High-Yield Targets 01–17
1 — Fit for purpose and context
Same data can satisfy one use and fail another. A score without a purpose-specific requirement/threshold is incomplete evidence.
2 — DQ Function vs project/program
The function is ongoing business-as-usual. Projects/programs are temporary improvements inside it.
3 — Four goals
Governed fitness for purpose; lifecycle controls; measure/monitor/report; improve processes/systems.
4 — Eight principles
Criticality; standards-driven; objective measurement/transparency; prevention; root cause; embedded in processes; systematically enforced; connected to service levels.
5 — Critical Data Elements
Prioritize by impairment/value/risk to important outcomes—not popularity or volume.
6 — Validity
Conformance to type/range/format/precision/domain/time-frame rules. Valid can still be inaccurate.
7 — Completeness
Required values/records are present under applicable conditions. Conditional mandatory rules matter.
8 — Consistency
Representations/assessment agree across records, sets, systems, or time. Agreement does not prove real-world truth.
9 — Integrity
Relationships are coherent. Think missing parent, orphan record, broken reference.
10 — Timeliness vs Currency
Timeliness = delay until availability. Currency = currentness. On-time stale data can be timely yet not current.
11 — Reasonableness
Plausibility against a fixed or statistical benchmark. Unusual is evidence to investigate, not automatically proof of invalidity.
12 — Uniqueness
One real-world entity per identification rule. Duplicate identities are the clue.
13 — Accuracy
Correctly represents reality. Often requires trusted comparison/verification and is harder to measure directly.
14 — Business Rule vs DQ Rule
Business expectation describes desired behavior; DQ rule makes it testable against a quality dimension. Neither is the measured result.
15 — PDCA lifecycle
Plan requirements/causes; Do fixes/controls; Check conformance; Act on failures/changes and cycle again.
16 — Five cause families
Oversight; data entry; processing; system design; fixing previous issues. Never default automatically to “user error.”
17 — Seven formal activities
Framework → Define High Quality → Dimensions/Rules → Initial Assessment → Prioritize Improvements → Set Improvement Goals → DQ Operations.
Source anchors: pp. 424–445.