Garbage in, gospel out
We've all heard the phrase "Garbage in, garbage out." If the data entered into the system is bad, any reports coming out of it will be bad. Simple.
But what about "Garbage in, gospel out"? (I first heard this from my father.) Translated, this is reflected in the attitude of "If the system says it is so, it must be."
We've probably all encountered this with a consumer goods company when the customer service rep says "Sir, my records show your service is working fine," as I sit on my end with no internet service.
The antidote to Garbage in, Gospel out is "Trust, but verify." It's ok to assume your data reports are good, as long as you've verified they are good! One way to verify your data is through the use of data integrity reports.
Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives
Action produces information
Action produces information “Action produces information. If you’re unsure of what to do, just do […]
Why a single source of truth is so beneficial…
Why a single source of truth is so beneficial… The holy grail of data management is […]
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should I’ve worked in and with associations for well […]
Data doesn’t need to be perfect to be useful
Data doesn’t need to be perfect to be useful “Your data doesn’t have to be […]
Don’t just clean data, clean reports and queries
Don’t just clean data, clean reports and queries One of the reasons I exhort my […]
Don’t forget, your staff have day jobs…
Don’t forget, your staff have day jobs… The vast majority of my work is finite […]
Beware the automated “How did we do?” trap!
Beware the automated “How did we do?” trap! One of the downsides of technology is […]
Hindsight is 20/20
Hindsight is 20/20 I’m currently working with a client that is moving from their legacy […]
Cheaper now; costlier later.
Cheaper now; costlier later. Most of my clients are very cost-conscious, understandably. After all, who […]
The unified shopping cart: Dreams vs. reality
The unified shopping cart: Dreams vs. reality One of the more common requests I hear […]