Overview
ISO/IEC 5207:2024 - "Information technology - Data usage - Terminology and use cases" is the first edition (2024) international standard that defines core terminology and presents structured use cases for data use, data sharing and data exchange. Applicable to all types of organizations, the standard helps stakeholders align on meanings (data, metadata, data product, data lifecycle, data holder/user/originator, etc.) and guides decision-making across data projects and data governance activities.
Key Topics
- Standardized terminology: Clear definitions for foundational concepts such as data, metadata, data element, data set, data product, data lifecycle, data environment, data holder, data user, and data originator.
- Use case library: Informative annexes with historical and hypothetical use cases illustrating different types of data usage, sharing and exchange.
- Use case template: A repeatable template (Annex A) to describe data projects, objectives, entities involved, processes and interventions.
- Decision-making support: Guidance to identify decision points in data use and where controls and mitigations can be applied (see Annex C on controlled environments and levels of control).
- Interoperability and representation: Terms and notes on data representation, transformation, translation, distribution and formats (e.g., CSV, JSON, XML) to support technical interoperability.
- Scope for standards development: Designed to be used in developing other standards and improving communications among diverse stakeholders.
Applications
ISO/IEC 5207 is practical for organizations that need consistent language and structured examples around data governance, data sharing and data exchange:
- Developing or updating data governance frameworks and policies.
- Drafting data sharing agreements and defining roles (data holder, data user, data originator).
- Designing data products, APIs, and data distributions with clear expectations for representation and transformation.
- Performing risk assessments and selecting controls across the data lifecycle and data environments.
- Training teams (data stewards, architects, privacy officers) to standardize terms and decision processes.
Who should use this standard
- Data governance leads, data stewards and CDOs (Chief Data Officers)
- IT architects, data engineers and system integrators
- Legal, compliance and privacy teams working on data sharing agreements
- Standards developers and policy makers seeking consistent terminology
Related standards
ISO/IEC 5207 was developed in collaboration with ISO/IEC 5212 and references related work such as ISO/IEC 23751, ISO/IEC 11179 series, ISO/IEC 20547-3 and ISO 55000 for aligned terminology and concepts.
Using ISO/IEC 5207:2024 helps organizations implement consistent data usage, data sharing, and data exchange practices while improving interoperability and governance across the data lifecycle.
