Data provenance project endorsed by industry

A project which will provide a means of tracing the origins of computer-generated information, has received a seal of approval from industry. Professor Luc Moreau from the School of Electronics & Computer Science and John Ibbotson from IBM UK Ltd have showcased the initial results of the EU Provenance Project to IT analysts with very favourable results. The two-year project, which borrows its name from the trusted, documented history of works of art, aims to extend this concept to the computer science industry.

Richard Veryard, management consultant and technology analyst from CBDI Forum, commented on the fact that current audit trails are “all over the placeâ€? and that provenance is an important aspect of governance and an area which needs an analysis and design methodology.

In an article on IT-Analysis.com, Peter Abrahams from Bloor Research recommends that the Architecture for Provenance Systems which was recently published by the project should be read by anyone developing architectures or solutions for compliance processes.

Professor Moreau commented: ‘Now just 12 months into the EU Provenance Project, we have developed architecture for the project and a methodology guide for its use. Within the next 12 months, we will deliver a standardisation proposal for the industry to use.’

Other partners in the Provenance team are: Cardiff University (Welsh eScience center), German Aerospace Center (DLR), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and Computer and Automation Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.