A data structure by which a color management system can model color behavior of a color device. More particularly, the data structure includes a measurement component including a collection of measurements, where each measurement represents at least one control signal by which a sample color measurement is obtained by effecting a corresponding color output from or input to the color device, or a set of color coordinates which correlate to the at least one control signal, or both. The data structure also includes a characterization process component which includes platform-independent code for a characterization process by which the collection of measurements is processed to produce a color behavior model for the color device. The invention preferably includes a control parameter component which includes control parameters representing a type or state of the device, where the characterization process component processes the collection of measurements in accordance with the control parameters, in order to generate a color transform corresponding to the type or state of the color device.