Stop the Data Madness!
Stop the Data Madness! Lessons from a Lifetime in Data Management, by Merrill Albert
Learn what’s going wrong with data and how to fix it. My last book was about data crimes. We have to solve those crimes and prevent them from happening again. Data is too valuable to leave unattended.
Topics
Introduction
Don’t be a Data Victim. Don’t be a Data Offender.
Data in Real Life―Crimes Against Data
Chapter 1: Data Management
Purposeful Data Management
Foundation for Insights
Combat Data Management
Data Management―How Far Have We Really Come?
Industry-specific Data Management
Cleaning Your Data Closet
Building Your Own Data Function
Maturity Models
User Story―Two Data Analysts with Different Experiences
O Data
Data in Real Life―We Lost the Weapons
Data in Real Life―What the 2020 Census Tells Us
Chapter 2: Data Lifestyle
Data Literacy
Chapter 3: Data Governance
Data Governance is the Starting Point
What You Choose to Govern can Shape Success
Data Governance versus Data Management
The Data Governance Diet Versus Lifestyle
Data Governance―A Bright Shiny Object
If Data has Value, It Needs a Chief
Data Governance―Business Versus Technology
Ownership
Stewardship
Data Governance and the Closet Analogy
Stealth Data Governance
Data Governance Enables Analytics
Planning for Records Management Success
Data Governance 2.0, Data Governance 3.0, What?!
Data in Real Life―The Meaning of Owners
Data in Real Life―Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Chapter 4: Data Architecture
Why Do We Care About Data Lineage?
Data in Real Life―Bird Count
Chapter 5: Master Data Management
MDM―In the Beginning
MDM―Bringing on the Magic
Governing MDM Programs
Data in Real Life―Make Data Magical
Data in Real Life―Buying Master Data
Data in Real Life―What is the Customer Address?
Chapter 6: Data Modeling
Logical Relational Data Modeling―Where It All Started
Data in Real Life―One or Two Households?
Data in Real Life―A Place for All the Data
Chapter 7: Data Lakes
Governing Data Lakes
Data in Real Life―What’s in My Data Lake?
Chapter 8: Metadata
Dictionaries
Buying Metadata
Data in Real Life―Who Works for Us?
Data in Real Life―We Don’t Have That Problem
Chapter 9: Data Quality
Data Quality―More Than Just Following Your Gut
It Doesn’t Stop at a Dashboard
Cleaning, Cleansing, Fixing, Solving
Data in Real Life―If There’s One, There’s Probably Another
Data in Real Life―Do you Understand “Correct”?
Chapter 10: Data Privacy
Working with Data Privacy
Data in Real Life―I Mean Don’t Keep My Data
Data in Real Life―Classified Documents
Chapter 11: Data Retention, Archiving, and Destruction
Whoever Dies with the Most Data Wins
Data in Real Life―Where’s That Retirement Money?
Chapter 12: Testing Data
When Bad Applications Happen to Good People
Data in Real Life―You Did Not Win the Powerball
Chapter 13: Analytics
Analytics Governance
Data Management versus Data Analysis
Data, Analytics, and Insights
Data and the Cookie Analogy
CDO or CDAO?
Data in Real Life―My DNA Changed?
Chapter 14: Technology
Are Data Tools Magical?
Chapter 15: Living with Data
Change Management
The Reality of Managing Data
Metrics
Purchasing Data
Where Data Fits
Data Risk Management―Saving People from Themselves
Storytelling
Bias in Data
Data in Real Life―Know Your Data
Data in Real Life―Food Pickup Research Project
Data in Real Life―Is Technology Making Us Stupid?
Chapter 16: Consulting
Chapter 17: Terminology
Reference Data
Analytics? Data Analytics? Business Analytics?
The Wheel
Chapter 18: Beyond Data Management
Information Management
Analytics Management
AI Management
Data in Real Life―Crimes Against Humans
Data in Real Life―My Car is Making Stuff Up
Pick and choose stories to read by subject, including data management, data lifestyle, data governance, data architecture, master data management, data modeling, data lakes, metadata, data quality, data privacy, data retention, and analytics. Use the stories to rethink what you’ve been doing and if you need or want to take a new approach.
These stories come from a lifetime of working with data. I’ve seen the good and the bad. Keep the good, improve the bad, and take a more efficient and effective approach to dealing with data.
Life revolves around data. Unfortunately, most people don’t realize this and take data for granted. Without devoting the necessary attention to data, you risk everything based on your data. How do you expect to make good business decisions if you’re basing them on bad data? How do you expect to get good reports, analytics, and AI without good data?
About Merrill
Merrill has had the ultimate career of working in data. Starting with a BMath degree from the University of Waterloo, Merrill has worked consistently with companies across all industries to help them better manage their data to drive value from it. Being exposed to a wide variety of companies, Merrill has been able to see the same problems happening time and again, often caused by people not recognizing the value data brings to an organization and what happens when the data is mismanaged. Through education, coaching, and hands-on work, Merrill has been able to share her knowledge with companies to help them better improve their data infrastructure and prevent creating the next data crime.
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