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
Everybody likes a pithy definition. Marketers describe them as “sticky,” meaning that they’re easy to remember. Of course, that doesn’t always mean they’re useful or completely accurate. Information Management has a couple. Metadata is almost universally described as “Data About Data,” but I’d be willing to bet that you rolled Read more
For those who don’t want to click from page to page, here are all five articles in the Data Chasm series. In it, we explore the question of why we continue to see overwhelming numbers of analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, information management, and data warehouse project failures despite the Read more
Relating the challenge of launching a new corporate process to a flywheel is a tired, overused metaphor. Probably because it so often applies. Like here. It’s been hard getting started. Probably several false starts. Progress has been agonizingly slow. But now you’ve found a new ally. Hopefully several. They showed Read more
If you’re just joining, welcome. Before launching in at the middle, it might be useful to go back and read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. I’ll wait. Recapping very briefly: It seems that most everybody has become comfortable with the notion that the overwhelming majority of data warehouse, Read more