Methods of managing data. A master catalog of properties may be generated. An object model catalog containing a plurality of object models may be generated, each object model including at least one property listed in the master catalog. A data set including a plurality of data objects may be defined, each data object an instantiation of a respective object model from the object model catalog. Data may be collected in accordance with the data set definition. Data collection may be performed, at least in part, by an automatic data collection system.