Three levels: Capability Requirement Areas, Capability Process Areas and Activities

The CESSDA-CDM is a structured collection of elements that identify and describe the characteristics of effective preservation processes and activities. The model is hierarchical. On the highest level, the model focuses on three main subject areas, so called Capability Requirement Areas (CRA), which describe on a high-level, the main objectives and principles of a service provider. Each CRA is divided in various Capability Process Areas (CPA), which each has it own purpose. Within each CPA there are several activities defined to achieve the objective(s) of that CPA.

Each of the levels in the model is dependent on the configuration of the lower level elements; lower level elements work as indicators for the evaluation of the higher level processes and capabilities. The model has three levels:

Level 1: Capability Requirement Areas

Level 2: Capability Process Areas

Level 3: Objectives and associated Required or Expected Activities