| Contact person* | Klas Blomqvist |
|---|---|
| Job title | Senior Advisor Metadata |
klas.blomqvist@scb.se | |
| Telephone | +46 8 506 94352 |
Statistical Information Model
Statistics Sweden has created a national version of an overview model of GSIM. Some areas are not covered.
Detailed diagram:
Background
Statistics Sweden has a vision in line with the HLG and Eurostat 2020 vision. It focuses on creating a production environment based on a high level of standardization. The Swedish national version of GSBPM is the base for producing statistics as well as the organisation providing a basis for well-defined standardized processes and activities using standardised methods and tools.
Following the vision, information is stored in a coordinated and effective manner in a well-structured data warehouse throughout the production. The links between activities and data are supported by a common platform, where the standardized tools and services needed to carry out an activity are available via a central metadata repository, which contains the information needed to describe the data warehouse, including the tools, and to control and run the processes. These processes are continually evaluated by the process metrics created and utilized in order to improve them. Coordination at the statistical object level is supported by a registry system, in which base registers[1] interact and work well together with other statistical activities.
In the vision, all parts of the system are well integrated and cooperate to drive the business processes (production) forward in an effective, well-documented and standardized manner in which responsibilities for different parts are made clear.
Production systems do not maintain their own local metadata repositories, but all metadata associated with the statistical production process are stored in a central Metadata Repository. Common tools and methods related to relevant parts of statistical production process are means to achieve reusability and coherence.
A central data warehouse requires standardized rules governing the physical storage, such as formats and lengths. There must also be rules governing how to handle updates, ownership and permissions / security.
Other key factors to achieve the objectives include relevant expertise and management support.
Sweden has a distributed statistical system with 27 authorities responsible for producing official statistics where Statistics Sweden is the national coordinator. In the future the vision should cover the entire Swedish statistical system, using a common shared model for a metadata repository.
The vision is in principal shared by several other statistical organizations in the world, and is in line with the HLG vision[1]. It follows the HLG models GSIM (Generic Statistical Information Model), which is a common information model for statistical production, and GSBPM (Generic Statistical Business Process Model). Both are key components in modelling the central Metadata Repository. The model is in principal a Swedish adaptation of GSIM, on which the model is closely based.
The model is structured into the same four groups used by GSIM to structure the information objects. The areas are business, exchange, concepts and structures.
The present situation
An analysis of the current metadata situation at Statistics Sweden shows that the distance to achieving the vision is considerable. Currently, it is not possible to monitor, assess or control the production via the business processes. The metadata environment is split up storing metadata for different purposes separately, often closely coupled to the tools that support a particular process. Many tailor-made production systems include the required metadata, but these are stored separately in the respective production systems with no links to central systems. There are metadata in common production tools such as Triton[1] and the Statistical Databases (PC-Axis based), but they lack links to the metadata used in the following or previous processes. The MetaPlus system was originally developed primarily to be Statistics Sweden’s tool to document final observation registers (mainly microdata). It is nonetheless the metadata system at Statistics Sweden that is closest to fulfilling the principles of a central metadata repository.
MetaPlus contains central common metadata such as classifications, variable definitions and their value domains, linked to objects and populations. The documentation in MetaPlus is fairly complete, and up to date, but in many cases it has extensive quality deficiencies.
[1] Statistics Sweden uses the term”base register” to indicate three registers which are continuously updated statistical copies of the national administrative registers on individuals, businesses, and geographical entities
Adoption of GSIM
.System overview
.Process description that this GSIM implementation supports
.