1. GSIM, DDI & Standards- based Modernisation of Official Statistics Workshop – DDI Lifecycle: Looking Forward October 2012

2. Overview Standards-based Modernisation of Official Statistics – GSBPM (Generic Statistical Business Process Model) – GSIM (Generic Statistical Information Model) Brief introduction to GSIM – Motivation – Purposes – Development process – Groups – Key messages & Next steps 2

3. Standards-based Modernisation A response to strategic challenges and opportunities for producers of official statistics Data deluge Competition Changing needs and rising expectations from users Governments expect efficiency (“do more with less”) High-Level Group for Strategic Developments in Business Architecture in Statistics (HLG-BAS) HLG-BAS Vision (condensed version) “Statistical organisations need to work together to re-invent our products and processes and adapt to a changed world” 3

4. HLG-BAS Vision: Modernising statistical production 4

5. Purposes of GSIM Improve communication between different disciplines involved in statistical production, within and between statistical organizations; and between users and producers of official statistics. Generate economies of scale by enabling greater collaboration within and between organizations, especially through reuse of information, methods or technology. Enable greater automation of the statistical production process, thus increasing efficiency and reducing costs. Provide a basis for flexibility and innovation, including support for the easy deployment of new statistical products and the adoption of new types of statistical data sources Build staff capability by using GSIM as a teaching aid that provides a simple, easy to understand view of complex information, with clear definitions Validate existing information systems and compare with best practice in other organizations.

6. The GSBPM 6

7. Information objects Information (e.g. statistical data and metadata) – Flows between GSBPM sub-processes e.g. data is processed/transformed between Collect & Disseminate phases – Governs the behaviour of GSBPM sub-processes business rules and derivation formulas apply during Run Collection, Derive New Variables etc rules/criteria determine which sub-process should be performed next (e.g. whether the quality of the output is sufficient to proceed to the next step or whether some form of “remedial” processing is required) – Describes the quality of the outcome of GSBPM sub-processes e.g. process related quality metrics (response rates, imputation variance etc 7

8. Need Consistent Information HLG-BAS Implementation Strategy seeks i.reuse and sharing of methods, components, processes and data repositories ii.definition of a shared “plug-and-play” modular component architecture Statistical business functions as described in GSBPM will help determine which components are required. Achieving (i) & (ii) also requires a consistent approach to information flowing in and out of functions DDI can provide a standard way of representing and “carrying” (at least some of) the required information – as can SDMX and … 8

9. Early thoughts 9

10. What is GSIM? GSIM is a reference framework of information objects which enables generic descriptions of the definition, management, and use of data and metadata throughout the statistical production process. Sets out definitions, attributes and relationships regarding information objects Aligns with relevant standards such as DDI and SDMX – not directly tied to them, nor other concrete implementation details Provides common semantics that can be used unambiguously across and between different implementations 10

11. How was GSIM developed? Pre-2012: Early project involving the NSIs of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, UK & Norway February 2012: Sprint 1 hosted by NSI in Slovenia April 2012: Sprint 2 hosted by NSI in South Korea 4 Specification Layer Teams working remotely September 2012: Integration Workshop hosted by NSI in the Netherlands 2 Teams currently working remotely on Communication & User Guides

12. GSIM v0.8 Groups of information objects ActivityProductionConceptualInformation Information RequestProcess Step ExecutionConceptCube Data Structure Change DefinitionProcess Step DesignClassificationUnit Data Structure Business CaseProcess ControlCode ValueCube Data Set Statistical ProgramProcess InputLevelUnit Data Set Statistical Program DesignProcess OutputVariableCube Data Point Statistical Program CycleBusiness FunctionValue DomainUnit Data Point Data ResourceProcess MethodPopulationRecord Relationship Data ProviderRuleUnitDimension Component Data ChannelBusiness Service Measure Component Provision Agreement Instrument Caveats 1. The above table presents a selection of objects associated with each Group – not a complete enumeration 2. Identification and naming of objects is subject to further review 12

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14. Key messages & Next steps The GSIM and DDI initiatives have many strategic aims in common. – The initiatives present complementary, rather than competing, means to the same ends. GSIM is a key element of the HLG-BAS Strategy – including as an enabler for “Plug and Play” architecture The DDI has influenced the design of GSIM – final alignment might be facilitated through extensions to DDI? Feedback on GSIM v0.8 from the DDI community – The sooner we can get feedback the better, but if we are to take it into account for v1.0, then we need it by 31 October at the latest. The planned release for GSIM v1.0 is December 2012 14

15. More information on GSIM? International GSIM home page – New stuff is interesting stuff! GSIM v0.8 documentation – Brochure Brochure – Communication Layer Communication Layer – Specification Layer Specification Layer » An extended feedback deadline for you - 31 October!