One of the most common functions in an AMS is the concept of checkboxes and/or tags (your system may have both!). With checkboxes and tags we can easily "group" otherwise disparate data sets together. For example, need to create a VIP list of people to invite to your annual awards dinner? Create a checkbox or a tag called "VIP list" and start adding them!

So easy to create and query on! But of course, there's a problem with this.

The problem, as I discussed in a previous newsletter, is that more often than not, these tags or checkboxes are not actively managed. And so the data quickly becomes incorrect.

And worse than that, checkboxes and tags are often used in a redundant manner. For example, I'll frequently find clients using checkboxes to track members when the membership status is already being tracked somewhere else in the system. When I ask my clients why they do this, they almost invariably say "It's easier to see and query this way."

But what I see happen too often is that these checkboxes are not being updated when membership status changes, e.g., when a member drops. So very soon, the data is wrong.

Tags and checkboxes are awesome because they are easy to create, easy to read and understand, and easy to query on. But like all data points, they require active management. So use them judiciously and make sure you keep them up to date (or get rid of them!).