Terms related to data · 3.2.6
exploratory data analysis
a first pass over data to find its main features and judge its quality
What this term settles
A governance lead borrows this meaning whenever exploratory data analysis appears in a risk assessment or an assurance argument. The borrowing is safe only if the artefact behind it matches the description.
Who it binds
The entry has no shall in it. Its force comes from use: once exploratory data analysis appears in a procedure or a supplier term, this is the meaning the reader is entitled to rely on.
What to do in your practice
Use the entry as a test in the next review. Ask the owner to point at the artefact that shows exploratory data analysis in this sense, then record the answer with a date.
Evidence an auditor or regulator asks for
- A controlled vocabulary entry for exploratory data analysis with the citation 3.2.6, an owner and a review date.An auditor can check that the term is controlled rather than assumed.
- A data inventory field that records the entry for each dataset used in training or operation.Shows exploratory data analysis in use in the artefact the firm relies on, not only in a glossary.
- A data quality record with the check, the date and the person who signed it off.The data inventory is organised by system rather than by dataset, so the same data is described twice with different labels.
Common gaps this page catches
- exploratory data analysis is used in the data record behind every AI system without a written definition, so two teams can mean different things.
- The term appears in a template with no citation, so the reader cannot tell which sense was intended.
What to prepare before the amendment lands
Brief the owners who use exploratory data analysis most often, then ask each to return one artefact that shows the entry in use. File the artefacts against the register row.
How to test it here
Take one live artefact rather than a template, find the sentence or field where exploratory data analysis is used, and put this page beside it. Record the answer, the artefact and the date, because that record is the evidence and a glossary entry on its own is only an intention.
What this page does not claim
The page does not reproduce the standard, certify the firm or predict the wording the amendment will use; it states exploratory data analysis at the claim level "definition" and stops where the public record stops.
Common questions
- What does exploratory data analysis mean in ISO 22989?
- a first pass over data to find its main features and judge its quality
- What evidence should we keep for 3.2.6?
- A controlled vocabulary entry for exploratory data analysis with the citation 3.2.6, an owner and a review date. A data inventory field that records the entry for each dataset used in training or operation.
- Is exploratory data analysis a requirement?
- No: exploratory data analysis is a definition or clause of a terminology standard, and it becomes binding only when a firm writes it into a policy, a contract or a procedure, or when another standard incorporates it.
Related units
Source. ISO/IEC 22989:2022, Clause 3.2.6, Terms and definitions. Open the ISO public entry. Retrieved 21 October 2026.
https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/en/#iso:std:iso-iec:22989:ed-1:v1:en
ISO catalogue record 88145, the amendment status, stage and dates. Catalogue record 74296, the base standard.
Claim level: definition. The definition is in the public preview. This page states it in our own words and does not reproduce the text.
Last updated: 2026-10-21 · Markdown version · Check your vocabulary