Data Quality is not an Act, it is
a Habit
Posted October 21, 2010 Keywords: advice, Data Quality “Data Quality is not an Act, it is a Habit.” Habits are learned behaviors, which can become automatic after enough
repetition. Habits can also be either good or bad. Sometimes we can become so focused on developing new good habits
that we forget about our current good habits.
Other times we can become so focused on eliminating all of our bad habits
that we lose ourselves in the quest for
perfection. This is why Aristotle was also an advocate of the Golden Mean, which
is usually simplified into the sage advice: “Moderation in all things.” While helping our organization develop good habits for ensuring high
quality data, we often use the term Best Practice. Although data quality is a practice, it’s one we get better at as long as
we continue practicing. Quite often I have observed the bad habit of
establishing, but never revisiting best practices. However, as our organization, and the business uses for our data, continues
to evolve, so must our data quality practice. Therefore, data quality is not an act, but it’s also not a best
practice. It’s a habit of continuous practice, continuous
improvement, continuous learning, and continuous adaptation to continuous
change—which is truly the best possible habit we can develop. Data Quality is a Best Habit. http://smartdatacollective.com/jimharris/28387/data-quality-not-act-it-habit |