ISO/CD-TS 8000-110
Information quality — Part 110: Master data quality: Syntax, semantic encoding, and conformance to customer requirements

© ISO 2007

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Contents

1 Scope

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Abbreviations

5 Syntax

6 Semantic encoding

     6.1 General

     6.2 All data element values

     6.3 Measures

     6.4 Currency amounts

7 Conformance to customer needs

Annex A (normative) Document identification

Bibliography

Index

Figures

Figure 1 — Example of general data element value

Figure 2 — Example of measure data element value

Figure 3 — Example of currency data element value

Tables

Table 1 — Examples of published syntax specifications

Table 2 — Examples of published concept dictionaries

Table 3 — Examples of data requirements statements

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.

The main task of technical committees is to prepare International Standards. Draft International Standards adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting a vote.

In other circumstances, particularly when there is an urgent market requirement for such documents, a technical committee may decide to publish other types of normative document:

• an ISO Publicly Available Specification (ISO/PAS) represents an agreement between technical experts in an ISO working group and is accepted for publication if it is approved by more than 50 % of the members of the parent committee casting a vote;
• an ISO Technical Specification (ISO/TS) represents an agreement between the members of a technical committee and is accepted for publication if it is approved by 2/3 of the members of the committee casting a vote.

An ISO/PAS or ISO/TS is reviewed after three years in order to decide whether it will be confirmed for a further three years, revised to become an International Standard, or withdrawn. If the ISO/PAS or ISO/TS is confirmed, it is reviewed again after a further three years, at which time it must either be transformed into an International Standard or be withdrawn.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

ISO/CD-TS 8000-110 was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 184, Industrial automation systems and integration, Subcommittee SC4, Industrial data.

A complete list of parts of ISO 8000 is available from the Internet:

Introduction

Typical consequences of poor data quality include customer dissatisfaction and lost revenue as well as higher costs associated with additional time to reconcile data, loss of credibility in a system and associated compliance problems. Data quality is dependent both on the quality of the data capture process as well as the processes used to store and transfer data. Finally managing data quality is also about managing the understanding and the expectations of quality and this requires the ability to objectively measure the costs and benefits of data quality.

While data quality is most commonly associated with transactional data, it is important to keep in mind that business information, such as designs, processes, machine instructions and trading partner information, constitutes an ever-increasing proportion of a business's assets and an ever-increasing proportion of this is stored in electronic form. Managing data quality is therefore an essential element in protecting the value of electronic information.

While the bit is the fundamental building block of electronically stored data, data elements are the fundamental building block of electronically stored information. Data elements consist of labeled data values where the data label provides the meaning for the data value.

It follows that as data element values are the fundamental building blocks of electronically stored information, the quality of the data element values is a major determinant of the quality of the information and consequently the accuracy and reliability of the knowledge that can be derived from the information.

1. As the data label is essential to resolving the meaning of a data element value, the ability to retrieve the definition of a data element through its data label is an intrinsic component of establishing data quality.
2. The quality of the definitions in terms of clarity of meaning to all stakeholders is also a contributing factor to data quality.
3. A data element value represents an observation at a specific time and therefore the ability to track the origin in time of data element values is an intrinsic component of establishing data quality.
4. Information is created as a result of a process owned by an organization, and therefore the ability to track the organization is an intrinsic component of establishing data quality.
5. Data element values may be created or validated by an organization other than the originating organization of the information, and therefore the ability to track the cataloguing organization is an intrinsic component of establishing data quality.

NOTE The history of the origination, cataloguing and transfer of ownership of information is commonly referred to as the provenance.

6. The syntax or arrangement of data element values determines the ease with which data can be integrated within and across organizations and is therefore considered to be an intrinsic component of establishing data quality.
7. The ability of data to satisfy user's requirements is determined by the existence of a minimum specified set of data element values and is therefore an intrinsic component of establishing data quality.

An assertion of accuracy is only meaningful if it is accompanied by reference to the standard or benchmark against which the data element values were assessed along with the identification of the organization that performed the test and the date and time the test was performed.

Where data is a product of an organization, an assertion of reliability is an assertion of the data quality management capabilities of the organization providing the data.

This Technical Specification provides general requirements for data quality, independent of syntax. It may be used with any other standard that specifies a syntax for a data set.

