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Cindi Howson's BI Scorecard
Cindi Howson is the founder of BIScorecard, a Web site for in-depth BI product reviews. She has been using, implementing and evaluating business intelligence tools for more than 15 years. She is the author of Successful Business Intelligence: Secrets to Making BI a Killer App and Business Objects XI R2: The Complete Reference. She teaches for The Datawarehousing Institute (TDWI) and is a frequent speaker at industry events. See More by Cindi Howson Data Quality's Threat to Democracy
Data Quality expert Larry English (catch his keynote address at the next TDWI) has claimed data quality is the second biggest threat to human kind, after global warming. When I first read this statement, I thought it was hyperbole, meant to engage readers. But English makes some compelling arguments. Yesterday's cover story in USA Today is yet one more case to support Larry's dire claim: data quality problems threaten this year's presidential election process. Eligible voters are being rejected because data doesn't match other government databases such as social security and motor vehicle administration records. Guess the Feds aren't any better at master data management than corporate America! In Colorado, for example, a full 20 percent of voters have been rejected because of these data quality problems. I don't know about you, but I don't have too much faith in manual, back-up ballots for such voters. Data quality is one of the biggest challenges to successful BI and one for which there is no easy fix. As highlighted in Chapter 7 of Successful Business Intelligence, some visionary companies such as Dow Chemical have gone so far as to appoint a "quality czar" who has authority not only over the BI environment, but also over the source systems where data quality problems usually start. Not all organizations have that vision or that luxury, however. FlightStats — like a voter registrar — is at the mercy of other organizations who create the data. For FlightStats, achieving a high level of data quality has been a multi-year process of understanding each sources' nuances, measuring data quality, and continuous improvement. It would have been ideal if USA Today's article included practical tips on how not to get rejected from the voter database, or how we as voters exacerbate the data quality problems. I'm notoriously bad at sometimes using Cynthia, Cindi, and if a clerk fills in the form, no doubt, it's Cindy. If only I thought about the big picture repercussions! What strategy has most helped your company improve its data quality? Regards,  E-MAIL | SLASHDOT | DIGG This is a public forum. CMP Technology and its affiliates are not responsible for and do not control what is posted herein. CMP Technology makes no warranties or guarantees concerning any advice dispensed by its staff members or readers. Community standards in this comment area do not permit hate language, excessive profanity, or other patently offensive language. Please be aware that all information posted to this comment area becomes the property of CMP Media LLC and may be edited and republished in print or electronic format as outlined in CMP Technology's Terms of Service. Important Note: This comment area is NOT intended for commercial messages or solicitations of business.
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