Add one, remove one
In the world of home-organizing, there's the "one in, one out" rule. Simply put, for every new item that enters your home, one similar item must leave, helping to maintain a constant level of possessions and prevent clutter accumulation.
This would be a great rule for database managers when considering adding new fields of data to collect!
If staff wants to add a new field to collect a new data point, the first question is "Which data point/field are we going to remove?"
I'm only half-joking. Too often I see my clients adding new fields of data to collect while simultaneously not keeping up with the other data points they are supposed to be already collecting.
So when you think about adding a new field, ask yourself: "Are there other data fields we could remove while we're adding this new one?"
Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives
Seek forgiveness rather than permission
Seek forgiveness rather than permission “Seek forgiveness, not permission.” I can’t remember when I first […]
Is a 360 degree view necessary?
Is a 360 degree view necessary? “A 360 degree view of our members should NOT […]
Why data matters
Why data matters I write about data because managing our data effectively will help us […]
It’s about process
It’s about process I’m in the midst of adding an AI agent to my website […]
Data integrity reports
Data integrity reports I speak and write a lot about data integrity reports. So I […]
The most important training tip
The most important training tip I’ve been sitting in a lot of database training sessions […]
Be careful about getting tangled
Be careful about getting tangled “We had done a lot to tangle ourselves up.” – […]
Discipline. Always discipline.
Discipline. Always discipline. I’ve been producing a newsletter in some form for over 25 years […]
Simpler is better
Simpler is better Recently, a client of mine was discussing how they manage membership reinstatements. […]
Baby steps
Baby Steps A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. You have […]