Atomic
Definition: Anything atomic is at the lowest or simplest level possible. An atomic operation, or atomicity, implies an operation that must be performed entirely or not at all. For example, if machine failure prevents a transaction to be processed to completion, ...
Attribute
Definition: An item associated with an element that describes, modifies, or provides extra information about the element content (think of it as an adjective describing the element). (As defined by the SIF Association.) What This Means: Attributes are defined for each element ...
Audit Report
Definition: Compliance or audit reports are produced to meet a mandate, to establish how funds were expended, or how program services were delivered. What This Means: Traditionally, these reports ask how many and how much, and may be simply financial audit reports, ...
Audit Trail
Definition: An audit trail is a chronological record, set of records, and/or source of records that provides documentation of a sequence of activities. Within software applications, an audit trail may document who and when changes and updates are made to code or data. What ...
Authentication
Definition: Authentication is verifying the identity of a user logging onto a network. What This Means: Any system that contains confidential information has to know who is accessing that system. Authentication is the gatekeeper task. Passwords, digital certificates, smart cards, and biometrics ...
Authoritative Data Source
Definition: A data source is authoritative when it is the one all others rely upon for the official data. What This Means: Designating the authoritative data source is important to ensure an agency knows what data count. Conflicting data from contrasting periodicities, ...
Authoritative Provider
Definition: The software application that is deemed the authoritative source of the data. (As defined by the SIF Association.) What This Means: Within an education agency, the authoritative data source is the one designated as the one responsible for the official data ...
Authorization
Definition: Authorization is clearing a person to access a system or information within a system. What This Means: Once a user has been authenticated, then a software application must determine what level of access that person has. Access can be to everything ...
AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress)
Definition: An accountability measurement defined by the No Child Left Behind Act that requires states to determine how every public school and school district in the country is performing academically in order to identify schools in need of improvement. What This Means: ...
Back Office
Definition: A back office application does not deal directly with the customer. What This Means: When you hear “back office,” it means that the application is used by the workers, not the decision makers. A data warehouse is a back office application, ...
