Bad Data Management Dead Giveaways

 

In most professions there are clear indicators when those claiming expertise show themselves to be, in fact, rather inept. An accountant who doesn’t know how to close out a contra account, the project manager who doesn’t know what a cost variance is (no, it’s NOT the difference between budget and actual costs. If you thought so, are you sure this is the website you should be perusing?), or the strategic manager who isn’t aware of their organization’s market share must keep such ignorance secret, or else get educated immediately, les they reveal themselves as doofuses.

The same is true of data managers, or, if your organization has one, Chief Information Officers. Much silliness can enter into the realm of how managing large amounts of data ought to occur, and if those in charge are not, in fact, advanced in their capability, then the entire organization is in the lurch. So, how does one determine if the keepers of the big data know what they’re doing, but in a non-intrusive way? It’s easy – just listen to what those people have to say, and if they commit any of the following follies, be afraid, be very afraid.

The easiest such test might be if the CIO knows the meaning of the word “epistemology.” This word rarely comes up in your normal project team meeting. It refers to the study of knowledge and its limits and, by extension, the nature of information efficacy. If your typical PM or strategic manager (never mind the accountants) don’t know the term, it’s probably no big deal. But if your CIO doesn’t know it, they are most likely deficient in the expertise they need for their position.

The next most obvious indicator is if those in charge of managing, creating, maintaining, or modifying management information systems ever – ever – use the argument “why wouldn’t you want to know that?” Management information systems require time, energy, and resources to set up and operate. If there is no specific demand for a particular information set, then setting up the systems to deliver such information is a waste of those very resources, energies, and time. Even entry-level MIS practitioners ought to know this.

Another clear indicator of bad data management practices infiltrating your organization involves any push to consolidate information streams into a common software platform by invoking the efficiencies of scale argument. In those instances where a variety of home-grown systems have been developed, some of which perform overlapping functions, it’s almost always due to a diversity of needs among the consumers of the information. Unless there’s a clear and compelling reason to force all such information systems onto a single platform (e.g., the general ledger clearly shouldn’t be split), any attempt to do so will come across as heavy-handed and meddlesome. Invoking supposed savings in training costs while managers are in danger of losing the relevant info they need to manage is an unmistakable sign of CIO chicanery.

Also, if your Board of Directors is being informed of goings-on within the organization via an action item list, milestone list, or “performance item” list, then the person(s) supplying this so-called information don’t know what they are talking about. Polls are not legitimate management information systems. Legit MISs have three distinct phases: (1) data is gathered based on a certain discipline or criteria, (2) it is processed into information based on some methodology (e.g., Earned Value or Critical Path), and (3) the information is delivered to decision-makers in such a way that they can readily use it. A poll, on the other hand, is just what the last person who entered data into a central database thought of a particular issue. They’re worthless, and real CIOs would know that.

Finally, authentic big-data managers know that accountants and risk managers want to take over the management information universe, and know how to put such usurpers in their places.