The Department of Defense (DoD) is set to pilot a new “data dictionary” later this year aimed at improving interoperability across its systems without disrupting existing workflows, Meritalk reported.

This was revealed by Leslie Beavers, Principal Deputy Chief Information Officer at the DoD, while speaking at the GovCIO Media and Research Federal IT Efficiency Summit in Washington

Beavers explained that the data dictionary will include “about seven blocks” and is designed to enable translation and tagging of data without requiring departments to overhaul how they operate. The initiative will begin with a targeted pilot to prove value before expanding at scale.

“Data is one of the unsung heroes and it has fundamentally been underappreciated — the level of deliberate effort that is required to make data interoperable,” Beavers reportedly said.

The effort is led by the DoD’s Zero Trust Portfolio Management Office and the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, which have spent the past year developing the capability.