Garbage in, gospel out

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

Daylight savings and business rules

March 11, 2020

Daylight savings and business rules This past Sunday, most of the US observed Daylight Savings […]

It’s always about priorities

March 4, 2020

It’s always about priorities No matter the size or type of technology project, you will […]

Only one can be best

February 26, 2020

Only one can be best One of my (many) pet peeves with software vendor marketing […]

Seek to simplify

February 19, 2020

Seek to simplify When I work with my clients on system selection or implementation, one […]

Some problems are not problems

February 12, 2020

Some problems are not problems “A problem with no solution is not a problem, it’s […]

UI Matters!

January 29, 2020

UI Matters! Almost since I began consulting over 20 years, I’ve noted how important the […]

Be careful with absolutes

January 28, 2020

Be careful with absolutes When I speak with clients I try to be careful about […]

New Year’s Resolutions

January 22, 2020

New Year’s Resolutions Why do New Year’s Resolutions fail? Research suggests that part of the […]

Why Process is So Important

January 15, 2020

Why Process is So Important One of my favorite business authors is James Clear, who writes all […]

The Significant Change of SaaS Software

January 7, 2020

The Significant Change of SaaS Software One of the most significant technological changes in the […]

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top