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 the session, I asked the participants to offer some final words of advice. I was coalescing thoughts of my own and arrived at these two suggestions about doing data clean up:
- Just start.
- It's never done.
Both are simple, but oh so hard.
If you're not already cleaning your data in some manner, today is the day to start. And don't try to do it all; just pick one thing and clean.
And always remember: data cleaning is never done. Data that isn't actively managed will become stale over time. So either you're cleaning it, or it's getting worse.
So what are you waiting for?
Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives
Where is that data?
Where is that data? This is what data management nirvana looks like: When the question starts with […]
Be deliberate, but act quickly
Be deliberate, but act quickly Be deliberate, but act quickly. These are my words of […]
Why associations don’t like the “S” word
Why associations don’t like the “S” word A couple of weeks ago I asked my […]
The “S” stands for “Standard”
The “S” stands for “Standard” In a conversation with a past client, we were discussing […]
Is that meaningless data?
Is that meaningless data? I’m not a big quotes guy, but one of the few […]
Be aware of unintended consequences
Be aware of unintended consequences I’ve written before that every decision involves a trade-off. When […]
Positive change is harder to see
Positive change is harder to see Humans are wired to see negative change because we […]
MVP: Minimum Viable Product
MVP: Minimum Viable Product In product development there is a concept known as MVP, or […]
You always need a reason for collecting data
You always need a reason for collecting data When you ask for data from someone […]
If you’re unhappy, speak up!
If you’re unhappy, speak up! My clients will often ask me something along the lines […]