Wes’s Wednesday Wisdom

Some things are unknowable One of the most challenging aspects of moving to a new system and vendor is “not knowing.” There are some questions that just aren’t answerable in the moment. Here are some examples of questions my clients will ask that are really unknowable: “How much work will staff have to do during implementation?” Vendors […]

Do we have access to that data? When I work with my clients on a data management projects, there are frequently conversations about querying and reporting on data. I’ll hear things like “We want to query for people who have attended previous meetings and are also volunteers, but we’re not able to pull that information.”

The three “buckets” of contact data Broadly speaking, when collecting data on contacts (individuals or organizations), there are three “buckets” of data being collected: Contact information (name, address, phone, email) Transactional information (stuff they’ve purchased) Demographic data (information about the individual or organization, e.g., lines of business, areas of interest, professional status, etc.). Of these three, the most

Balancing what is possible with what is realistic When I work with clients on technology projects, I’ll tell them “These are blue sky discussions. Nothing is off the table.” I’ll usually follow that up with “But just because we discuss something doesn’t mean you’ll actually get that something.” Because even if what is being discussed

“Humans want to be surrounded by beauty.” “Humans want to be surrounded by beauty.” – Susan Cain Susan Cain was a keynote speaker at ASAE’s Annual Meeting this past August, and when she uttered these words, I immediately thought of data management systems (stick with me here…). One of the most common complaints I hear from

Data managers vs data consumers When I work with clients on any data management project, I’ll often point out that there are two broad audiences on staff when it comes to the AMS: data managers (those who frequently use the system for processing data and financial transactions, querying, etc.) and data consumers (those who only

Another universal truth There are many universal truths in data management. Some examples: You will always have duplicate records. Your business rules are the easiest thing to change to improve data management. Reporting and querying is always a challenge. In a recent conversation with a client, I was reminded of another universal truth: No matter

Don’t miss this year’s DAN Science Fair! I’m taking a break from my weekly tips to make the following important announcement: **The third annual Data Analytics Network Data Science Fair is coming on Tuesday, October 7, 2025!**  This is a FREE in-person event in Arlington, VA, taking place from 3pm-5pm (with a happy hour sponsored by Higher

Just start. And it’s never done. Last week I had the opportunity to lead a panel discussion about data clean up at the quarterly NetForum Users Group meeting. (Quick plug: If you’re not a member of your AMS users group, join now! And if there isn’t a users group, start one!) At the end of

Don’t ask if you’re not going to answer! In the past week, on three different occasions, I’ve filled out forms on websites requesting more information from the company about their services. These forms are on their websites explicitly for potential buyers to complete so that the company can provide a quote or more specific information about