Traceability

Characteristic Name:	Traceability
Definition:	The lineage of the data is verifiable
Dimension:	Reliability and Credibility
Granularity:	Record
Characteristic Type:	Usage
Implementation Form:	Process-based approach

Verification Metric:

The number of tasks failed or under performed due to lack of traceability in data

The number of complaints received due to lack of traceability in data

Validation Metric:

To what extent required capabilities and skills have been implemented to improve the data usage of a task

BackgroundGuidelines

The original definitions given below formed the basis of the consolidated definition of the characteristic.

Definition:	Source:
Is the background of the information visible (author, date etc.)?	EPPLER, M. J. 2006. Managing information quality: increasing the value of information in knowledge-intensive products and processes, Springer. More from this source
A data provanance record can include information about creation, update, transcription, abstraction, validation and transforming ownership of data.	ISO 2012. ISO 8000-2 Data Quality-Part 2-Vocabulary. ISO. More from this source
The extent to which the correctness of information is verifiable or provable in the context of a particular activity.	STVILIA, B., GASSER, L., TWIDALE, M. B. & SMITH, L. C. 2007. A framework for information quality assessment. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 58, 1720-1733. More from this source

The implementation guidelines are guidelines to follow in regard to the characteristic. The scenarios are examples of the implementation

Guidelines:	Scenario:
Maintain provenance records for the events such as creation, update,transcription, abstraction, validation and transforming ownership, if the data are dynamic.	(1) Inventory system shows the current stocks and keep records for all the transactions that the stocks are subjected to
In case of multiple sources are available for same data/information, implement a traceability mechanism to view all versions from multiple sources	(1) Content management systems
Maintain proper protocols/standards/policy to archive data	(1) Every invoice is archived after 120 days of payments.
Maintain versions of data records where necessary	(1) Customer versions