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Q: I think that data quality is very important and that our sources should be profiled but I'm having trouble convincing management to allocate the resources to make it happen. How should I go about it?

Sid Adelman's Answer:

Find the problems where, historically, bad data in your organization or another organization in your industry has been expensive or has caused an embarrassment.

Clay Rehm's Answer:

Data Quality is a very difficult concept to sell to people who don't realize the consequences of bad data. Instead of trying to sell the idea of bad data, sell the idea of the negative things that will happen (and are happening) since your data is not of the quality it should be.

I would not even focus on using the term data quality because most non-technical people feel that is a technical term and not their concern. Focus on the business problems that you are encountering and show a valid relationship between the bad data and the business problem. In addition, provide your possible solutions to the problem.

Adrienne Tannenbaum's Answer:

The best way to get support for this issue is to prove that inconsistent data lost them some money or time - usually not a problem. Cost/benefit is always the best approach.

Sid Adelman is a principal in Sid Adelman & Associates, an organization specializing in planning and implementing data warehouses, in data warehouse and BI assessments, and in establishing effective data architectures and strategies. He is a regular speaker at DW conferences. Adelman chairs the "Ask the Experts" column on www.dmreview.com. He is a frequent contributor to journals that focus on data warehousing. He co-authored Data Warehouse Project Management and is the principal author on Impossible Data Warehouse Situations with Solutions from the Experts and Data Strategy. He can be reached at (818) 783-9634 or visit his Web site at www.sidadelman.com.

Clay Rehm, CCP, PMP, is president of Rehm Technology (www.rehmtech.com), a consulting firm specializing in data integration solutions. Rehm provides hands-on expertise in project management, assessments, methodologies, data modeling, database design, metadata and systems analysis, design and development. He has worked in multiple platforms and his experience spans operational and data warehouse environments. Rehm is a technical book editor and is a co-author of the book, Impossible Data Warehouse Situations with Solutions from the Experts. In addition, he is a Certified Computing Professional (CCP), a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Computer Science and a Masters Degree in Software Engineering from Carroll College. He can be reached at clay.rehm@rehmtech.com.

Adrienne Tannenbaum is president of Database Design Solutions, Inc. (www.dbdsolutions.com), a New Jersey-based consulting firm specializing in the revitalization of corporate data. The firm focuses on data issues within large organizations and supports all data reconstruction efforts with a solid meta data backbone. Tannenbaum is the author of two popular meta data-focused books: Metadata Solutions: Using Metamodels, Repositories, XML, and Enterprise Portals to Generate Information on Demand (2001, Addison Wesley) and Implementing a Corporate Repository (1994, Wiley).