Top 8 Ways to Improve Decision Making with Better Data Quality

Six million pages were found for the term “data quality” in the search engine results. This demonstrates the importance of data quality in decision-making contexts and the crucial role it plays in determining the outcome.

Understanding the data is key to its classification and qualification for the best possible use in the specific scenario.

Understanding Data Quality

Data of high quality is reliable, consistent, and scalable. Data should be useful in planning, operations, decision-making, and planning.

Poor quality data can lead to a delayed deployment of a system, a damaged reputation, poor productivity, poor decision-making, and lost revenue.

A report by the Data Warehousing Institute shows that poor customer data costs U.S. companies approximately $611 billion annually. Insufficient data quality is also a major reason for losses in 40% of companies, according to the research.
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Seven Characteristics that Define Data Quality

Accuracy Does this data accurately reflect the real-world object?

Integrity: Have the data remained unchanged and undamaged in between updates?

Consistency Does the information across all systems remain consistent?

Completeness How complete are the data?

Validity Does the information correspond to a particular format or range as defined by the business

Timing: Are the details up-to-date? Is it possible to use it for decision-making?

Accessibility Are the data easy to access, understandable and usable?

Data quality is determined by several elements. Each organization chooses which features to prioritize based on its needs. This can vary depending on the industry and stage of growth, or the current business cycle.

It is important to identify the key elements when evaluating data. These attributes determine the data’s quality and accuracy. It can position organizations better to use data effectively and reach their business goals.

There are ways to improve data quality

Be aware of the importance of data quality

Data is there to drive business. Organizations must empower the primary users to determine the parameters of quality data. Not IT departments. Business intelligence that is closely tied to the underlying data will increase the likelihood of companies being able to adapt effective methods for helping them choose crucial data.

Don’t think in isolation

Accuracy won’t be the same for all data types. Data quality is not a one-size-fits-all policy. Different data sources can provide different quality and metrics.

For example, 80 percent accuracy for sentiment analysis of social media data is sufficient. However, it is not enough for industries such as BFSI. The data must be fine-tuned before analysis.

Focus on each stage of the data journey

With a holistic approach to adopting a data strategy for the enterprise, every organization can become data-driven. They also want to maximize their technology investments and reduce their costs. Data can be a valuable asset in such situations.
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Don’t store unnecessary data

Every day, organizations capture and use data across a range of operations. The greater the data, the more margin of error they will have. Acceptance of the fact that data isn’t always perfect is essential for organizations.

This will allow businesses to recognize the limitations and build upon their successes, so they can quickly spot them before they occur.

Take Responsibility

The quality of data varies between organizations based on their size, financial health, and data strategies. Poor data quality is the responsibility of everyone in the company.

This is a business problem and IT cannot be held responsible for it. Companies can increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve decision-making by taking control of data quality.

Use data pipeline design to avoid duplicate data

A copy of data can be either a complete or a part of data that was created from the same source. Human errors cause most data duplications. Incorrect reporting can lead to lost productivity and a waste of the marketing budget.

To avoid duplicate data, an enterprise-level data pipeline must be established and shared throughout the organization.
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Implement a data governance strategy

The best way to improve data quality and increase data quality is to clearly define who, what, how much, where, when, and why.

These policies should be followed by everyone within the company. It is important to document the policies so they can be easily accessed by employees. This will help improve business performance and security.

Invest in your internal training

This could be a transformational approach. Good data quality requires experience and expertise, which can be difficult for entry-level executives.

You can achieve this through formal training. It is essential to teach teams how to manage data effectively, recognize its intrinsic value, and encourage executives and teams to learn basic concepts, principles, as well as quality management practices, to gain a competitive advantage.

This will help you understand the advantages of high-quality data and the potential costs associated with poor data quality.
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Conclusion

According to KPMG Global’s study, 84% of CEOs are concerned about data quality when making decisions. It is vital to establish trust and transparency about the data quality, as the CEOs are the only decision-making authority in the company.

This will allow organizations to save time and reduce costs, make informed business decisions, and obtain accurate analytics that improves their business performance.