Paul Jones: Data, Strategy, Innovation

  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...

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...