---
title: Building a data model
description: After creating an application, start building the data model for the application. Learn about what a data model is and how we build the data model for the tutorial application.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/application-development/app-engine-studio/app-tutorial-data-model.html
release: australia
product: App Engine Studio
classification: app-engine-studio
topic_type: concept
last_updated: "2026-09-10"
reading_time_minutes: 2
keywords: [data model, application development, tutorial, tables, employee travel request]
audience: developer
breadcrumb: [App creation tutorial, Build, App Engine Studio, Building low-code applications, Developing your application, Building applications]
---

# Building a data model

After creating an application, start building the data model for the application. Learn about what a data model is and how we build the data model for the tutorial application.

Once you have created an application in App Engine Studio, you can start configuring each part of the application. In our tutorial, we start with the data model for the application.

This is the third step in the app creation tutorial. In this step, you learn about data models and build the data model for the employee travel request application.

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Step 1

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[Planning your application](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/application-development/app-engine-studio/app-tutorial-introduction.md)

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Step 2

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[Create an app](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/application-development/app-engine-studio/app-tutorial-create-an-app.md)

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Step 3

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[Building a data model](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/application-development/app-engine-studio/app-tutorial-data-model.md)

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Step 4

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[Creating user experiences](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/application-development/app-engine-studio/app-tutorial-experience-layer.md)

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Step 5

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[Adding logic and automation](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/application-development/app-engine-studio/app-tutorial-logic-automation-layer.md)

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Step 6

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[Test your application](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/application-development/app-engine-studio/app-tutorial-test-app.md)

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>## Overview of data models

The data model for an application describes the data that the application reads and writes and how the data is stored. To build a data model, you can create tables to store the data for your application. Each table contains rows that represent individual records and columns that define the type of information within each record. You can create as many tables as needed for your application and define relationships between the tables.

For more information about building data models in App Engine Studio, see [Create a data model for your application](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/application-development/app-engine-studio/add-data.md).

## Tutorial data model

In our tutorial, the data model for our application stores information about employees' travel requests, such as where the employee is traveling to and how much the travel costs.

We build the data model for the application in our tutorial in three phases:

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Phase 1

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[Create a data table](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/application-development/app-engine-studio/app-tutorial-create-table.md)

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Phase 2

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[Configure a data table](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/application-development/app-engine-studio/app-tutorial-configure-table.md)

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Phase 3

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[Share data between tables](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/application-development/app-engine-studio/app-tutorial-share-data.md)

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>## Next steps

Start building the data model for your application. Proceed to the next step [Create a data table](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/application-development/app-engine-studio/app-tutorial-create-table.md).