4.2. Common Understanding and Trusted Name: Common Understanding and Trusted Statement: Business and program terminology and data are defined consistently throughout the Department, and the definitions and values are understandable, trusted and available to all users. Rationale: • A common vocabulary facilitates communications and enables effective dialogue. • The data that will be used in the development of services must have a common definition throughout the Department to enable sharing of data. • Information and Data are meaningfully defined from an enterprise perspective by the appropriate authorities, and are obtained from reliable, authoritative and understood data flows and sources. Implications: • The Department must establish the initial common vocabulary for the business based on open standards where available. The definitions will be used uniformly throughout the Department. • Multiple concurrent definitions must be replaced by a definition that is accepted and understood by the entire Department. • Whenever a new definition is required, the definition effort will be co-coordinated and reconciled with the corporate "glossary". • Clarity and integrity of information / data is crucial to supporting business processes • Building trust in data requires a multi-faceted approach. • Metadata capture and utilisation must be mandatory in all processes and systems • Data and its associated metadata must be an integral part of any business process design • Information and data lineage (flow) and applied business rules must be documented and available • Stewards must clearly define business terms and data elements, aligned to business programs to provide a common enterprise vocabulary, thus allowing for enterprise-wide use and interoperability • Stewards need a simple and repeatable process to define, have approved and publish definitions and other metadata for information and data elements • Stewards and all consumers need a repository, tied to important systems to capture / consume metadata • Stewards will direct custodians in their activities as relates data aspects • Properly identified data custodians are solely responsible for data capture to ensure integrity and quality and reduce redundant efforts and storage/processing • Data governance and stewardship provide the means to ensure that enterprise data can be trusted • Enterprise Information and Data should be located in authoritative sources • Without trust in data consumers may develop their own siloed and redundant solutions/repositories. References: • TOGAF 9 Principle 14 • CDO