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Step 3 - Agree on standards and definitions |
Establish a consistent language for describing your data. Inconsistency is one of the most common reasons data inventories fail to be useful. If different business areas describe the same type of information in different ways, the inventory becomes difficult to search, compare or use. This step establishes the shared language your organisation will use.
Agree on a working definition that is clear enough to apply consistently. A useful starting definition:
A data asset is any structured or semi-structured collection of data that your organisation holds, creates or has access to, and that has value for operational, policy, research or compliance purposes.
Examples across different organisation types:
For each data asset, your organisation will record a set of descriptive information — metadata. The table below shows recommended attributes, grouped by purpose. The AGDC requires 10 core attributes with 26 attributes in total.
| Attribute | Purpose | AGDC core | Note |
| Title | Discovery | Yes | Clear, plain English name for the asset |
| Description | Discovery | Yes | What the data contains and its purpose |
| Data custodian | Governance | Yes | Who is responsible for managing this asset |
| Date created / modified | Governance | Yes | Currency indicator - when was it last updated? |
| Format | Discovery | Yes | E.g. database, spreadsheet, API, Gis file. |
| Access level | Governance | Yes | Open, internal, conditional, restricted |
| Security classification | Governance | Yes | Including personal, sensitive, or protected information |
| Topic / subject | Discovery | Yes | Broad subject area for search, filtering and improved discovery |
| Storage location | Governance | Yes | Where the asset lives - system, drive, cloud |
| Update frequency | Quality | Yes | How often is the data refreshed |
| Data quality indicators | Quality | No | Accuracy, completeness, timeliness ratings |
| Retention / Disposal | Compliance | No | Aligned to NAA records disposal schedule |
| Lineage / Source | Governance | No | Where the data comes from |
| Sharing constraint | Compliance | No | Legal or policy restrictions on sharing or use |
| Linked legislation | Compliance | No | Relevant Acts, regulations or policies |
| Fields / variables | Discovery | No | Key field names to support specific data requests |
Start with our AGDC metadata attributes as your minimum. Add quality, lineage and compliance attributes that best suit your requirements at your next review cycle. Trying to collect or change all attributes in the first pass often leads to low completion rates and abandoned inventories.
Organisations with higher data maturity tend to have formally defined, governed and applied metadata standards. Designated Metadata Stewards or Chief Data Officers may facilitate policies and tools that enforce standards at the point of data creation.
For attributes with a defined set of values — format, access level, topic, sensitivity — use dropdown lists or controlled vocabulary rather than free text. This prevents inconsistency and makes the inventory searchable. You may need to retrofit controlled vocabulary after the first collection cycle once you can see what terms your organisation naturally uses.
Dataplace data asset management tool provides a controlled inventory applying the 26 metadata standards. You may create a single data asset or import bulk data assets. They are indexed and available for discovery internally or publicly.
Where possible, align your metadata to established standards. This makes it easier to share your inventory with other organisations and connect it to national catalogues.