"Welcome to the Data Garden" - Section 1 of 5 of THE DATA GARDEN (free excerpts)


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 are able to profit from sharing its many benefits with others.

Everything in the garden grows over time. The grass grows deep and long; the bushes expand into thick hedgerows; and the flowers bloom and blossom in all manner of colours, as they spread throughout the landscape.

All of this growth is good and fruitful; but over time, it can also become unwieldy. As the garden becomes overgrown, it becomes cluttered and harder to access. Wiry branches stretch into open spaces; weeds establish a foothold and risk choking the plants that were so carefully placed; and everything starts becoming so overwhelmingly messy.

Also, as the garden gets used, some of the plants and landscape become damaged. Data flowers are trampled so their shape and colours are lost; the patch of grass under the swing becomes an unsightly, scuffed mud patch; and patches appear across the lawn, noticeable gaps across the once lush green carpet.

The owners realise that something must be done. They cannot enjoy their little data garden as they once did, and their profits are being affected too. They make up their mind: they must appoint a gardener.

Congratulations! You’ve been appointed to be the Data Gardener!


______________________________


I hope you’ve enjoyed this excerpt. 


If you are interested in reading more, please do check the book out on Amazon:

  • The Data Garden on Amazon.CO.UK
  • The Data Garden on Amazon.COM

    • Thanks for reading!


    #data #datamanagement #datagovernance #dataquality #dataarchitecture #metadata #dataliteracy #allegories #metaphors #analogies #stories #storytelling 


    More info:


    Comments

    Post a Comment

    Popular posts from this blog

    Why does maintaining legacy technology cost so much?

    Why does maintaining legacy technology cost so much? Let’s compare it to a building. Imagine you have an old converted barn, which has a thatched roof. In the past, thatching was one of the most advanced techniques for roofing, providing outstanding insulation and protection from the elements. Thatching was also a common skill, so maintaining a roof built using this technique was relatively cheap. Nowadays, a thatched roof is no longer cutting edge. More modern methods last longer with less need for maintenance. The skills needed to maintain a thatched roof are scarce, so expert craftsmen can charge more. Also, if you ever wanted to extend your house, to add more space or use it for other purposes, connecting it to modern roofing structures will be hard and expensive, and will make it even harder and more costly to maintain in the future. Unlike a thatched roof, your legacy technology doesn’t ‘look nice’, so other than the fact that it ‘still works’, the benefits of continuing to inves...
    Read more

    "The reluctant student" - Section 1 of 7: THE DATA LITERACY DRIVING SCHOOL (free excerpts)

    Image
      This is the first part of the chapter titled “The Data Literacy Driving School”, from the book “ The Data Garden And Other Data Allegories ”. ______________________________ The reluctant student You look over at your driving instructor and sigh. Why do I have to do this again? you think. Taking data taxis had always been fine before. This seems like it’s going to be a lot of effort, and for what? Your company’s enrolled you on a mandatory data literacy driving course. For years, data employees have been paying to use other people’s data cars to get places, but after a series of wasted journeys and large-scale data car crashes, there has been a decision to educate everyone on how to drive. Someone realised that if people didn’t know how to drive a data car, they wouldn’t be able to effectively direct a data taxi driver to get the best out of their journey. At this point, you’re pretty sure you’re never going to need to use these new skills that you’re learning. Taxis have always ...
    Read more

    “Hope for the future" - Section 14 of 14: THE DATA ARCHITECTURE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT (free excerpts)

    Image
    This is the fourteenth part of the chapter titled “The Data Architecture Construction Project”, from the book “ The Data Garden And Other Data Allegories ”. ______________________________ Hope for the future After the meeting has finished, your Head Builder finds you back in the meeting room, leaning back in your chair and gazing out of one of the windows at the Data Insights Town skyline. The sun is setting behind one of the tall buildings in the distance and the sky is awash with hues of red, yellow and orange. His presence stirs you from your reverie and you look at him with a smile. “How do you think my first day went?” “Could’ve been worse,” comes the response, with a chuckle.  You laugh in return. “That sounded enthusiastic!” Your new deputy comes and sits next to you. He speaks slowly and with meaning. “I’ll be honest, Boss. Things haven’t been great around here for a long time. I think you can see that from what you’ve heard today. But you can also see how much everyone her...
    Read more