While I looked for guidance on Tufte’s internal structure, I looked to Palantir’s unique Ontology system.

The concept of an ontology has its roots in metaphysics, where this branch of philosophy inquires into the nature of existence, being, and reality. But seeking into the structure of such fundamentals requires a robust way to organize their hierarchy and structure, which means fundamental components and relationships within a given domain of existence have to be specified.

Organizations, like metaphysics, can’t thrive without a clear structure. Without an ontology, teams within departments face communication challenges (i.e, the read function doesn’t work), as the same vocabulary can hold different meanings. Similarly, new data are fed into disparate databases with their own set of vocabulary and terms (i.e, the write function doesn't work). And when data is interpreted by organization leaders, key decisions are made based on essentially inaccurate data. Consequently, ontologically-challenged organizations encounter data silos, inconsistencies, and increased complexity, hindering digital transformation and exacerbating inefficiencies in data management and utilization. ​

​Palantir’s Ontology, then, creates a unified semantic layer that aligns digital assets—such as datasets and models—with their real-world counterparts, including physical assets and business concepts. This structured approach enhances data connectivity, interpretability, and scalability, facilitating effective decision-making and operational efficiency across the organization.

You can learn more about Palantir’s Ontology in this video.