It is a commonplace to say we should manage data like a resource. But when you think about it, data is an asset but not a resource. Data isn’t a thing like real estate, employees, or customers, but rather it represents all of those things. In data-geek-speak, data is a meta-resource that holds information about resources. That makes data a lot like money. Continue reading »
May 232009
A recurring theme in the literature on IT over the years has been frequent failure of IT projects. Most studies lay the bulk of the blame on requirements (examples here and here). One way to improve accuracy and fit-to-purpose of requirements, and thereby promote project success, is to include data analysis as well as process analysis in the requirements plan.
I’ve cited here the need to start data interface analysis early to avoid budget and schedule blow-ups when, as a result of not thinking early about interface complexity, data integration work turns out to be bigger and nastier than anticipated. Continue reading »
May 032009
In a recent very thoughtful post on data quality, Paul Erb plays out an analogy comparing data users with Don Quixote and data quality professionals with Sancho Panza, then reverses the analogy to cleverly coin the “Sancho Panza” test of data quality professionals. He encourages data quality professionals promoting the critical role of data quality to apply a what would Sancho say test to ensure that they are aligned with the needs and interests of data consumers. Continue reading »
Apr 052009
It seems I’m frequently in conversations about using null to represent a business value. To paraphrase, say there are credit and cash customers, and there’s a suggestion to set “Customer_Type” to “C” for credit and null for cash. To data and database professionals this is obviously a bad idea, but it’s not obvious from a business point of view. Continue reading »
Here’s a little-recognized fact about data integration: if you run a business or any sizable chunk of one, someone is integrating your data.
In my professional life I have on occasion suggested data integration efforts. Sometimes my suggestions have been accepted and sometimes not. As an IT professional I understand that different managers have different priorities, and in a given business situation sometimes other things are more important for example than having a single, consistent source for all customer records, or making sure production data matches financial data.
But as a customer? That’s different. Continue reading »
Excerpt from "Illusions, Allusions – Let’s Get Real about Database Design", October 4, 2002
Much of today’s IT application development – custom or off-the-shelf – involves integrating data from legacy systems, third- party software products and external data sources such as demographics or mail lists. More often than not, data integration is unexpectedly complex, either due to data quality issues or the nature of the data integration itself. Continue reading »