RV: [IAIDQ Info Update] Plenty of Good Reading on Information and Data Quality

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ISMAEL CABALLERO MUÑOZ-REJA

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Aug 9, 2010, 8:13:08 AM8/9/10

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Estimados investigadores,

Os reenvío este correo por si es de vuestro interés

Un saludo y feliz verano!!

Ismael

De: Grant Robinson [mailto:grant.r...@iaidq.org]
Enviado el: lunes, 09 de agosto de 2010 14:01
Para: ISMAEL CABALLERO MUÑOZ-REJA
Asunto: [IAIDQ Info Update] Plenty of Good Reading on Information and Data Quality

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International Association for Information & Data Quality

[IAIDQ Info Update] Plenty of Good Reading on Information and Data Quality

Hi Ismael Caballero ,

This update shares news of another successful month for IAIDQ. Within it, a plethora of references to articles are listed for your reading. It also looks ahead to new opportunities on the horizon, such as a conference that may be of particular interest to our European colleagues.

Heather Richards
Director, Publicity
9 August 2010

heather....@iaidq.org

IAIDQ Certification Update – Test Assembly is Completed

You may recall that the test items for the IAIDQ certification exam had been finalized in June, on the weekend prior to the IDQ and DG conference. Since then, momentum has continued to build in developing IAIDQ’s information quality certification. On July 13^th, a group of seven IAIDQ volunteers met for a full-day work session with attention on assembling the certification exam.

A big “well done!” to this panel of experts; succeeding in their goal to create two versions of the exam, this group accomplished another important milestone on the road to IAIDQ certification.

The work session was held just prior to the 2010 MIT IQ Industry Symposium in Boston, Massachusetts, which took place July 14-16. Grateful thanks to Rich Wang and the MITIQ Program for hosting the certification workshop on the MIT campus.

The next step in the certification development plan is to set the passing point, which will determine how many questions need to be answered correctly to pass the exam. This will be done during a workshop scheduled for later this year.

IAIDQ is firmly on track to offer the exam during the first half of 2011. Stay tuned for more updates.

IAIDQ certification project team
Back Row: John Talburt, Amanda Newman (facilitator), Laura Sebastian-Coleman, Jeff Pettit, Christian Walenta
Front Row: Gwen Thomas, Danette McGilvray, C. Lwanga Yonke

Enterprise Information Management Exchange, October 11-13, London, U.K.

EIM Exchange

As the global economy slowly returns to growth, how confident are you that your organisation is set to lead the way?

Enterprise Information Management (EIM) recently conducted extensive market research with CEOs, business heads and customer intelligence executives and found that a key issue for all of them is sourcing the right IT tool to improve their operational business strategy. The people with whom EIM spoke are working on projects to help optimise their data in order to drive better planning, reporting, and analysis; they said that even when they have a fully functioning business plan they are overwhelmed by the vast quantity of solution providers and struggle to identify the right technology for their needs.

If you are experiencing a similar dilemma, you will be interested in attending the Enterprise Information Management Exchange, taking place 11-13 October 2010 in London.

This innovative, invitation-only forum is exclusively for senior level executives. It includes case studies from leading global organisations, roundtable ‘think tanks’, and private one-to-one meetings via a ‘behind-closed-doors’ environment. This venue provides an opportunity to meet with a number of carefully-selected leading suppliers. It is designed to make every hour you spend away from the office as relevant and as constructive as possible.

The exchange of ideas and best practice will be led by a panel of expert speakers in the field, including:

Paul Coby, CIO and Head of BA Services, British Airways PLC
Maurice Tayeh, Senior Vice President and CIO, Technip
Edwina McDowall, CIO, Cable and Wireless
Federico Trovato, VP Consumer & Market Intelligence, Philips Consumer Lifestyle
Jean-Paul Isson, VP, Global Bus.Intelligence and Predictive Analytics, Monster Worldwide
Richard Beaven, Global Head of Change Programme, Thomson Reuters Markets
Ian Jackson, Global Information Management Architect, BAE Systems

For further detail on the complete programme and entire speaker faculty, see the website or download the brochure.

Reserve your place today by calling the Exchange Team on 44(0)20 7368 9484 or by emailing exchan...@iqpc.com. Remember to quote IAIDQ_EIMX_PF to be eligible for discounts.

IAIDQ’s July Edition of the Newsletter is Available

Michelle Dy recently released this quarter’s issue of the IAIDQ Newsletter, which was packed with an interesting line-up of articles:

In A Long, Strange Trip Ahead, IAIDQ Co-Founder Thomas C. Redman demonstrates how the discipline of Process Management is critical in reducing the communication gaps that are a root cause of many data quality problems. [Requires member login]
In Is Consistency the Same as Quality in Data Reconciliation, Malcolm Chrisholm argues that, in data reconciliation activities, data consistency does not involve any judgments about fitness for purpose; consequently, it is radically different from other kinds of data quality attributes. [Requires member login]
In Data Migration: So is there a Better Way?, Johny Morris examines the common pitfalls project teams encounter when they use a traditional techno-centric approach to Data Migration, and suggests an alternative approach that greatly increases the chances of a successful outcome. [Login name=iaidq, Password=qualit33]
In Using Mind-maps in Information Quality Management, Daragh O Brien provides a step-by-step guide for using mind-maps in our IQ initiatives to document the information that we manage, and the reasons for which we manage it. [Requires member login]
In Common Mistakes in Information Expression, Michael Scofield begins a series of articles that highlights common mistakes made in the graphical representation of quantitative data. This first installment focuses on common errors in the use of pie charts. [Requires member login]

Also in this issue, you’ll find a new section called Information Quality Tips & Best Practices. This quarter’s edition describes the use of The Information Quality Minute in meetings as a tool for initiating discussions on the importance of Information Quality.

