Perfect Data and Other Data Quality Myths

A recent client experience reminds me what I’ve always said about data quality: it isn’t the same as data perfection. After all, how could it be? A lot of people think that correcting data is a post-facto activity based on opinion and anecdotal problems. But it should be an entrenched process.

One drop of motor oil can pollute 25 quarts of drinking water. But it’s not the same with data. On the other hand, an average of less than 75 insect fragments per 50 grams of wheat flour is acceptable. (Jill says this is “apocryphal,” but you get my point.)

People forget that the definition of data quality is data that’s fit for purpose. It conforms to requirements. You only have to look back at the work of Philip Crosby and W. Edwards Demming to understand that quality is about conformance to requirements. We need to understand the variance between the data as it exists and its acceptability, not its perfection.

The reason data quality gets so much attention is when bad data gets in the way of getting the job done. If I want to send an e-mail to 10,000 customers and one customer’s zip code is unknown, it doesn’t prevent me from contacting the other 9999 customers. That can amount to what in any CMO’s estimation is a very successful marketing campaign. The question should be: What data helps us get the job done?

Our client is a regional bank that has retained Baseline to work with its call center staff. Customer service reps (CSRs) have been frustrated that they get multiple records for the same customer. They had to jump through hoops to find the right data, often while the customer waited on the phone, or on-line. The problem wasn’t that the data was “bad”—it was that the CSRs could only use the customer’s phone number to look up the record. If the phone number was incorrect, the CSR can’t do her job. And as a result, her compensation suffers. So data quality is very important to her. And to the bank at large.

Users are all too accustomed to complaining about data. The goal of data quality should be continuous improvement, ensuring a process is available to fix data when it’s broken. If you want to address data quality, focus energy on the repair process. As long as your business is changing—and I hope it is—its data will continue to change. Data requirements, measurements, and the reference points for acceptability will keep changing too. If you’re involved in a data quality program, think of it as job security.

Comments

[Jim Harris]

Excellent post Evan,

My battles against the Myth of Perfect Data have been chronicled in my blog posts:

http://www.ocdqblog.com/home/the-data-quality-goldilocks-zone.html

and

http://www.ocdqblog.com/home/missed-it-by-that-much.html

And thanks for the reminder on FDA cereal quality standards, especially since I am on my way to the supermarket.

Maybe I should buy Apple Jacks? I hear Kellogg uses the single worm to make the O-shaped cereal pieces…

Best Regards…

Jim