ISO 8000 Quality Data

Principles
An overview of ISO 8000 and its most
relevant parts that can be used to improve
data quality, and minimize costs within an
organizations operations

An ECCMA White Paper

Written by Peter R. Benson
19 January 2019
© 2019 ECCMA
Introduction to ISO 8000
This document serves to explain the basic principles of ISO 8000,
beginning with a citation quoted directly from the standard:

“Assets can be grouped into real and intellectual property.

Information is intellectual property. Data is a prerequisite to
information. Thus, the quality of data is a key determiner of an
organization’s ability to preserve and transfer intellectual property.

A characteristic of data is its portability from one system to another.

Syntax and semantic encoding determine whether data is portable in
a reliable way. ISO 8000 specifies requirements for the declaration
of syntax and semantic encoding. This allows a user to determine
the limitations of data portability. By requesting data that conforms
to ISO 8000, a user is able to manage data portability and protect
its intellectual property assets.

The ability to create, collect, store, maintain, transfer, process

and present data to support business processes in a timely and
cost effective manner requires both an understanding of the
characteristics of the data that determine its quality, and an ability
to measure, manage and report on data quality.

ISO 8000 defines characteristics that can be tested by any

organization in the data supply chain to objectively determine
conformance of the data to ISO 8000.

ISO 8000 provides frameworks for improving data quality for

specific kinds of data. The frameworks can be used independently
or in conjunction with quality management systems.”
ISO 8000-1

ISO 8000 Quality Data Principles | 2

 Principles of ISO 8000
1. Data is the representation of information
Data: “the reinterpretable representation of information in a
formalized manner suitable for communication, interpretation, or
processing.”
ISO/IEC 2382

Information Data Information

Information has value, data has quality

Fundamental to ISO 8000, is the understanding that data has no

inherent (intrinsic) value – it is the information that is stored in the
data that is valuable.

ISO 8000 Quality Data, is data that captures information in a form

where the information can be easily extracted without loss of meaning.

The key characteristics that determine the value of information are:

1. Trust
This is an intrinsic characteristic of data. For data to be trusted
it must be unambiguous and verifiable.

2. Relevance
This is a characteristic that is external to the data. The same
data may be used to provide information that is relevant in one
situation but not in another without any change in the quality
of the data.

3. Representation
This is a characteristic that is external to the data. The same
data may be used to provide many representations.

4. Timeliness
This is a characteristic that is external to the data. The same
data may be used to provide information that is timely in one
situation but not in another without any change in the quality
of the data.

ISO 8000 Quality Data Principles | 3

The key characteristics of data are:

1. Format (syntax)
Compression and referencing techniques can be used to reduce
the physical space required to store data, and encryption can be
used to limit access to data. Incorrect use of these techniques, or
the medium upon which data is stored, can irreparably damage
data. Understanding how data is formatted and where data is
stored is important to preserving the value of the information
stored in the data.

2. Encoding (semantics)
Data labels (metadata) and codes (reference data) are used to
capture the meaning of data. The assumption that data labels
and coded values are implicitly understood is the primary
cause of data degradation. Data degradation in terms of loss
of meaning of data increase with the distance from the original
source of the data, both in time and space, as data is moved
from one computer system or application to another.

Data profiling, is the process used to test the quality of the

physical form of data, and is a statistical method that looks at the
consistency of the data and its conformance to a set of rules. Data
profiling can test the formatting, encoding and completeness of
records within a given data set. Advanced data profiling can also
test the referential integrity of interdependent or referenced data sets
typically stored as a collection of tables in a database.

The key characteristics of ISO 8000 quality data are:

1. Portability
Portable data protects the intellectual property in the data and
allows it to be used across applications and computer systems.

2. Meets requirements
Quality is the degree to which something meets stated requirements.
Quality data is data that meets stated data requirements.

3. Provenance
Knowing the source of data is a key characteristic to
establishing trust in data.

4. Accuracy
Accuracy is a claim of the conformance to facts. Provenance is a
prerequisite to any claims that data is accurate.

ISO 8000 Quality Data Principles | 4

5. Completeness
Completeness applies to something that has parts. Data is
complete if all the parts of a data set are present.

The bottom line here for you is:

Valuable information is created by using trustworthy and relevant
data presented in a meaningful way at the right time.

There are costs associated with measuring or improving the quality

of data. Over and above the reduction in primary and secondary
administrative costs associated with data errors, the value of quality
data is measured by the value of the information that can be derived
from it.

