Thus, data of interest solely within one mission area or agency are defined and reviewed at that level. After the data element definition and review process, data elements will be coordinated across all agencies and mission areas prior to approval as USDA standard data elements. It should also be noted that these procedures can be employed in situations other than those referenced whenever it makes sense to do so. Information is the meaning that is currently assigned to data by means of the conventions applied to that data. The data required by an organization to perform its mission can be graphically represented in data models.
Data models contain data entities, their attributes, and relationships between data entities.
Definitions of relevant terms are contained in Appendix A. Data elements are the logical representation of data entity attributes and provide the basis for physical implementation of application data elements or database table columns in information systems. We can discover and design data elements through data modeling, which reflect functional policy and represent USDA's data requirements. Data elements can also be discovered through analysis of functional information requirements. A data entity attribute becomes a standard data element through application of the procedures in this manual. The scope of USDA data element standardization includes the data requirements for all USDA Mission Areas.