1. ESS Validation Project State of Play and next steps
IPA training course
Item 05
Luxembourg, 18 May 2017
Eurostat, Unit B1

2. Presentation Outline Standard framework for validation rules and roles
Brief history – ESS VIP Validation
Goals and expected outcomes for ESS Validation
Timeline for deployment actions
Main cooperation instruments
Main achievements 2016 – May 2017
Next steps for
Standard framework for validation rules and roles

3. ESS.VIP Validation Project finished in Nov 2015
The ESSC approved the ESS.VIP Validation project in November 2012 and gave the green light for the beginning of the execution phase in November The project ended in November Collaboration with the Member States was ensured through a Task Force during the course of 2014 and through an ESSnet (the ValiDat Foundation ESSnet) during the course of 2015.

4. Deliverables provided
by ESS VIP Validation
Dimension
Deliverables
Methodology
ESS methodological handbook for validation
Standards
Standard ESS validation syntax (VTL)
Processes/Governance
Proposal for a Business and IT architecture IT
Prototype for a validation rule manager
Prototype for a structural validation service

5. Next steps: May ESSC conclusions
In May 2016, the ESSC approved a set of follow-up actions to the ESS.VIP Validation.
These actions focus on deploying into statistical production the deliverables of the ESS.VIP Validation.

6. Goals and expected outcomes
for ESS Validation
Medium-term goals
Business Outcomes
Goal 1: Ensure the transparency of the validation procedures applied to the data sent to Eurostat by the ESS Member States.
Increase in the quality and credibility of European statistics
Reduction of costs related to the time-consuming validation cycle in the ESS ("validation Ping-Pong")
Goal 2: Enable sharing and re-use of validation services across the ESS on a voluntary basis.
Reduction of costs related to IT development and maintenance

7. Timeline of the project (ESSC May 2016)

8. Focus on action 1 Obtaining harmonised and jointly designed validation rules

9. Main cooperation instruments
7 Pilot domains (Animal, Asylum, BOP-ITS, Energy, HBS, NA, STS)
8 countries in Task Force on Validation (DE, EE, IE, IT, NL, PT, SI, UK)
6 countries in ESSnet Validat Integration (DE, LT, NL, PL, PT, SE)

10. State of Play – Main achievements
2016 – May 2017
Business architecture for ESS Validation finalised and approved
VTL:
Assessment of VTL for content validation rules in 5 domains
Proof of concept of a VTL interpreter (VTL sandbox)
Contribution to improvement of VTL (via public consultation)
Tools and services:
STRUVAL available at Eurostat in Process Manager and exposed for sharing service
CONVAL-1 available at Eurostat in Process Manager
Communication (Video, Training courses, Web pages, …)

11. Next steps
for
Standard framework (template, guidelines, best practices, …) for describing and agreeing on validation rules and roles covering all statistical domains
Deployment of Business Architecture in ESS
Validation services available: (STRUVAL), CONVAL-2 (with VTL support), Validation Rules Manager
Validation rule registry available

12. Standard framework for validation rules and roles
practise of designing and agreeing on validation rules at Working Group level will be extended to all statistical domains until end 2019
validation rules will be documented using common cross- domain standards
clear validation responsibilities will be assigned to the different actors

13. QUESTIONS ?
Time for lunch ?