A colleague of mine recently posted a very interesting blog titled Do you trust your data?
This led me to think about the issues from the perspective of the data i.e. if I am a data set can I trust the people who handle me to do the right thing with or to me………
The datasets view:
It’s taken me a long time to get to where I am. I started small and now I’m so big people often refer to me as ‘big data’. However, I still have my needs and the same aims in life e.g. I want to be reliable, dependable, available and adapt to change. I don’t want to be perfect but fit for your use; I don’t want to be too needy and expensive to keep otherwise you may archive me or replace me.
Please remember though if you treat me well, I will be faithful and true. Treat me unkindly and I will do whatever I can to make your life frustrating. Just think what I could do if I ever get to drive vehicles for you???
If you remove my competition I promise I will be stronger, I do not like to share the limelight with inferior spreadsheet copies of me. If you put garbage into me then I won’t be happy and will only send even more garbage back at you.
If you care for me I will never become out of date; I have an ability to change if you allow me. However, if I change I want to be sure I’ve changed for the right reasons and not just because you think I will look better if I was different, or that I will fit into your perceived view of me. After all, I am what I am, and we will live together better if we fully understand each other.
If you have not specified what I need to look like, then I have no idea how to behave or what to tell you: I’ll try and predict this and tell you what I think you want to know which may not be right.
I can be so clever if I am set up correctly, I can auto correct, provide you with selectable values, undo and even auto archive. But if you don’t, I have an ability to ruin your day. I have a whole catalogue of sayings to throw at you, here are some of my favourites:
- Invalid key stroke
- Invalid data format
- Command not recognised
- No search results found
- Data out of range
- Can’t undo
- Last session did not save
Sometimes I get abused. The Finance Department often reshape me and turn me into something I don’t recognise of myself, I think they call this accountancy. These days I’m used a lot in Business Intelligence or BI for short; they don’t like what I tell them most of the time.
The most fun I ever had was when someone put me through a data migration project. Someone thought I would be very different and much improved as a result, but no, I’m still the same but at least I have a new shiny coat to wear. At least I fared better than some of my cousins, one of them became schizophrenic after he was part of failed data migration. He has never been the same again!
I was so chuffed recently when I was honoured with the title of being the ‘Single version of the truth’ until I found out all my brothers and cousins were also receiving this award.
So please be very careful when handling me, I do not like any of the following:
- Being changed – unless my physical representation has also changed. And you have been given permission to change me. I hate to be ’dressed up’ or made to look good because my data is not giving you the answer you want to see; let me be me
- Do not share me – unless I let you. I may be sensitive and in retaliation I may undermine your business advantage
- Being taken for granted – Understand me and my ancestors. My provenance may increase our like for each other
- Copy me unnecessarily – I want to be unique and original
- Force me to look different from time to time – I like to be consistent
- Remove bits of me – I like to be complete
- Don’t let incompetent people near me – I will tell them lies or even worse I may delete myself and not come back
- Don’t assume I want to be housed in a nice expensive system – I am equally happy in a simple spreadsheet if I’m properly looked after and appreciated
- Don’t ignore me – if you show me you don’t care I will just not help you and I may even become obsolete
- Unstructured data – don’t get me started! Oh, how I hate whiteboards…
In summary, if you handle me correctly I promise I will serve you in the right way and shall be around as long as you need me. Treat me badly and I promise I can, and will, screw up your decisions. I do like to be user friendly, so can you please be data friendly?
Finally, if you want further knowledge on how I like to be treated speak to one of my friends and supporters at Data and Process Advantage.
Tongue in cheek and yet strangely appealing. I’ll share with my Data Analyst Apprentice….
Thanks
We try to present a slightly different perspective on data at an enterprise level – it is far more than just 1s and 0s. You may find some of our other blog posts informative/entertaining!
An enjoyable and very true read Julian!