A standardized, reusable set of parameters and properties defined for a category of BIM object, so every instance of that object type carries consistent, structured data. Instead of every manufacturer or modeler inventing their own property names for, say, a fire door, a data template (like the UK's NBS BIM object standard) fixes the exact parameters, units, and value types expected - which is what makes data genuinely interoperable and searchable across projects and software, not just geometrically compatible.