72 – Fighting a Multi-armed Monster With Graph: Master Data Management in Neo4j

• Travis Confer, Software Engineer, Northrop Grumman
• Steven Scott, Software Engineer, Northrop Grumman
Session type: Full Length Session

Abstract: Solving complex problems at large organizations generally requires a variety of software applications, many of which do not interface well with each other. This divides critical data across diverse data stores, hampering cross-platform analytics and understanding. One way to handle this challenge is to shuttle data between applications. However, this process results in data duplication, synchronization problems, and difficulty tracking which data source is authoritative. At Northrop Grumman, we have pioneered a graph-based solution to this problem by utilizing the GRAND Stack (GraphQL, React, Apollo, Neo4j). Our application, called Kraken, merges data from multiple sources into a graph database. This architecture simplifies master data management by decreasing data duplication, tracking changes through digital threads, and creating an ASOT (authoritative source of truth) for data. In this presentation, we will cover the story of how Kraken came to be, the problems it aims to solve, and why its graph-based architecture is useful for Master Data Management. We will also demonstrate how Kraken manages digital threads.