Quality Management
by A. Blanton Godfrey
Many mistakes result from the failure to manage information quality.
Information Quality
Recently, I watched as two passengers boarded the completely full airplane
I was on, only to discover that their seats had been taken. Their boarding
passes indicated that they had paid for the same seats as the two other
passengers. The flight attendant checked both sets of boarding passes, shook
her head sadly and apologized to the passengers who had gotten on the plane
first. They had to get off and wait for another flight.
As our plane landed in New York, the flight attendant found out the two
passengers who remained on the plane were on the wrong flight! They had
tickets to Washington. She admitted that she didn't even check the flight
number on their tickets.
This mistake, and thousands more like it, all have a common cause-the failure
to manage information quality. Many organizations, even those with outstanding
quality management systems, have no systematic approach to information quality
management.
Sometimes the correct data are not collected. The right answer can't be
found because companies don't have the necessary data-much less the correct
information. In other cases, the data are available, but no one has "tortured
the data until it confesses." Sometimes organizations do the correct
analyses, getting exactly what they need. But sometimes they fail to act.
In many cases, the problem occurs when organizations fail to analyze the
data they have. When the analysis is lacking, key information is lost. Other
times, they add errors to the data, the analysis or the presentation. Sometimes
they have everything they need, just not when or where they need it.
Fortunately, managing information quality is not fundamentally different
from managing the quality of goods or services. The first step is to define
the dimensions of information quality. After understanding these dimensions
for a particular situation, discover which dimensions are important to customers.
Then you can start to measure quality. Often, these measurements help organizations
improve customer service, increase employee retention and loyalty, or uncover
opportunities for huge cost savings.
Using the basic ideas of quality planning, you can develop a road map for
action. The best place to start is with the customer.
Identify the users-First,
you must know who the potential users of the information are. There may
be many different users with similar or widely different needs. Information
may be used, processed and analyzed by one group of users and then used
later by different groups in different ways.
Identify users' needs-The
second step, which is often difficult, involves identifying users' needs.
Needs may vary considerably, and the importance of each dimension of information
quality may differ for each group of users. For example, you may know who
should receive the reports but not what is done with them. The receivers
may extract information and distribute it a new set of users unknown to
you.
Develop quality definitions-Once
you have identified the users' needs, define the information quality from
customers' viewpoints to ensure their needs are met.
Define quality measurements-With
a good understanding of customers' needs and the dimensions of quality,
you can develop the appropriate measurements and means for taking these
measurements.
Set quality goals and objectives-With
customers' needs defined clearly, you can develop quality improvement goals.
Identify possible error sources-The
best way to start is by flowcharting the entire information process. Identify
possible sources of error, reasons for incompleteness and causes of delays
in the information process. Focus on error sources that are most likely
to cause significant problems for users or have unsatisfactory consequences.
Develop a quality control plan-Develop
and implement quality control plans to maintain performance. Managing information
quality can, and should, become as commonplace as managing product quality
in manufacturing plants.
Improve quality-Many organizations
will discover numerous opportunities for significant improvement as soon
as they complete the initial measurements of information quality.
For many organizations, information quality is an untapped source of savings
and revenue opportunities. The good news is that managing information quality
isn't much different from managing product quality. The bad news is that,
like managing product quality, it's very hard work. But it's definitely
worth it.
About the author
A. Blanton Godfrey, chairman and CEO of the Juran Institute in Wilton,
Connecticut, first published research on information quality in the first
paper he wrote for the International Academy of Quality in 1991. Questions
or comments about this article can be sent directly to Godfrey at godfrey@netaxis.com.
