Terms related to data · 3.2.7
ground truth
the value of the target variable for one labelled input item
What this term settles
The term looks ordinary until two teams use it differently. The entry removes that room by naming the thing, its inputs and its limits in one sentence.
Who it binds
A definition binds nobody on its own, so the force of ground truth comes only from the reader who adopts it in a policy, a contract, a data schema or an assurance argument.
What to do in your practice
Put ground truth in the controlled vocabulary with its citation, an owner and a review date. Then test the inventory and the policy against the entry and record every place the firm uses a different word for the same thing.
Evidence an auditor or regulator asks for
- A controlled vocabulary entry for ground truth with the citation 3.2.7, an owner and a review date.An auditor can check that ground truth is controlled rather than assumed.
- A data inventory field that records the entry for each dataset used in training or operation. The row names ground truth.Shows ground truth 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 record carries the ground truth entry and its date.The data inventory is organised by system rather than by dataset, so the same data is described twice with different labels. The gap is tested against ground truth.
Common gaps this page catches
- ground truth is used in the data record behind every AI system without a written definition, so two teams can mean different things.
- The entry for ground truth is reviewed when someone remembers, not on a cadence, so it drifts from the artefact it describes.
What to prepare before the amendment lands
Take the next policy revision and replace the loose use of ground truth with the entry and its citation. Record the change in the vocabulary change log.
How to test it here
Take one live artefact rather than a template, find the sentence or field where ground truth 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 ground truth at the claim level "definition" and stops where the public record stops.
Common questions
- What does ground truth mean in ISO 22989?
- the value of the target variable for one labelled input item
- What evidence should we keep for 3.2.7?
- A controlled vocabulary entry for ground truth with the citation 3.2.7, an owner and a review date. A data inventory field that records the entry for each dataset used in training or operation. The row names ground truth.
- Is ground truth a requirement?
- No: ground truth 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 3.2.7, 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