Ardoq’s flexible metamodel makes it easy to establish your workspaces. But flexibility can also lead to inconsistency, which can slow down adoption and make it harder for new contributors to work in your main repository.
Metamodel Constraints give admins more control over the metamodel by defining the valid relationships in your data and provide organizational-level governance at the moment of data creation. This helps:
Ensure consistency in how components are connected
Simplify collaboration by guiding users toward correct reference types
Reduce and avoid cleanup work caused by incorrect or inconsistent references
Separate your intended metamodel from actual usage
Metamodel Constraints are a key building block of our long-term vision for a Global Metamodel - a unified, governed, and intentional representation of your organization’s structure. Constraints act as the enforcement layer of this vision, turning your intended design into explicit rules that guide data creation everywhere in Ardoq.
This feature is available to Ardoq administrators only.
How It Works
Ardoq automatically surfaces how your data is connected by showing all existing Source → Reference → Target type combinations. Each of these combinations is assigned a status - Defined (In Use / Unused) or Undefined -to help you understand both your intended structure and how your data is actually being used.
Defined indicates constraints you have intentionally added to your metamodel.
Undefined highlights connections in your data that do not conform to your intended design. These may represent accidental modeling, legacy data, or areas where your metamodel needs refinement.
You can mark any constraint as Defined, making it an intentional part of your metamodel, or use Undefined constraints to uncover inconsistencies. From there, you can clean up incorrect data or adopt new patterns into your model, ensuring that your metamodel remains accurate and purposeful.
To make it easier to get started, the initial list of constraints is pre-populated with reference types from the installed Ardoq Solutions in your organization. This provides a useful baseline that you can review and refine according to your needs.
In addition to helping you understand and document your metamodel, constraints also influence how data is created. Ardoq validates new references against your defined constraints using the enforcement mode selected at the organization level:
Guided mode (Generally Available) alerts users when they create a reference that does not match the intended structure.
Strict mode (Beta) restricts reference creation so that users can only establish relationships that align with your defined constraints.
Enforcement applies across key areas such as Views, Inventory, Reports, and other reference-creation touchpoints (note: with some known current limitations). This ensures that users follow the model you have defined, supports consistent modeling practices, and reduces cleanup work.
Constraint Statuses and Actions
Status | Description | Actions |
| The source–reference–target type exists in your data but is not yet defined as a metamodel constraint. | Add as a Defined constraint (+) or review existing references (🔍).
|
| A constraint is defined but no current data matches it. | Delete the constraint if it’s not needed. |
| A constraint is defined and there is data that conforms to it. | Remove (-) the constraint if you want to make it Undefined or see the instances that use this constraint (🔍) |
You can also create a new constraint (that is not yet present in your data) using the (Create) button in the top-left corner.
Working With the Constraints Table
Grouping
The constraints table allows you to group content in different columns to get a clearer overview. To do this, drag a column header to the top of the table, and the rows will automatically group by that field.
For example, if you group by Source Type, you will see all constraints related to a specific source organized together.
Filtering
For a more focused view, you can apply filters to the constraints table. Filters can be added individually or combined with other filters and groupings.
You can filter by:
Component Type
Reference TypeSolution
Status (Defined – In Use, Defined – Unused, Undefined)
For instance, you can filter to see only Undefined constraints where the Component Type is Person, helping you quickly identify where cleanup or constraint definition is needed.
Note: The Component Type filter applies to both the Source Type and Target Type columns. This means results may include constraints where the component type appears in either column.
How To Access Metamodel Constraints
To open Metamodel Constraints, go to Preferences → Organization settings → Metamodel constraints in the left-hand menu.
Constraint Enforcement
Administrators can choose how strictly Ardoq enforces metamodel constraints during reference creation. This ensures users model according to your intended structure.
Enforcement Modes
To enforce metamodel constraints, go to:
Preferences → Organization Settings → Settings → Metamodel constraints enforcement
Choose one of the following options :
1.Off Mode
Users can create any reference type without validation.
2. Guided Mode (GA)
Users are warned when creating a reference outside existing constraints
They may still proceed with the reference creation
Ideal when evaluating the impact of constraints or when refining/building your metamodel
3. Strict Mode (Beta)
Only relationships that match explicit constraints can be created
Invalid reference types are hidden
The Create button is disabled if no valid option exists
Prevents incorrect modeling at the source
Info: In Strict mode, if a valid connection defined by the Metamodel Constraints does not exist, selecting “Implicit” is still allowed, but only when a “Display text” is provided.
Where Metamodel Constraints Apply in Ardoq
Metamodel Constraints influence reference creation across multiple areas of the platform. Depending on the enforcement mode you select (Off, Guided, Strict), Ardoq will validate or restrict relationships when users create or modify references in the following locations:
Workspace Views
Grid Editor
Sidebar Editor
Diagram Views / Views in Workspace mode
Reports
Strict Mode: Users can only select or edit data in columns that correspond to defined constraints
Guided Mode: Users may select inferred reference types but will receive a warning when creating a reference that is not defined
Data Inventory
Data inventory uses the existing references by design. You cannot define new reference types (Ex. connect a component type to another component type for the first time) by design to reduce risk of duplication in this data entry format.
Strict Mode: Users can only create references that correspond to defined constraints.
Warning Mode: Users may create references of existing reference (both defined and undefined) but will receive a warning when creating a reference that is not defined.
Viewpoints
Reference creation follows Warning or Strict rules
Only allowed patterns appear as selectable reference types
Known Limitations
Metamodel Constraint Enforcement does not yet apply to every part of Ardoq. Below are the current limitations to be aware of:
Component Overview Page
The Component Overview Page does not highlight or flag references that fall outside defined constraints.
Future iterations of the Component Overview Page, where we will introduce reference creation, will support constraint validation.
Data Inventory
Data Inventory does not currently flag rows containing references that violate defined constraints.
Selection of columns to be displayed is not limited by constraints.
These limitations will be addressed in future iterations as Inventory becomes more tightly aligned with the metamodel constraint rules.
Surveys
Metamodel Constraints do not guide or restrict reference creation in Surveys. However, Surveys allow users by design to configure the type of references and components to be created in each question.
There are no changes for Survey consumers/contributors
Integrations
Only warnings are displayed, regardless of whether the organization is set to Strict Mode
Integrations do not block creation of references that violate constraints
Existing Data
Strict Mode does not retroactively remove or block existing invalid references
Violations are flagged visually (e.g., with alert indicators), but not automatically resolved
Cleanup must be done manually using the See Instances workflow