The Association News section covers highlights from the IDQ and DG Conference, held over June 7-10 in San Diego, California, an update from the IAIDQ Certification Program, and a quarterly Call for Contributions.

Do you have feedback, ideas, or requests that can make this newsletter more useful to you? Feel free to drop Michelle Dy an email!

Did you know? All articles from the earlier publications of the IAIDQ Quarterly Newsletters are publicly available. [Login name=iaidq, Password=qualit33]

IDQ Webinar on Data Governance

with Gwen Thomas, President and Founder of The Data Governance Institute

Topic:

Tell Me Where it Hurts: Using Medical Metaphors to Highlight Data Quality and Governance Contributions

Abstract:

Last winter, our speaker slipped on the ice and suffered a concussion. While dealing with first responders, emergency room personnel, doctors, nurses, and technicians, she realized something important: they were all using the same questions to ask about her pain, her injury, and underlying conditions. They all used the same language to describe how they were going to diagnose her condition, and what they were going to do to help her. They were consistent about the differences between injury, disease, and underlying malformations. As a result, they could easily reach agreement about what had happened, how they had responded, and the benefit of their responses to the patient, her insurance company, and other stakeholders. Furthermore, they could communicate this in a way that could be understood by a cold and frightened patient lying on a gurney with the headache of a lifetime.

What if our work were this way? What if we could align our accounts of data-related injuries, contaminations, malformations, and other problems? What if we could seamlessly communicate these to our stakeholders in a way that made them feel as grateful toward Data Quality and Data Governance teams as the speaker was for the medical profession that day? Join Gwen Thomas of the Data Governance Institute as she introduces a "Taxonomy of Data Pain."

Speaker:

Gwen Thomas's photo

Gwen Thomas is Founder and President of the Data Governance Institute, which provides vendor-neutral guidance to data stakeholders. She has worked with data governance and quality for over twenty years, concentrating on building business and IT alignment. She is the primary author of the DGI Data Governance Methodology, which has recently been embodied in the Web 2.0 workspace Stakeholder Care Online, and can be viewed from the DGI website at www.datagovernance.com.

Date:	Wed 8 Sept 2010
Time:	9am-10pm US PDT,	12n-1pm US EDT,	5pm-6pm UK/Ireland
	Click Here for other Timezones

Webinar Sponsor:

Update on the IAIDQ Certification Program

The ‘Information Quality Strategy and Governance’ domain includes the efforts to provide the structures and processes for making decisions about an organization’s data as well as ensuring that the appropriate people are engaged to manage information throughout its life cycle. Activities include working with key stakeholders to define and implement information quality principles, policies, and strategies; organizing data governance by naming key roles and responsibilities, establishing decision rights; and building essential relationships with senior leaders in order to improve information quality.

Read the IAIDQ brochure for descriptions of the other five domains of the IAIDQ certification program.

Blog Carnival Post from Jim Harris

Jim Harris provides you with a must-see collection of information and data quality posts from June and July in the Blog Carnival for IAIDQ. Review these eye-catching titles for the articles he has collated for your easy access.

Definition Drift: Graham Rhind examines the persistent problems facing attempts to define a consistent terminology within the data quality industry.
Lemonade Stand Data Quality: Steve Sarsfield explains that data quality projects are a form of capitalism, meaning that you need to sell your customers a refreshing glass and keep them coming back for more.
What’s In a Given Name?: Henrik Liliendahl Sørensen examines a common challenge facing data quality, master data management, and data matching—namely (pun intended), how to automate the interpretation of the “given name” (aka “first name”) component of a person’s name separately from their “family name” (aka “last name”).
Solvency II Standards for Data Quality: Ken O’Connor explains the Solvency II standards are common-sense data quality standards, which can enable all organizations, regardless of their industry or region, to achieve complete, appropriate, and accurate data.
How Accuracy Has Changed: Scott Schumacher explains that accuracy means being able to make the best use of all the information you have, putting data together where necessary, and keeping it apart where necessary.
Uniqueness is in the Eye of the Beholder: Marty Moseley beholds the challenge of uniqueness and identity matching, where determining if data records should be matched is often a matter of differing perspectives among groups within an organization.
Uniqueness in the Eye of the NSTIC: Jeffrey Huth examines a recently drafted document in the United States regarding a National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC).
Profound Profiling: Daragh O Brien recounts how he has found data profiling cropping up in the conversations and in the presentations that he has been making recently, even when the topic of the day was not “Information Quality.” He shares thoughts on the profound benefits of data profiling for organizations seeking to manage risk and to ensure compliance.
Wanted: a Data Quality Standard for Open Government Data: Sarah Burnett calls for the establishment of data quality standards for open government data (i.e., public data sets) since more of it is becoming available.
Data Quality Disasters in the Social Media Age: By using the recent story about the Enbridge Gas billing blunders, Dylan Jones examines the manner in which bad news sparked by poor data quality travels fast and far. It serves as a practical lesson for all companies sitting on the data quality fence.
Finding Data Quality: Jim Harris uses metaphors from the movie Finding Nemo to show that eventually you will be finding data quality everywhere.

