Data Value. OK. Hot topic. I’d be remiss if I didn’t say something about how data is the new oil or the new bacon or the new hot fudge lava cake with hand-churned vanilla bean ice cream drizzled with chocolate caramel sauce. Got it. So, let’s see. I have this Read more…
Through the years I’ve done several surveys. Sometimes it’s collecting business value. Sometimes it’s connecting talent and need. Sometimes it’s inventorying tools. Sometimes it’s understanding resource utilization patterns. Regardless the purpose or venue, I have a very strict rule that applies to every question in every survey: Before the question Read more…
I hate paying more than I have to for something. And I really hate paying interest, whether it’s on a credit card … or a loan … or Data Debt. Data Debt is the accumulation of unresolved data-related issues and unfinished information management activities. Think shortcuts taken in the interest Read more…
“Practical Data” is an occasional series of articles that examines metrics that we encounter in our everyday lives. I take it as axiomatic that government statistics are created and reported to support a political narrative, whatever the narrative happens to be at the time. Data Quality provides an excellent framework Read more…
A previous article established that the primary expectation of Data Product consumers is Reliability. This week we’ll look more closely at how we can provide that reliability. The five responsibilities of a Data Product provider are Content, Curation, Catalog, Certification, and Maintenance. Content: Data Products are created to satisfy anticipated and/or Read more…
This is the first of an occasional series of articles that will examine data that we encounter in our everyday lives. Metrics like unemployment, inflation, stock market averages, crime rates, and the like. Most of us don’t take day-to-day action based upon these numbers, but for many they contribute to Read more…
You had blood drawn in the doctor’s office as part of your annual physical and just received a printout with a bunch of numbers. Cholesterol 142. Platelets 203. Glucose 93. And so on. And you probably believe them. Why? Do you even think about it? Consider all of the assumptions Read more…
Important lessons can be learned in one of two ways: the easy way or the hard way. I prefer the easy way, but when it comes to Data Quality, it seems like I’m in the minority. Last week we wondered aloud whether data quality really matters. This week we’ll see a Read more…
Maybe we’ve been going about this all wrong. It seems that everybody in the information management field continually emphasizes the importance of Data Quality, and everybody not in the information management field couldn’t care less. Maybe the latter group has it right. After all, product is flowing out and revenue Read more…
In a 1993 Seinfeld episode, Jerry describes the psychological leverage that doctors use on their patients. They tell you to go into the little room and take your pants off and wait. Then, “anybody that comes in with pants on seems like they know what they’re talking about. In any Read more…