[@OKau] Intelligent Data Management

[Steven De Costa]

Yep. Publish via CKAN :) internally as an information asset register or
externally as open data.

And, let the custodians publish so the learn how. If they don't know how
then teach them :)

On Monday, May 11, 2015, Ben Searle <ben at odiqueensland.org.au> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I earlier emails last week I wrote about what i was calling the missing
> link, and suggested that many agencies get no or little value from
> participating in the open data movement.
>
> I also referred to a concept I called intelligent Data Management.  This
> raised a few comments….
>
> I would like to elaborate on the Intelligent Data Management concept.
>
> In simple terms Intelligent Data Management is where an organisation is at
> a data management maturity level where it appreciates the value of the data
> it collects and creates and applies appropriate organisational support to
> the data creation process.  By this I mean that data is well document by
> those that create it.  A simple concept, but one vary rarely undertaken, at
> least in my experience.
>
> Documenting data is not a natural thing for an organisation, those that
> are best placed to do this have no real business need to do it (they
> already know all about the data), they also are not given any incentive to
> document the data, in fact often the opposite.  They are pressured to
> produce more data, not ‘waste’ time on documenting the data.
>
> What happened in most organisations with data not effectively documented?
> It cannot  be easily located for re-use.  Also, if it is found, then
> because e potential new user cannot understand its provenance, then they
> are unsure if it is suitable for re-use and often re-create the data.
>
> This costs the organisation a considerable amount in resources, lost
> opportunities and poor decisions.
>
> A simple fix is to have an organisational culture (supported strongly by
> senior management) that data is an asset and should be treated as such.
> This means that any data collected or created must be effectively
> documented.  This takes a small amount of additional resources but this
> ‘additional cost’ is returned as a significant reduction in the cost of
> ‘not finding data’ for this organisation.
>
> Data creators need incentives to document the data they create and their
> managers also =need to be rewarded for this effort.
>
> This is not rocket science, just organisational culture.
>
> As an analogy, when successful document management systems (DMS) are
> implemented, as much is spent on staff training and cultural change (to
> ensure each document is effectively described) as is spent on the actual
> technology so that the DMS actually works and returns on the investment.
> Examples of this are common and the same principle applies to data
> management.  Organisation focus on the technology, not the organisational
> culture….
>
>
> What has this to do with open data?  If an organisation has its data sets
> well described locatable and usable, it becomes a much simpler exercise to
> make the data publicly available.  Additionally, when the data is well
> documented, its value to the open data community is significantly higher…
>
> So, any thoughts, on how to change this organisational cultural barrier?
>
> Cheers
>
> BEN SEARLE
> ODI Queensland
>
> 0400 453 601
> ben at odiqueensland.org.au
> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','ben at odiqueensland.org.au');>
>
> 70-72 Bowen Street
> Spring Hill
> Queensland  4000  Australia
> odiqueensland.org.au
>
>
>
>
>

-- 
*STEVEN DE COSTA *|
*EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR*www.linkdigital.com.au
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