ISO/IEC 11179-3

ISO/IEC 11179-3 is part of an international standard that guides how to define and manage data element metadata—details about data like names, formats, and meanings. It provides a framework to ensure data descriptions are consistent, understandable, and interoperable across different systems and organizations. By standardizing how data elements are described, it helps improve data quality, sharing, and reuse, especially in complex environments like healthcare, government, or large enterprises. Essentially, it helps different systems speak the same data language accurately and reliably.