Information quality — Part 110: Master data quality: Syntax, semantic encoding, and conformance to customer requirements

1 Scope

This part of ISO 8000 specifies, for the purpose of achieving master data quality, requirements on the content of transactions that are used to exchange of master data between organizations.

EXAMPLE 1 This part of ISO 8000 does not apply to a credit charge transaction sent from a merchant to a credit card company, because the data being sent is not master data.

EXAMPLE 2 This part of ISO 8000 applies to a catalogue transaction, in which a supplier sends a customer characteristic data describing an item that the customer is considering buying.

EXAMPLE 3 This part of ISO 8000 does not apply to the contents of a company's internal parts catalogue, because the data are not part of a transaction.

The following are within the scope of this part of ISO 8000:

• syntax requirements;
• semantic encoding requirements;
• requirements regarding conformance to customer needs.

The following are outside the scope of this part of ISO 8000:

• requirements regarding data not in transactions;
• requirements regarding messages that are not used to exchange master data between organizations;
• requirements regarding data provenance;
• requirements regarding data accuracy;
• requirements on data that is not master data;
• requirements on the handling of master data intenally within organizations.

2 Normative references

The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.

ISO/IEC 6523-1, Information technology — Structure for the identification of organizations and organization parts — Part 1: Identification of organization identification schemes.

ISO/IEC 8824-1, Information technology — Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1): Specification of basic notation.

ISO 10303-1, Industrial automation systems and integration — Product data representation and exchange — Part 1: Overview and fundamental principles.

3 Terms and definitions

For the purposes of this part of ISO 8000, the terms and definitions given in part 2 of this Technical Specification apply.

4 Abbreviations

For the purposes of this part of ISO 8000, the following abbreviations apply:

5 Syntax

Each data set shall contain a reference to the specification of the syntax to which the data set complies. The reference shall be a globally unambiguous identifier for the specific version of the specification of the syntax that was used to encode the data set. The reference shall be resolvable to the specification of the syntax through a mechanism that is publicly available, free of charge. The specification of the syntax shall be publicly available.

NOTE 1 It is not required that the specification of the syntax be free of charge. It should be available at a reasonable cost.

NOTE 2 Examples of published syntax specifications are given in Table 1.

Table 1 — Examples of published syntax specifications

6 Semantic encoding

6.1 General

Each data element value shall reference all concepts necessary to unambiguously define its meaning. Each reference shall be to a concept dictionary entry contained in a concept dictionary. The reference shall preserve the integrity of the recipient’s data in that the reference to the concept dictionary entry may be integrated with the recipient’s own data without the creation of a joint work.

NOTE 1 Concept dictionary identifiers are subject to copyright and the use of an identifier within a document creates a joint work in which the owner of the copyright in the identifier has equal rights to register and enforce the copyright in the work, regardless of how their shares in the work are divided. A dictionary in which the concept identifiers are in the public domain will protect the recipient from the creation of a joint work.

1. The concept dictionary is freely and anonymously downloadable in its entirety from the Internet.
2. The concept dictionary supports an interface for free and anonymous resolution of a concept identifier to the concept dictionary entry that contains the supporting terminology.

NOTE 2 Examples of published concept dictionaries are given in Table 2.

Table 2 — Examples of published concept dictionaries

NOTE 3 The inclusion of ISO 13584-501, ISO 13584-511 and ISO 15926-4 in the final published version of this Technical Specification is subject to confirmation that they will be compliant with this clause (i.e., free download or resolution).

6.2 All data element values

Each data element value shall have a data label that contains a reference to the data element concept that provides its basic meaning. The reference shall be in the form of a globally unambiguous identifier for a concept dictionary entry.

EXAMPLE A flat washer has a property "material document ASTM A682". (The material document is the specification, standard, or manufacturer's reference document that identifies the material.) The property is represented by a data element value consisting of the following components:

• data label that references the concept dictionary entry for "material document";
• value "ASTM A682".

Figure 1 — Example of general data element value

6.3 Measures

In addition to the requirements of clause 6.2, each data element value that is a measure shall satisfy the requirements given in this clause.

