Spring cleaning, all year long
I talk frequently about "weeding the garden," the idea that proactively managing your data, consistently, over time, is a better practice than trying to clean up the data in one big effort once every couple of years.
But beyond the data itself, weeding the garden should also include making sure all the things around the "weeds" are cleaned up, too. I'm referring to things like fields and data points that are no longer used, redundant queries and reports, and business processes that are outdated or no longer useful.
The bad data are the weeds themselves. The fields, queries and reports, and business processes are the gardens that the weeds are growing in.
So while you're weeding, make sure you check the rest of the garden and clean up anything that might contribute to the proliferation of those weeds.
Happy gardening!
Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives
Look for small wins
Look for small wins One of the toughest things about system implementation is simply how […]
Are you closing the loop?
Are you closing the loop? If your association does a call for presentations for any […]
Declare victory and move on
Declare victory and move on The law of diminishing returns is the point at which the […]
Clean as you go
Clean As You Go A good cook or baker knows that, when working in the […]
Baby Steps
One of the keys to developing good data management habits is to be aware of […]
Success Requires Discipline
When it comes to data management, most of us know what to do; we just don’t […]
Take a moment to be grateful
Because we’re so focused on always improving what we have now, it’s easy to overlook […]
KPIs and Dashboards
I saw DJ Muller from MemberClicks speak on KPIs (key performance indicators). In his session […]
Documenting Process is Critical
When it comes to managing data successfully, process is critical. For example, a client of […]
Motion vs. Action
In James Clear’s book Atomic Habits (I recommend it!), he discusses the concept of motion vs. action. […]