# COA methodology
The use of COA® allows us to **organize integration processes** into a defined number of sub-processes, each one governed by a clear, simple and specific set of policies wrapped together in a **Contract** entity that regulates:
* **who** is part of the process
* **when** the process must be executed
* **what** are the objects handled by the process
* **how** the objects are handled
Through contracts, the entire data integration process can be modeled according to clear and specific needs. Moreover, existing contracts can be reused as templates, reducing time-to-operation and errors.
Always think about data integration as a pipeline of three distinct phases:
* an **input phase collecting data**
* a **mediation phase mediating data**
* an **output phase delivering data**
Each phase will have its own contract that will cover different aspects of the data integration.
For all intents and purposes you can have:
* an **input phase COA contract type**
* a **mediation phase COA contract type**
* an **output phase COA contract type**
This is a schema visualizing the **phases and contracts** in Data Mover.
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