shared.

### 2. Create a useful field dictionary

Define ten fields for a vacancy and application, including missing-value rules.

Your response:


Worked example: A salary field stores 60 without currency or period. The revised design separates amount, currency, annual or hourly basis and whether it is expectation, advertised range or agreed offer.

Self-review guidance: Every field should have one meaning and an owner. Include units and source dates where needed. Remove required fields that cannot legitimately be known at initial research.

### 3. Separate current state from event history

Map ownership and event flow between a fictional ATS, CRM and email tool.

Your response:


Worked example: The ATS owns application stage while the communications system owns delivery events. A bounced email can create a review task but cannot automatically overwrite the candidate’s assessment decision.

Self-review guidance: Specify which updates are authoritative and which are signals for review. Include a conflict example and preserve the distinction between contact delivery and hiring status.

### 4. Plan migration and reconciliation

Write a migration checklist with five validation cases and a reconciliation table.

Your response:


Worked example: Two people share the same name and employer. A migration that merges by name loses separate application histories. The test detects the collision and routes it for identity verification instead of forcing a merge.

Self-review guidance: Include duplicate names, changed emails, multiple applications, withdrawn candidates and restricted records. Compare relationships and critical fields as well as totals. This exercise does not authorise a live migration.

## Portfolio review
Check that your work is internally consistent, distinguishes facts from assumptions, names decision owners and explains its limitations. Revise gaps before using the method in real work.

## Further reading
- [GOV.UK: Responsible AI in recruitment](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/responsible-ai-in-recruitment-guide/responsible-ai-in-recruitment): UK guidance on procuring and deploying recruitment AI.
- [NIST: AI Risk Management Framework](https://www.nist.gov/itl/ai-risk-management-framework): Voluntary framework for organising AI risks and controls.

Original educational scenarios. References provide further reading and do not imply endorsement. Check current official rules and appropriate professional advice for real legal, financial or regulated decisions.