Overview
ISO/IEC 24668:2022 - "Information technology - Artificial intelligence - Process management framework for big data analytics" - defines a standardized framework to develop, manage and assess processes that enable effective big data analytics (BDA) across organizations and industries. The standard delivers a Process Reference Model (BDA PRM) and a Process Assessment Model (BDA PAM) to guide implementation, continual improvement and capability assessment of BDA services at an organizational level.
Key topics and requirements
- Five process categories: organization stakeholder processes, competency development processes, data management processes, analytics development processes, and technology integration processes.
- Process descriptions: each process is defined by its purpose and measurable outcomes; process outcomes are necessary and sufficient to meet a process purpose (per ISO/IEC 33004 requirements).
- Process assessment: BDA PAM combines a process dimension (based on the PRM) and a capability dimension (based on a Process Measurement Framework - PMF) to evaluate maturity and performance.
- Performance indicators & attributes: the standard specifies base practices, information products, process attributes, and capability levels (levels 0–5) with assessment indicators and rating scales.
- Data lifecycle focus: processes to acquire, describe, store, validate and process data across the organization for analytics services.
- Governance and competency: covers data governance, strategic alignment, competency development, and integration with technology stacks (DevOps, PaaS/SaaS considerations).
- Requirements alignment: designed for conformity assessment in line with ISO/IEC 33001, 33003, 33004 and ISO/IEC 33020.
Applications and who should use it
ISO/IEC 24668:2022 is practical for organizations building or scaling BDA capabilities, and for parties involved in assessing those capabilities:
- Data and analytics leaders (CIOs, CDOs) implementing enterprise analytics strategy
- Data engineers, data architects and ML/AI teams standardizing data and analytics processes
- IT governance, risk and compliance teams ensuring data governance and process control
- External assessors, auditors and consultants performing BDA capability assessments or maturity evaluations
- Vendors and solution integrators (BDAP / BDSP) aligning offerings to recognized best practices
Benefits include improved decision-making, reduced errors, measurable process improvements, cost optimization, better customer experience and competitive advantage when BDA is systematically managed.
Related standards
Relevant references include ISO/IEC 33001, 33003, 33004, 33020 (process assessment), and data/AI standards such as ISO/IEC 20546 and governance guidance (ISO 38500, ISO 8000‑2). These support consistent assessment, terminology and integration into organizational management systems.
Keywords: ISO/IEC 24668:2022, big data analytics, process management framework, BDA PRM, BDA PAM, process assessment, data management processes.