Liberate Your Data

PEG 2013 Jul 29

Dilbert strip read at beginning of ‘Liberate Your Data’ presentation on 2013 July 17 at the Open Group Conference in Philadelphia. A found a copy of the strip in my office break room – complete with a coffee stain. It’s from Build a Better Life By Stealing Office Supplies, Dogbert’s Big Book of Business. The title is “Analysis as a tool to avoid decisions”. 1st frame: a long-bearded Dogbert sagely declaims “The purpose of analysis is to avoid making hard decisions. Therefore, there can never be too much analysis.” 2nd frame: pointy-haired boss is holding a document while seated at his desk and Dilbert is seated across from him holding a folder. The boss queries “Did you do a present value analysis?” and Dilbert replies “Yes.” 3rd frame: boss asks “Environmental study?”, Dilbert replies “Yes”, boss “Budget analysis?”, Dilbert “Yes”, boss “Stockholder impact?”, Dilbert “Yes”, boss “Carbon dating?”, and Dilbert “Uh… no”. 4th frame: boss tosses the document in the air with a look of disgust and states “Well, then you’re wasting my time, aren’t you.”

Presentation: TOG Data Clutter 2013 Jul 17 v1

Abstract – PEG 2013 Apr 05

(Accepted for Open Group conference in Philadelphia 2013 July 17)

Title: Liberate Your Data

Summary: Improve decision outcomes and remove inhibitors to disruptive innovation and productivity by breaking free of the data clutter arising from the Too-Much-Information-Age and easy access to cloud storage.

Abstract: The rise of social media (the Too-Much-Information-Age) coincident with easy access to cloud storage is creating a data morass which is slowly drowning companies and individuals. The demise of the Storage Specialist and the rise of cloud-enabled data collection and analysis is exacerbating the deluge. Timely and relevant data analysis helps ensure good decisions; promiscuous processing of all incoming data (indiscriminately collected) helps ensure analysis paralysis. This session will explain breaking free of this data swamp by adapting physical organization techniques and best practices for archiving physical data to the exigencies of the data lifecycle. Less data clutter results in improved decision outcomes since decisions are based on a better balance of quantitative and qualitative analyses and intuition; disruptive innovation – and the long-term financial sustainability that it promises – is stymied by an over-reliance on quantitative analysis. In addition to a more sustainable data lifecycle, individuals no longer have virtual folders of emails and links saved “for later” generating guilt and anxiety and inhibiting productivity.

Takeaways:

Reduce data clutter to ensure good decision-making, improve decision outcomes, and to increase the sustainability of the data lifecycle
Better balance quantitative analysis, intuition, and qualitative analysis and remove inhibitors to disruptive innovation

Improve personal productivity

Other Abstracts

PEG 2013 Jan 22

Title: Break Free of Data Clutter

Abstract: The rise of social media (the Too-Much-Information-Age) coincident with easy access to seemingly infinite, inexpensive storage (and to cloud-enabled data analysis) is creating a data morass which is slowly drowning companies and individuals. Timely and relevant data analysis helps ensure good decisions; promiscuous processing of all incoming data helps ensure analysis paralysis. This session will explain breaking free of this data clutter by adapting physical organization techniques and best practices for archiving physical data to the exigencies of the data lifecycle. Less data clutter results in improved decision outcomes since decisions are based on a better balance of quantitative and qualitative analyses and intuition; disruptive innovation – and the long-term financial sustainability that it promises – is stymied by an over-reliance on quantitative analysis. In addition to a more sustainable data lifecycle, individuals no longer have virtual folders of emails and links saved “for later” generating guilt and anxiety and inhibiting productivity.

Reduce data clutter
Ensure good decision-making
Improve decision outcomes
Better balance quantitative analysis, intuition, and qualitative analysis
Remove inhibitors to disruptive innovation
Increase the sustainability of the data lifecycle
Improve personal productivity

Title Parking Lot: When more is not better. Stop data clutter now. Out of sight, out of mind. Freedom from the tyranny of data clutter.

Content Parking Lot: ‘physical organization techniques’ – e.g. closet organization. Virtual as well as physical data governance.

The Data Lifecycle page: meeting notes
The Clutter Buster Inventions page: data decluttering inventions
The Data Clutter page: notes from the Let Go of Clutter book, data declutter musings, and related resources
The Liberate Your Data page: data declutter abstracts and deliverable details

Liberate Your Data