ISO 8000-8, “Data quality – Part 8: Information and data quality: Concepts and measuring,” has just been released. Of course, here at Document Center Inc. the issue of data quality is top-of-mind. Keeping our catalog information and documents organized and correctly referenced is one of our critical priorities. And this not only includes how we process data internally, but also how we receive and process data coming from external sources.
The ISO 8000 series on data quality is a big help in this regards. And the new ISO 8000-8 is particularly relevant. It provides the user with information on three critical areas: syntactic quality (meeting the metadata requirements), semantic quality (meeting the representational requirements), and pragmatic quality (meeting the usefulness requirements). This is achieved by both verification (syntactic and semantic quality) and validation (pragmatic quality).
Why a special series on data quality? In many ways, data presents a unique challenge for those of us interested in integrity and quality. In the physical world, dimensional and other requirements can be met by means of measurement, confirmed by test methods supported by calibration. In the world of data and cyberspace, quality must be a top issue in order to assure we communicate well. But how to measure our success?
ISO 8000-8 helps you resolve this issue by providing you with basic requirements and examples for each of the three “legs” of this quality model. It then discusses conformance, the verification and/or validation component of this system. There’s also an Annex B on syntactic quality rules and an Annex C on those for pragmatic quality. Annex D covers the activity model for measuring information and data quality. An 18-item bibliography completes the standard.
How can you get the ISO 8000-8 and the other parts of the series that have been published? You’ll want to use an authorized distributor like Document Center Inc. to make sure that you’re meeting the obligations of copyright law. You can order online with confidence at our webstore, www.document-center.com. Here’s the link directly to the order page for ISO 8000-8. Like all ISO standards, the document is available in both paper format and for pdf download.
Have more questions or looking for a multi-user corporate solution? Our staff will be more than happy to assist you. They can be reached by phone (650-591-7600) and email (info@document-center.com). Since Document Center Inc. has been selling standards since 1982, we have the knowledge you need to use this type of compliance information correctly. Make us your Standards Experts!
