Author: Thomas C. Redman, Ph.D.
Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann, Inc., 2001
ISBN 1555582516
Like the weather, many people talk about data quality, but few do anything about it. Almost no subject in information management inspires more complaints and less action, but the need for data
quality improvement is growing constantly, and executives are being forced to address this unglamorous issue.
Companies are faced with restating earnings, resubmitting regulatory paperwork, correcting erroneous information on corporate web sites and mailing information to non-existent
“customers”. All of these actions are the result of poor data quality, and they lead to the unnecessary expenditure of millions of dollars each year. Every organization develops data,
uses data and exports data – all without verifying its validity and usefulness. This is one of the more wasteful practices in modern organizations, and this book can assist companies in
stopping the flow of poor data and its associated costs.
Dr. Thomas Redman has made a career of improving data quality, and this book “Data Quality: The Field Guide” offers fundamental guidance for starting and maintaining a data quality
initiative in any organization.
Starting with an overview of data quality and its relevance to organizations, “Data Quality: The Field Guide” explains the need for understanding data and quality issues in the context
of executive actions, and discusses the “social issues” that often prevent organizations from facing and solving their data quality problems.
The text presents the most common data quality problems and offers many and varied suggestions for improvement. Each chapter is devoted to a single issue, and the text can be read from
cover-to-cover or a reader can simply access the issue/chapter that is needed. The book not only presents the issues; the suggestions for improvement are demonstrated in detailed instructions and
each technique is analyzed for effectiveness in situations.
This book is strongly recommended for all leaders in information management, and for those executives charged with the responsibility of ensuring profitability and enhanced performance from quality
data.
