1.2 Key Terms

• API - Applied Programming Interface - a conduit for systems to talk to each other.

• Better Rules - The practice of developing policy with multi-disciplinary teams in an iterative fashion that includes programmers modelling and testing the proposed policy as Rule-as-Code. Test Suites are utilised to capture policy intent and map the effectiveness of the developing policy.

• Machine-consumable - In order for information, data or a rule to be 'machine-consumable', it needs to be ‘available in a code or code-like form that software can understand and interact with, such as a calculation, the eligibility criteria for a benefit…or automated financial reporting obligations for compliance - see e.g., _Better Rules for Government Discovery Report_Digital.Govt.NZ (2018). This is distinct from 'machine-readable' which is merely information or data presented in a structured format that can be processed by a computer without (or with minimal) human intervention and without loss of semantic meaning. Digital formats are not necessarily machine consumable. For example, while a computer may be able to manipulate English text in a digital format, it may not able to understand the content and apply it.

• Rules Engine - A piece of software that holds coded rules and enables them to be consulted and applied.