How does one select the "right" or "best" way to visually represent data? Of course, the short answer is it depends. (In fact, that theoretical manner might not even exist.) Beyond that, it's an interesting question and, as I argue in The Visual Organization, a harder one to answer these days
Teller, the normally silent half of the magician duo Penn & Teller, revealed some of magic’s secrets in a Smithsonian Magazine article about how magicians manipulate the human mind. Given the big data-fueled potential of data science to manipulate our decision-making, we should listen to what Teller has to tell
In the past few posts we examined opportunities for designing a service layer for master data. The last note looked at the interfacing requirements between the master layer and the applications lying above it in the technology stack. Exposing accessibility to master data through the services approach opens new vistas
Some of the most common reasons for defective data come down to a simple lack of coordination between the various groups involved with preserving the integrity of data logic, content, structure and assurance. By improving this process of coordination between the different silos, you can dramatically improve the quality and governance
Upselling isn't exactly a new creation of capitalism. Whether it's extended warranties at Best Buy or your credit card company offering you some type of enhanced protection when you dial the call center to investigate a charge, most of us have had the experience at one time or another. Consider
Were you a mother who listened to classical music during your pregnancy, or a parent who played classical music in your newborn baby’s nursery because you heard it stimulates creativity and improves intelligence? If so, do you know where this “classical music makes you smarter” idea came from? In 1993, a
In a tiered approach to facilitating master data integration, the most critical step is paving a path for applications to seamlessly take advantage of the capabilities master data management (MDM) is intended to provide. Those capabilities include unique identification, access to the unified views of entities, the creation of new entity
In a previous blog, I wrote about the top ten fallacies of why data governance is perceived to be too burdensome and costly. Hopefully I dispelled the preconception that data governance is slower and less nimble than today's informal data management practices. In this post, we'll examine the concept of governance
I've written before on this site about the Netflix data advantage. The company isn't exactly forthcoming about its data, a certainly tenable position these days. After all, data is a major source of its competitive advantage. Now, thanks to an astonishing article by Alexis Madrigal in The Atlantic, laypeople now possess a much
In 1964, when the American radio astronomers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson were setting up a new radio telescope at AT&T Bell Labs, they decided to point it towards deep space where they expected a silent signal that could be used to calibrate their equipment. Instead of silence, however, what they heard