Common examples of this are:

• Lower costs of goods or services obtained by the ability to

perform accurate and timely analysis of availability and cost
across the supply chain

• Improved deployment of resources and forecasting of both

cost and revenue made possible by reliable and timely data
consolidation across systems

The most significant benefit of quality data is the willingness of

managers to trust the data and to act on the information.

Remedying data quality issues starts with profiling, to identify

structural issues such as incorrectly labeled or missing data
elements. This however is not sufficient, since ISO 8000 Quality
Data is portable data that meets stated requirements, and so an
understanding of data portability and how to state requirements for
data is also required.

2. ISO 8000 Quality Data is portable data that meets

stated requirements
For reasons of speed or efficiency, most applications store data in a
specific internal format with specific labels or codes (they often use
the file extension .dat). Only the specific application that created the
data can read this internal data.

In order to create ISO 8000 portable data, an application must

export data using a published format (syntax), as well as published
metadata and code lists (semantic encoding).

Data portability is achieved, when data labels and code values are
explicitly defined in a dictionary that is either referenced by or is an
integral part of the data.

ISO 8000 Quality Data Principles | 5

 User

ISO 8000
Application ISO 22745
Portable Data

Operating System

Hardware

ISO 8000 Quality Data is portable data. It is independent of the software application and
accessible by any application.
Data portability is the first part of ISO 8000; meeting stated
requirements is the second.

A data requirement statement is a list of the required data, and any

validation or formatting rules that the data must comply with. A
common example is a form. An on-line or printed form is used to
collect data, and as such, it lists the required data and may also
provide lists of values or formats for the entry of data. A form is
essentially a data requirement.

When requesting data, a list must be provided of what data

elements are being asked for. Conversely, when providing data, it
helps if a list of the data elements and validation rules are provided
with the data. This is what is referred to as the data requirement
statement, which can be used to verify if the data provided is truly
“quality data”.

The bottom line here for you is:

When data is not portable, the application provider controls how
the data can be used, disseminated or shared. Effectively, the
application provider controls access to the information stored in the
data. This is what is known as “data lock-in”.

The best method to ensure that an application being used

can truly export ISO 8000 quality portable data, is to ask
the application provider to certify that the application is ISO
8000 compliant.

Most reputable application providers are technically able to create

ISO 8000 quality data, and a great many do so today without
realizing it. Complying with ISO Standards does not require third-

ISO 8000 Quality Data Principles | 6

 DATA “LOCK-IN”
ISO 8000
Application QUALITY DATA

PORTABLE DATA

Application
Customer

ISO 8000 Quality Data is the

antidote to application “lock-in”

party certification – application providers can self-certify ISO 8000

compliance. If in doubt about whether an application is indeed
capable of exporting ISO 8000 quality data, then third-party
organizations such as ECCMA can independently test data for
compliance with ISO 8000.

continued overleaf

ISO 8000 Quality Data Principles | 7

3. ISO 8000-115 – Quality Identifiers
A recent addition to ISO 8000 is Part 115 (ISO 8000-115). This is
a part of the 100-Series of the ISO 8000 Standard that explicitly
addresses identifiers, which is a very specific type of data. Identifiers
are in fact found everywhere in society, although few people
actually realize this. A passport number, driver’s license number,
employer number, social security number, vehicle registration
plate or vehicle identification number (VIN) are all identifiers. A
telephone number and email address are also identifiers. This same
principle applies in the industrial world, where all part numbers,
batch numbers, and serial numbers are also essentially identifiers.

From the moment civilizations started collecting data, the concept

of identifiers was created to locate the data. In its oldest form,
identifiers were made up of book number, page number, line
number, and so forth. This system is still used today for property
records. An identifier is therefore a pointer to data, and we use it
as an alias for a collection of data. As a modern world example,
someone, somewhere, has connected the license plate on your
vehicle to a data record that contains the make, model and year of
registration, as well as proof of ownership.

One of the main drawbacks with identifiers is the fact that there
are more and more of them being constantly created, so it is easy
to mistake one for another. The solution provided for in ISO 8000-
115 is as simple as it is effective – add a “prefix” to the identifier, to
make it explicitly clear who issued the identifier.

