1.   Just as an accountant might use a financial model, the analyst can develop an entity model.

2.   The entity model is an abstract representation of the data within the organisation.

3.   Many are discovered when checking the entity model with users.

4.   A relationship in an entity model normally represents an association between two entities.

5.   They are used to ensure that the entity model will support the functions that may use the data model.

6.   If the entity model is inaccurate so will be the database and the applications that use it.

7.   Thus the entity model is mapped into a form required by the particular DBMS used.