And the winner is…..

As I write this post, the UK is in the middle of campaigning for the 2010 General Election. One feature of this election campaign has been the first televised debates between the leaders of the three main parties. The first of these debates has stirred up the campaign significantly as Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, by most accounts won the debate. This was an unexpected outcome as the Lib Dems have been the third party for many years.

This blog post is not a political post, but considers how winning may be assessed, particularly in a business context. (more…)

The Data Zoo (Part 5 of 5) – How data personalities interact

This is Part 5 of a 5 part blog post. If you have not read them yet, see:

In this final post of this series we briefly consider how the different data personalities work together and suggest some strategies to change how people behave. (more…)

The Data Zoo (Part 1 of 5) – The shape of the zoo

In this five part blog post I will present a number of different types of data personality that people may recognise from the organisations that they are involved in. I will provide examples of how these personalities operate and suggest ways that we need to engage them to improve how data is managed.

I have titled these posts “The Data Zoo” as there may be many different species of data user within the zoo, there are also different sub-species, which may form part of future blog posts.

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“Technology Today” interview by Phil Simon

One of the good aspects of social media and social networking is the relationships you are able to form with other professionals, who you may or may not have met physically. One example of this is the relationship Phil Simon and I have developed through various on-line interactions, comments on blog posts and phone calls. Phil is a respected technology author, blogger, consultant and self-confessed Rush fan.

One result of this has been that Phil has included an interview with me as part of his Technology Today series of podcast interviews. In the interview we discuss:

  • Are organizations are too eager to jump into new technologies?
  • Talk to me about the relationship between data quality and technology.
  • Do some organizations have “too much” technology?
  • How can an organization ready itself for a massive system endeavor?

See the page on Phil’s site for more details and the interview itself.

Is computer analysis accurate?

Clearly, when computers are required to perform “straight forward” calculations they are accurate. For example, when adding up a series of values they will get the correct answer. A recent Dataspora blog post postulates that we are not far from the point where data flows around the world helping to make everything happen, but without involving humans.

I take a slightly different view based on real world experiences of data, analysis systems and human behavior. In summary, I believe that complex analysis systems are inaccurate, to a certain degree, so outputs need to be treated with caution and reviewed for suitability before being acted upon.

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