The Blog Carnival post concludes with links to a couple dozen interesting articles. These have been a couple busy months in the blogosphere!

Thank you, Jim, for your huge effort in gathering these posts into one location!

Do You Know IAIDQ’s Tag Line?

IAIDQ strives to advance information and data quality, but how exactly? If you do not know the answer, see if you can find our tag line on the IAIDQ website; it lists two areas that IAIDQ is involved in advancing. Small hint: the tag line is included on every IAIDQ webpage.

MIT Industry Symposium

The MIT IQ Industry Symposium (IQIS) focuses on industry best practices and includes workshops, paper and report tracks, and sessions and space for announcing, presenting and discussing vendors’ products and consultancy methods. The Symposium takes place in Cambridge, Massachusetts from July 14 to 16. More details can be found at www.eriqlab.org/mit/.

Recognizing Our Involved Members

Keith Underdown's photo Keith Underdown is one of the UK's most experienced Information Architects, and has also been the convener of the British Isles Community of Practice since 2006.

In his forty-year career in IT, he has programmed real-time psychology experiments, designed a VME operating system at ICL, led the operational design of a major new banking suite, and developed corporate, group-wide information architectures. He has worked in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and South Korea.

Keith has worked on several customer data-cleansing projects, which have given him a good insight into the vagaries of naming conventions and the structure of postal addresses, perhaps more complex in the U.K. than anywhere else. Keith has now retired from regular practice but he remains a keen supporter of the IAIDQ.

On behalf of all of IAIDQ, particularly those located in the U.K., thank you for providing a local community for information and data quality professionals!

Be active in our LinkedIn Community and build your network

Our IAIDQ Information/Data Quality Professional Open Community on LinkedIn now consists of over one-thousand information quality practitioners and interested professionals. It offers you the option to post discussion boards, news announcements, and job postings. Being part of this community allows you to connect with other professionals directly.

In Closing…

School bus image

YouTube, in rare instances, can inspire thought. One recently viewed video has had this effect on me. It included a drawing of a school bus and posed the following question: in which direction is the bus moving? The video claimed that there was a correct answer to the question, and that most five-year old children could answer it correctly within seconds of being asked.

My immediate reaction to this video was to provide an answer quickly; however, no answer was forthcoming. Heckling me as the time passed, the video pressured me to answer, reassuring me that there was a correct answer. It confirmed that the directions from which to choose were either to the right or to the left… which did not help me determine the answer but rather made me feel more thick-headed as the time passed.

I finally surrendered to a button that provided the answer.

The answer: the bus is moving to the left. To explain why, the video posed a second question; did the drawing include a door that would let school children get aboard? Well, no, it did not. Hence, the video concluded that the bus must be moving to the left, since if it was moving to the right, the drawing would include a door.

Tiny muscles in my chin reacted to the mild humiliation. Yet again, a simple puzzle has proven that children observe details of our environment that I have lost sight of long ago.

A few moments passed. Then, suddenly, it came to me that the answer is not always that the bus moves to the left. The video failed to provide the circumstances within which the bus was moving. Do the local traffic laws require vehicles to drive on the right side or on the left side of the road? For example, Americans drive on the right side, but Australians drive on the left side. This is important to know and is required to solve the puzzle. Other circumstances also affect the answer: is the engine in drive or in reverse? Or, is it in neutral, in which case it is important to know the slope of the road. You get the point.

This flaw in the YouTube answer allowed my ego to slightly recover from its earlier blow. At the same time, it inspired the following thought: part of our role as an information quality professional is to seek out and challenge assumptions that are made by decision-makers. Our role is to ensure that all the information which is relevant to the decision is made available. This provides the framework in which good business decisions are possible.

While it may seem obvious that having high-quality information and making business decisions should go hand-in-hand, we often see real-life examples of the two functions operating in isolation. It concerns me that such a logical practice could be overlooked or ignored.

Our challenge is rarely in knowing when high-quality information is available and where to find it; it is in finding the most effective vehicle to communicate how to utilize this information properly to guide decision-making. We are often interacting with decision-makers who would prefer to mute our “data quality” message so that, from their perspective, business can continue to move forward. In such cases, we are allegorically in the position of a person on the bus who wants to put on the brakes when everyone else has gotten aboard, has picked the direction, and has the desire to go. Undoubtedly, whether they chose to go left or right, the bus will move. The task in which we need to succeed is to focus their attention on moving in the right direction at the start, rather than on simply moving.

Until next time,

Heather

Heather Richards
Director, Publicity

heather....@iaidq.org