The unit measure shall be clearly and unambiguously specified. The unit of measure shall be given in one of the following ways:

• concept dictionary identifier that references a concept dictionary entry for the unit of measure;
• symbol for a fundamental unit of measure as specified in ISO 31;

  EXAMPLE "cm" for centimetres, "kg" for kilograms, "mv" for millivolts.

• expression included in the master data message that defines a derived unit of measure in terms other units of measure.

The data element value shall contain a reference to the concept dictionary entry that provides the meaning of the unit of measure. The reference shall be in the form of a globally unambiguous identifier for a concept dictionary entry.

NOTE 1 A name of a unit of measure (e.g., "centimeter") or an abbreviation used in human-readable text (e.g., "cm") does not meet the requirements of this clause, since it is not an identifier for a concept dictionary entry.

If the measure is qualified, then the data element value shall contain a reference to the concept dictionary entry that provides the meaning of the qualifier. The reference shall be in the form of a globally unambiguous identifier for a concept dictionary entry.

NOTE 2 Examples of qualifiers are "nominal", "minimum", and "maximum".

EXAMPLE A flat washer has a property "bolt thread diameter for which designed 10 mm nominal". (The bolt thread diameter for which designed is the length of a straight line which passes through the center of the threaded portion of the bolt, and terminates at the circumference.) The property is represented by a data element value consisting of the following components:

• data label that references the concept dictionary entry for "bolt thread diameter for which designed";
• value "10 mm". This value is represented by:
  • number 10;
  • reference to the concept dictionary entry for "millimetre".

Figure 2 — Example of measure data element value

6.4 Currency amounts

In addition to the requirements of clause 6.2, each data element value that is a currency amount shall satisfy the requirements given in this clause.

The data element value shall contain a reference to the currency. The reference shall be in the form of a globally unambiguous identifier for a concept dictionary entry.

EXAMPLE A flat washer has a property "unit price 42.36 Euro". (The unit price is the price of a single item.) The property is represented by a data element value consisting of the following components:

• data label that references the concept dictionary entry for "unit price";
• value "42.36 Euro". This value is represented by:
  • number 42.36;
  • reference to the concept dictionary entry for "Euro".

Figure 3 — Example of currency data element value

7 Conformance to customer needs

Each data set shall contain a reference to the data requirements statement to which the data set complies. The reference shall be a globally unambiguous identifier for the specific version of the data requirements statement that was used to encode the data set. The reference shall be resolvable to the data requirements statement through a mechanism that is publicly available, free of charge. The data requirements statement shall be publicly available.

NOTE 1 It is not required that the data requirements statement be free of charge. It should be available at a reasonable cost.

NOTE 2 Examples of published data requirements statements are given in Table 3.

Table 3 — Examples of data requirements statements

NOTE 3 An ISO 13584-25 compliant dictionary contains both a concept dictionary and a data requirements statement.

To provide for unambiguous identification of an information object in an open system, the object identifier

is assigned to this Technical Specification. The meaning of this value is defined in ISO 8824-1, and is described in ISO 10303-1.

Bibliography

[1] ISO 7372, Trade data interchange — Trade data elements directory. 3rd ed.

[2] ISO 9735-1, Electronic data interchange for administration, commerce and transport (EDIFACT) — Application level syntax rules. 2nd ed.

[3] ISO 13584-25, Industrial automation systems and integration — Parts library — Part 25: Logical resource: Logical model of supplier library with aggregate values and explicit content. 1st ed.

[4] ISO 13584-501, Industrial automation systems and integration — Parts library — Part 501: Reference dictionary for measuring instruments — Registration procedure. 1st ed.

[5] ISO 13584-511, Industrial automation systems and integration — Parts library — Part 511: Mechanical systems and components for general use — Reference dictionary for fasteners. 1st ed.

[6] ISO/CD-TS 15926-4—¹⁾, Industrial automation systems and integration — Integration of life-cycle data for process plants including oil and gas production facilities — Part 4: Initial reference data. 1st ed.

[7] ISO 15926-6—¹⁾, Industrial automation systems and integration — Integration of life-cycle data for process plants including oil and gas production facilities — Part 6: Scope and representation for additional reference data.

[8] ISO 22745-40—¹⁾, Industrial automation systems and integration — Open technical dictionaries and their application to master data — Catalogue representation. 1st ed.

Index

¹⁾ To be published

© ISO 2007 — All rights reserved