The bottom line here for you is:

If you issue identifiers (for example for your products or services)
you should register an ISO 8000-115 SmartPrefix™ with ECCMA
(www.SmartPrefix.org). The ECCMA SmartPrefix™ registry allows
anyone to look up who issued an identifier, as well as the best way
to validate an identifier.

smartprefixTM
www.SmartPrefix.org
You should request that your suppliers format part numbers
in compliance with ISO 8000-115. This provides immediate
identification in your ERP system of who the supplier of a part
number is without having to delve deep into the system, saving both
time and money.

You should convince your IT department to implement ISO 8000-

115 by adding prefixes to the identifiers in your data. Implementing
this simple process, will help reduce errors when consolidating data.

ISO 8000 Quality Data Principles | 8

4. ISO/DIS 8000-116 – Authoritative Legal
Entity Identifiers
This is a new standard that is currently in draft stage (Draft
International Standard), but which can be applied now. The standard
applies the concept of identifiers detailed in ISO 8000-115 to the
creation of Authoritative Legal Entity Identifiers (ALEI) for trading
partners.

Legal entities are created and registered by governments that assign

them a number. By adding an ISO 8000-115 SmartPrefix™ to the
government issued identifier, an Authoritative Legal Entity Identifier
(ALEI) is created very simply. There is no cost to obtain and create
an ALEI.

The ALEI is the best, fastest and cheapest way to clean up supplier
and customer master data.

The bottom line here for you is:

Research and create an ALEI for your organization and add it to
contracts, invoices and on websites. This can be done at www.eALEI.
org. The ALEI for ECCMA is [US-DE.BER:3031657].

Request ALEIs from your trading partners, to ensure that you are
conducting business with a registered and legal business entity.

ALEI
Authoritative
Legal Entity
Identifier

www.eALEI.org

Add the ALEI to your supplier and customer master data. By

doing so, you will probably discover that you have many duplicate
supplier and customer records.

If you want to research ALEIs for a large number of suppliers

or customers, ECCMA has a dedicated research and validation
department that does this work for its members for a nominal
fee. ECCMA also provides ISO 8000 scoping studies and material
master data cleansing.

ISO 8000 Quality Data Principles | 9

5. Citing ISO 8000 in Contracts
Standards are designed to be referenced in contracts and they
are specifically written so that compliance can be independently
verified. While in theory compliance with ISO Standards, as with all
standards, is strictly voluntary, they often become a key condition of
a contract.

For example, the general terms and conditions of purchase typically

include requirements such as, “All products sold and delivered to
Buyer will be new, fit and sufficient for the use intended by Buyer,
will be merchantable and of good quality and workmanship, and
free from defects”. To this it is recommended a “data clause” be
added as follows:

The supplier shall, identify all items using ISO 8000-115

references and supply an ISO 8000-110 commercial
specification. The commercial specification shall be provided
in Standard Data Format using ISO 22745-40 compliant
Extensible Markup Language (xml) using concept identifiers
from an ISO 22745-10 compliant open technical dictionary
that supports free resolution to concept definitions such as
the ECCMA Open Technical dictionary (eOTD).

Additionally, the supplier shall identify itself as a registered

legal entity, by providing to Buyer an ISO/DIS 8000-116
Authoritative Legal Entity Identifier for the organization.

NOTES:
• ISO 22745-10 is the International Standard for Open Technical
Dictionaries
• ISO 22745-30 is the International Standard for stating Data
Requirements
• ISO 22745-40 is the preferred standard for the Exchange of
Portable Data.

ISO 8000 Quality Data Principles | 10

6. ISO 8000 Master Data Quality Manager
Certification (MDQM)
ISO 8000 Quality Data is a key enabler to reducing internal costs
and increasing sales. ECCMAs ISO 8000 Master Data Quality
Manager (ISO 8000 MDQM) certification is the badge of those
who know how to deliver portable master data that meets stated
requirements.

A QUALITY
AT M
D

AN
R
MASTE

AGER
CERTIFIED
IS O
8000
ECCMA ISO 8000 Master Data Quality Manager Certification

The certification is offered free and the learning material and

exam is hosted on ECCMAs online training portal. On successful
completion of the course, ECCMA will certify and register that
an individual is a Master Data Quality Manager and has basic
knowledge about ISO 8000, ISO 22745, and how the standards can
be applied to produce and identify quality data. This certification is
based on the 100 series of the standard.

For more information on ISO 8000 Master Data Quality Manager

certification, please visit https://eccma.org/iso-8000-mdqm-
certification/

ISO 8000 Quality Data Principles | 11

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