You need a PLAN to deal with duplicates
Here's the thing about duplicate records: No matter what you do, you'll never get rid of them completely, because humans are human. Whether it's a staff member creating a duplicate record because they forgot to check if the record exists, or it's a customer who doesn't want to take the time to reset his password and just creates another record with a different email address, duplicates are going to happen.
And because duplicates are inevitable, you have to have a plan for dealing with them. Here are some suggestions:
- Create data integrity reports that will help you identify potential duplicate records, and run those reports consistently. ("Consistently" means at least once a month, if not more often.) And make sure someone (or several someones) on staff has responsibility for cleaning up this data.
- Make it everyone's job on staff to identify potential duplicates whenever they are using the database and make sure you have a clear process for how those duplicate records are reported. And make sure someone (or several someones) on staff has responsibility for cleaning up this data.
- And did I mention to make sure someone (or several someones) on staff has responsibility for cleaning up this data?
Managing duplicate records is a journey, not a destination. No matter how good your technology is, like weeds in a garden, duplicate records are going to appear. So you have to have a plan for dealing with them, not just now, but always.
![]()
Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives
It’s all about managing expectations
It’s all about managing expectations I placed an order online on a Friday and the […]
Experience is the best teacher
Experience is the best teacher Experience is the best teacher. Every one of us has […]
Don’t ask for what you don’t need!
Don’t ask for what you don’t need! Recently I received a bill from a doctor’s […]
It is never done – so celebrate!
It is never done – so celebrate! A client of mine recently had their official […]
MDR (Minimum Data Required)
MDR (Minimum Data Required) I’ve written about minimum viable product (MVP) in software development in the […]
Simpler and Faster is Better
Simple and Faster is Better Earlier this week I was fortunate enough to attend a […]
Patience and grace
Patience and grace A past client of mine recently told me: “You inspire confidence and […]
Sometimes you just have to try it and see what happens
Sometimes you just have to try it and see what happens The single greatest key […]
Training and testing
Training and testing I’ve written before that the best form of training follows this process: […]
How to save a “failing” project
How to save a “failing” project It is not unusual for me to receive a […]
