About the I*I ig

Information Integrity – Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is information?
   
   Information is interpreted data. Information is characterized by its meaning, context, indented use and the user.
   
2. Is information different from data?
   
   Data is factual information, especially that used for analysis or reasoning. Data on its own has no meaning, but becomes information when it is interpreted. Information is a collection of facts or data. However, in many contexts they are considered and are used as synonyms.
   
3. What is Information Integrity?
   
   Information integrity is the trustworthiness of information. It is a state of information that collectively describes the accuracy, consistency and reliability of the information. I*I is the symbolic and short-form representation of information integrity.
   
4. What is the Information Integrity Interest Group?
   
   The I*I IG intends to promote the principles and practices of Information Integrity through the research and presentation of industry- specific solutions which leverage I*I concepts.
   
5. Why is it important? What are the implications of information integrity errors?
   
   Today’s economy is information driven. Business value is created through use, exchange and transformation of information. Lack of information integrity will adversely affect the effectiveness of the economy. In the past, we have been able to achieve an acceptable level of Information Integrity because we either had the time to inspect and correct Information Integrity failures or those problems were sufficiently isolated to prevent wide-scale contamination (due to the loosely coupled or discontinuous nature of our systems and processes).
   
   Although no studies about the total cost of Information Integrity related activities are readily available, many executives and industry experts concur that such costs would, as a conservative estimate, range from 1% to 5% of revenue. Our research suggests that the lack of information integrity results in loss in revenue, loss in productivity, legal problems and reduction in customer satisfaction.
   
6. What are the information integrity risk factors?
   
   Information Integrity risk factors can be intrinsic/endogenous or extrinsic/exogenous. Intrinsic risk factors are anticipated sources of errors, which are within the control of the Information producer or user. They include: design error, development error, deployment error, data error and detection error. Extrinsic risk factors are unanticipated errors caused by factors outside of the system and beyond the control of the information producer or user. They include: change, complexity, communication, conversion and corruption.
   
7. What are the differences between the concepts of and information integrity management and information quality management?
   
   Information Integrity management is a structured approach towards how we assess information to be accurate, consistent, and reliable in view of its context, meaning, use and user. Information quality management addresses accuracy, consistency and reliability of data without considering the context of information.
   
8. What are the principles for managing information integrity?
   
   Following principles may be used for managing information integrity.
   
   1. Identification: Information should be uniquely identified.
   2. Definition: Information should be defined in terms of its objective, context, type and use.
   3. Specification: The integrity of information should be specified in terms of its accuracy, consistency and reliability.
   4. Certification: The integrity of information should be certified using proven certification process.
   5. Encapsulation: Certified information should be encapsulated so that there will be no change in their information integrity between source and destination.
   6. Standardization: Information should be standardized.
   7. Automation: Information processes, particularly I*I processes should be automated to ensure consistency and standardization.
   8. Parallel: I*I process should be parallel, autonomous and concurrent to the information processes.
   9. Verifiability: The integrity of information should be verifiable and traceable to sources and processes, which are certified.
      
9. What are the main initiatives for the Information Integrity Interest Group?
   
1. Promote Information Integrity principles and practices.
2. Develop guidelines and standards to identify and eliminate information integrity errors
3. Align information integrity principles with quality principles
4. Provide training in the areas of Information Integrity.
5. To be a source for Information Integrity to Society members