ISO 8000-120:2016

Overview

ISO 8000-120:2016 - part of the ISO 8000 data quality series - defines requirements for representing and exchanging data provenance information for master data that consists of characteristic data (property values). It supplements ISO 8000-110 by specifying how to capture the history or pedigree of a property value (provenance), and includes a conceptual provenance data model. The standard is conceptual only: it does not mandate a complete characteristic-data model or a specific exchange format.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Scope and purpose: Covers scenarios for data provenance, requirements for capture and exchange of provenance info, and a conceptual data model for provenance. Excludes exchange formats, identifier registration schemes, configuration/change control, and identifier syntax/resolution.
• Provenance data model: Provided as a UML class diagram linking provenance to the target data model via a property_value_assignment entity.
• Property value structure: A property_value_assignment pairs a value with a property identifier and must reference one or more provenance events.
• Provenance events (provenance_event): Each event records provenance for a single property value and includes attributes such as event_type, organization_ref (ISO_6523 identifier), person_ref, role_ref, and when (UTC date_and_time).
• Data provenance record: May be either embedded in the property value structure or stored separately and referenced. Examples use XML-style fragments but the standard does not require XML.
• Conformance: Any claim of conformity to ISO 8000-120 implies conformance to ISO 8000-110.
• Identifiers: Recommends use of ISO_6523_identifier for organizations; formats for person and role identifiers are left to implementers.

Practical applications

• Improve master data management (MDM) by tracking origin, custody and transformations of property values.
• Support data governance, quality assurance, and regulatory auditing by providing verifiable provenance trails.
• Detect and manage data echoes and assess data credibility, currency and usability.
• Integrate provenance into product lifecycle systems, procurement catalogs, supply chain data exchanges, and data synchronization workflows.

Who should use it

• Data architects and MDM practitioners designing provenance-aware master data models.
• Software vendors and integrators implementing data exchange, DTOs, or APIs that include provenance metadata.
• Data governance teams, auditors, and quality managers requiring standardized provenance records.
• Standards implementers mapping conceptual provenance requirements to XML/JSON/other exchange formats.

Related standards

• ISO 8000-110 (syntax, semantic encoding and conformance for characteristic data)
• ISO 8000-2 (vocabulary)
• ISO 8000-130 (claims of data accuracy)
• ISO/IEC 6523-1 and -2 (organization identifier structures)
• ISO 22745-40 (examples of standards that reference ISO 8000-120)

Keywords: ISO 8000-120, data provenance, master data, characteristic data, provenance data model, property_value_assignment, provenance_event, ISO 8000-110, data quality.