Paul Jones: Data, Strategy, Innovation

    This is the  third part  of the chapter titled “ The Data Garden ”, from the book “ The Data Garden And Other Data Allegories ”. This section seems The Data Gardener adapting to a larger garden, with more volume and variety of data. ______________________________ The Data Landscape Garden As well as the small garden that you’ve been looking after by yourself, you’ve now been entrusted with a modest-sized landscape garden to tend to. This garden is far more sophisticated and is used for a wider range of activities. It has a path that winds its way from the entrance around the perimeter, passing through a small wooded area to a sheltered pavilion, next to an open area that has been laid to grass and is used for various medium-sized events such as weddings and family gatherings. Given the size and complexity of the garden, the owners had already employed two part-time gardeners, who they have now put under your charge. They also know that you’ll need to take a diffe...

  This is the second part of the chapter titled “ The Data Garden ”, from the book “ The Data Garden And Other Data Allegories ”. This section is crammed with even more lessons, as you (The Data Gardener) start to implement techniques for maintaining the Data Garden. ______________________________ Mowing the Data Lawn The Data Lawn is used by families to play on, so it must be kept in good condition and must not become overgrown. However, like all data, the data grass grows every day, as do all of the other plants and shrubs throughout the garden. As a result of all this growth, the lawn must be mowed at least once every two weeks; and sometimes once a week, during the summer months. Of course, exactly how fast the lawn grows depends on all kinds of factors, such as how much sun it is exposed to and how well it is watered. Also, it can be damaged through mis-use, which can result in the need for patches of spoilt or missing grass to be repaired or replaced. One thing is for certai...

This is the first part of the chapter titled “The Data Garden”, from the book “ The Data Garden And Other Data Allegories ”. In this excerpt, literally every paragraph reveals at least one truth about the nature of data and data management. I hope you find some useful insights here! ______________________________ Welcome to the Data Garden In this little Data Garden, the plants and trees are data. They’ve all been planted for a purpose. Some are there to bear fruit. Others are there to look beautiful and provide the users of the garden with joy. Some are there to combine with other plants; and there is a single tree, which was planted to fix a swing to, for children to play on. The garden is on a particular plot of south-facing land, which has been cultivated for its owners to derive value and satisfaction from. The owners often go for strolls in the garden, and also provide access to it and its abundant resources for others to enjoy. They charge a small price for admission, so they ar...

The book " The Data Garden And Other Data Allegories " presents 6 fictional stories, which have been written to explain key data management topics in ways that are simple to understand, by rooting them in familiar real-world scenarios. After each story, a short “lesson” is provided to draw out one or two key take-away points and to illustrate how the ideas apply in a business context. This article summarises the 6 stories: the metaphors they use and the topics that they bring to life. 1. THE DATA GARDEN Data Management is like gardening... In The Data Garden , the fundamental nature of data is explored. What happens when data isn’t properly managed and maintained? Why might you want to invest in managing your data? What are the different techniques that are needed for managing data in different sizes of organisation? Plus, what do you do about people who drop data litter? 2. THE DATA GOVERNANCE COUNTRY Data Governance is like running a country... The Data Governance Country c...

Over the past few months, to celebrate the launch of my book, " The Data Garden And Other Data Allegories ", I've been posting free excerpts of some of its chapters on LinkedIn , on a weekly basis. I recently realised that only people with access to LinkedIn would be able to see these posts, so I have decided to re-post them here too. The plan is to post more regularly here (every two or three days), until I've caught up with where I got to on LinkedIn, at which point I'll synchronise the posts so that every week the same content will be published on this site and on LinkedIn at the same time. So, here's what's coming soon: THE SIX ALLEGORIES OF THE DATA GARDEN... The first will provide a summary of all the stories in the book " The Data Garden And Other Data Allegories ": I've provided an overview of the topics that they cover and the metaphors they use to bring data management concepts to life. FREE EXCERPTS... Next, I will publish free ex...