ISO/IEC 25024: Measurement of data quality (SQuaRE series)
ISO/IEC 25024 specifies the measurement of data quality characteristics and associated measures to evaluate the quality of data managed in computer systems. It belongs to the SQuaRE (Systems and software Quality Requirements and Evaluation) series and complements the data quality model in ISO/IEC 25012.
Scope and intent
- Defines a set of data quality characteristics, subcharacteristics and their measures for planning, specifying, and evaluating data quality.
- Supports establishing data quality requirements, selecting indicators/metrics, and conducting measurement for assessment and improvement throughout the data lifecycle (creation, acquisition, integration, storage, use, maintenance).
- Applicable to structured data held in information systems and data stores, and usable by acquirers, suppliers, developers, data stewards, evaluators, and auditors.
Key contents (high level)
- Measurement framework aligned with SQuaRE: concepts, attributes, measures, and usage.
- Measures covering typical data quality dimensions such as accuracy, completeness, consistency, credibility, currentness/timeliness, availability, portability/traceability of data, confidentiality/integrity-related aspects of data quality, compliance, recoverability and accessibility of data, and other inherent vs. system-dependent properties (aligned with ISO/IEC 25012’s categorization).
- Guidance on defining data quality requirements and selecting measures/indicators; examples of measurement information and usage.
Data Quality Characteristics
The standard addresses measurement of key data quality characteristics:
| Characteristic | Description |
|---|---|
| Accuracy | The degree to which data correctly represents the real-world entities or values they are intended to model. |
| Completeness | The degree to which all required data is present and no essential information is missing. |
| Consistency | The degree to which data is uniform and coherent across different datasets, systems, or time periods. |
| Credibility | The degree to which data is regarded as true and believable by users in a specific context of use. |
| Timeliness | The degree to which data is up-to-date and available when needed for decision-making or processing. |
| Precision | The degree to which data values are exact and have appropriate granularity for their intended use. |
| Traceability | The degree to which the origin, processing history, and lineage of data can be tracked and verified. |
| Availability | The degree to which data is accessible and retrievable when required by authorized users or systems. |
| Accessibility | The degree to which data can be accessed by authorized users through appropriate interfaces and mechanisms. |
| Integrity | The degree to which data is protected from unauthorized modification and maintains its accuracy over time. |
| Confidentiality | The degree to which data is protected from unauthorized access and disclosure. |
| Compliance | The degree to which data conforms to applicable regulations, standards, and organizational policies. |
Where it fits in SQuaRE
- Complements ISO/IEC 25012 (Data quality model) by providing concrete measures.
- Related to ISO/IEC 25010 (product quality), ISO/IEC 25021 (quality measure elements), ISO/IEC 25024 operationalizes data-quality evaluation using those elements.
Edition and status
- Latest edition: ISO/IEC 25024:2015 (Measurement of data quality). The edition has been subsequently confirmed in systematic review; consult the ISO catalogue entry for the current confirmation year.
- Prior official versions: ISO/IEC 25024 had no earlier edition before 2015; it builds on prior SQuaRE/TR work such as ISO/IEC TR 25021 and the data quality model ISO/IEC 25012:2008.
Typical use cases
- Define and assess data quality requirements for data products, analytics, and transactional systems.
- Select indicators and targets for data quality dimensions (e.g., accuracy ≥ 99.9%, completeness ≥ 98%).
- Support data governance and stewardship by establishing measurable criteria and monitoring.
References
- ISO/IEC 25024:2015 — Measurement of data quality (ISO catalogue): https://www.iso.org/standard/35749.html
- ISO/IEC 25012:2008 — Data quality model (ISO catalogue): https://www.iso.org/standard/35736.html
- ISO/IEC 25021:2012 — Quality measure elements (ISO catalogue): https://www.iso.org/standard/55477.html
- SQuaRE series overview — ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 7 (official ISO pages)