The first rule of data:
And, your reaction might be: Of course!- Don't ask for data if you don't know what you are going to do with it
- Don't ask for data which you can not use or act upon
But, alas, in the PMO there are too many incidents of reports, data accumulation, measurements, etc which are PMO doctrine, but in reality, there actually is no plan for what to do with it. Sometimes, it's just curiosity; sometimes it's just blind compliance with a data regulation; sometimes it's just to have a justification for an analyst job.
The test:
If someone says they need data, the first questions are:
- What are you going to do with the data?
- How does the data add value to what is to be done
- Is the data quality consistent with the intended use or application (**), and
- Is there a plan to effectuate that value-add (in other words, can you put the data into action)?
And how much data?
Does the data inquisitor have a notion of data limits: What is enough, but not too much, to be statistically significant (*), informative for management decision making, and sufficient to establish control limits?
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