Data scientist is one of the hottest jobs in the country right now, and probably the world. In an oft-cited report, McKinsey estimated that the U.S. will soon face a shortage of approximately 175,000 data scientists. Demand far exceeds supply, especially given the hype around big data. Universities like UC
In physics, antimatter has the same mass, but opposite charge, of matter. Collisions between matter and antimatter lead to the annihilation of both, the end result of which is a release of energy available to do work. In this blog series, I will use antimatter as a metaphor for a
In my last three posts, we walked through a thought experiment about the decision-making process, with the conclusion that a method for ensuring the quality of report data used to make decisions will highlight the value of those individuals whose instincts and experience allow them to generally make good decisions.
The “5 Whys” technique is one of the most commonly cited analysis tools in popular data quality texts, and for good reason. First, it's a simple tool to teach. It only takes a few minutes to explain to someone the basic workings of the 5 Whys approach. Start with a known
Timeline: August 5, 2013, 11:50 am, PST I'm on the treadmill in my gym in Las Vegas, Nevada, glued to the television set. Any moment now, Major League Baseball is going to announce the suspension of Alex Rodriguez. Reports put the suspension at 214 games to life. Many people loathe the
In physics, antimatter has the same mass, but opposite charge, of matter. Collisions between matter and antimatter lead to the annihilation of both, the end result of which is a release of energy available to do work. In this blog series, I will use antimatter as a metaphor for a
In my last two posts, we looked at a simple model of a decision-making process, and I drew the conclusion that when an individual is faced with a decision and may not trust his/her own decision-making capabilities, a way to deflect accountability for a poor decision is to call the
“You don’t make a great museum by putting all the art in the world into a single room. That’s a warehouse,” explained Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson in their bestselling book Rework. “What makes a museum great is the stuff that’s not on the walls. Someone says no. A
When I think back to the many data defects I’ve witnessed over the years, one of the biggest causes time and time again is conflicting rewards. All the technology, workshops and cultural change in the world cannot hope to turn around your data quality fortunes if you’re not aligning rewards.
I've written, talked and thought about data management for an entire decade now. In that time, I've collected examples of how data – and the processes for managing that data – can affect our everyday life. For years I used the "Have you ever gotten multiple pieces of mail from
