How much data is enough data? This is a discussion often had within organisations where there are two broad groups: Gather only the data you know that you need – the minimalists Gather all the data you possibly can –
Decisions without information
When I saw a review of the book “Die Kunst des klugen Handelns” (The Art of Acting Cleverly) which started with the words: “Try to get through life with a minimum of information. You will make better decisions. What you
All of our data is equal, some is more equal than others
To paraphrase George Orwell’s quotation from the novel ‘1984’ “All of our data is equal, some is more equal than others”. If all data is treated equally, how can we prioritise our efforts? Criticality is a method used in many
It’s all in the timing…
We are all aware of the importance of timing in telling a good joke, but timing is also crucial in a business context. If you get the timing wrong you can waste effort and potentially damage your reputation.
The affordance of data and applications
I recently attended and presented at the PLM10 conference in Bremen. One of the other attendees, Professor Chris McMahon of Bath University, suggested that affordance was an additional quality attribute that should be considered when assessing data quality. I had
Reinventing the wheel
I’ve come across a few examples recently where people either have, or have nearly, re-invented something that already existed in an organisation. This can be termed “re-inventing the wheel”. Clearly, such activities would be a waste of resources, but what
The Data Zoo – White paper now available for download
Our popular series of blog posts describing the different behaviours to be found in The Data Zoo and how they impact data quality has now been updated, enhanced and published as a White Paper. This White Paper is also available in
Does data make you lonely ?!?
A current topic in the news in the United Kingdom relates to a report by the Mental Health Foundation about how modern life leads to people being more lonely and the physical and mental health impacts of this loneliness. In
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
Making performance improvement real
Last week I visited Haldex Concentric in Birmingham who manufacture pumps for commercial vehicle engines. They are shortlisted for an award at the Midlands Excellence Awards, to be announced this week. They have instigated a continuous improvement approach to improving