Traceability

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

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

GuidelinesExamplesDefinitons

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

Validation Metric:

How mature is the process to maintain traceability in data

These are examples of how the characteristic might occur in a database.

Example:	Source:
minutes of a meeting will be produced in draft form and reviewed by the members of the committee before being approved. Once this process of creation is ﬁnished the record must be ﬁxed and must not be susceptible to change. If a record is changed or manipulated in some way, it no longer provides evidence of the transaction it originally documented. For example, if someone alters the minutes of a meeting after they have been approved, the minutes can no longer be considered an accurate record of the meeting. This is another issue that becomes more important in an electronic context.	K. Smith, “Public Sector Records Management: A Practical Guide”, Ashgate, 2007.

Example:

Source:

minutes of a meeting will be produced in draft form and reviewed by the members of the committee before being approved. Once this process of creation is ﬁnished the record must be ﬁxed and must not be susceptible to change. If a record is changed or manipulated in some way, it no longer provides evidence of the transaction it originally documented. For example, if someone alters the minutes of a meeting after they have been approved, the minutes can no longer be considered an accurate record of the meeting. This is another issue that becomes more important in an electronic context.

K. Smith, “Public Sector Records Management: A Practical Guide”, Ashgate, 2007.

The Definitions are examples of the characteristic that appear in the sources provided.

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.
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.
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.

Appropriate presentation

Characteristic Name:	Appropriate presentation
Dimension:	Usability and Interpretability
Description:	The data presentation is aligned with its use
Granularity:	Information object
Implementation Type:	Process-based approach
Characteristic Type:	Usage

Verification Metric:

The number of tasks failed or under performed due to the lack of appropriate presentation of data

The number of complaints received due to the lack of appropriate presentation of data

GuidelinesExamplesDefinitons

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

Guidelines:	Scenario:
Ensure that Universally accepted standard formats are used to maintain the compatibility of information across organisations and across time	(1) A patients diagnostic card generated in one hospital is compatible with another hospital.
Ensure that information can be aggregated or combined through the use of compatible formats	(1) Product wise monthly sales report can be generated by combining the sales reports of three subsidiaries
Ensure that the data presentations are familiar to the users even if the application platform is changed.	(1) A quotation created in one system is sent to another system through an EDI message and displayed in the same presentation format
Ensure the media of presentation is appropriate for the target group	(1) A step by step written instruction list in a documents appropriate for a software engineer. (2) A video display is appropriate for a mechanic
Ensure that the presentation formats are flexible to accommodate changes easily	(1) An invoice document may require additional space to mansion authorisation evidence

Validation Metric:

How mature is the process to maintain appropriate presentation of data

These are examples of how the characteristic might occur in a database.

Example:	Source:
my birth date is December 13, 1941. If a personnel database has a BIRTH_DATE data element that expects dates in USA format, a date of 12/13/1941 would be correct. A date of 12/14/1941 would be inaccurate because it is the wrong value. A date of 13/12/1941 would be wrong because it is a European representation instead of a USA representation.	J. E. Olson, “Data Quality: The Accuracy Dimension”, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 9 January 2003.

The Definitions are examples of the characteristic that appear in the sources provided.

Definition:	Source:
A measure of how information is presented to and collected from those who utilize it. Format and appearance support appropriate use of information.	D. McGilvray, “Executing Data Quality Projects: Ten Steps to Quality Data and Trusted Information”, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 2008.
1) The Characteristic in which formatted data is presented consistently in a standardized or consistent way across different media, such as in computer screens, reports, or manually prepared reports. 2) The Characteristic of Information being presented in the right technology Media, such as online, hardcopy report, audio, or video. 3) The degree to which Information is presented in a way Intuitive and appropriate for the task at hand. The Presentation Quality of Information will vary by the individual purposes for which it is required. Some users require concise presentation, whereas others require a complete, detailed presentation, and yet others require graphic, color, or other highlighting techniques.	ENGLISH, L. P. 2009. Information quality applied: Best practices for improving business information, processes and systems, Wiley Publishing.
1) Appropriateness is the dimension we use to categorize how well the format and presentation of the data match the user needs. In our example, there is a difference between a high-level monthly sales report that is supplied to senior management and the daily product manifests that are handed to the shipping department for product packaging. 2) Flexibility in presentation describes the ability of the system to adapt to changes in both the represented information and in user requirements for presentation of information. For example, a system that display different counties; currencies may need to have the screen presentation change to allow for more significant digits for prices to be displayed when there is a steep devaluation in one county’s currency. 3) In an environment that makes use of different kinds of systems and applications, a portable interface is important so that as applications are migrated from one platform to another, the presentation of data is familiar to the users. Also, when dealing with a system designed for international use, the user of international standards as well as universally recognized icons is a sign of system designed with presentation portability in mind.	LOSHIN, D. 2001. Enterprise knowledge management: The data quality approach, Morgan Kaufmann Pub.
1) Data is presented in an intelligible manner. 2) Data is presented in a manner appropriate for its use, with respect to format, precision, and units.	PRICE, R. J. & SHANKS, G. Empirical refinement of a semiotic information quality framework. System Sciences, 2005. HICSS'05. Proceedings of the 38th Annual Hawaii International Conference on, 2005. IEEE, 216a-216a.
Good format, like good views, are flexible so that changes in user need and recording medium can be accommodated.	REDMAN, T. C. 1997. Data quality for the information age, Artech House, Inc.
Data are always presented in the same format and are compatible with the previous data.	WANG, R. Y. & STRONG, D. M. 1996. Beyond accuracy: What data quality means to data consumers. Journal of management information systems, 5-33.