You need a PLAN to deal with duplicates

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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

Don’t be so lazy…

June 24, 2020

Don’t be so lazy… One of the things that attracted me to the software world […]

Don’t try to do everything at go-live

June 17, 2020

Don’t Try to do Everything at Go-live When implementing a new AMS, there is a […]

Make sure your system has broad support

June 10, 2020

Make sure your system has broad support An AMS vendor pointed out to me recently […]

You have to have the right people in place

June 10, 2020

You have to have the right people in place This may seem obvious, but I’ll […]

Ask “What” not “Why”

June 3, 2020

Ask “What” not “Why” As a consultant, one of my favorite questions to ask my […]

Engagement is measured by the customer

May 27, 2020

Engagement is Measured by the Customer I’ve written a bunch about measuring engagement in the past. (Click […]

Yes, you do have a process for that

May 13, 2020

Yes, you do have a process for that When I work with clients on pretty […]

“Correct your mistakes before they become your habits”

May 6, 2020

“Correct your mistakes before they become your habits” Yet another great quote from James Clear: “Correct […]

Sometimes it’s a process issue

April 29, 2020

Sometimes it’s a process issue When I work with clients on developing a needs list […]

First ask: “How will I use this data?”

April 22, 2020

First ask: “How will I use this data?” Whether it’s during data conversion, adding a […]

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.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

Scroll to Top