I’ve written in the past about cognitive biases and how they can affect our judgment. One that I didn’t mention in that article is the recency effect, which I find can have an adverse effect on data management, or more importantly, how we don’t use data as well as we should. The recency effect essentially says if you have, […]
The results of my latest two-question survey are now available online. Click here to read.
“How does this compare?” Comparing retention rates, without context, provides absolutely no information.
"How does this compare?" That's not the right question to ask… Read More »
Back in the day (I mean WAY back), the standard practice when switching from one database system to another was to run both systems in parallel. That is, you continue to run the legacy system even as the new system is brought online. Typically this meant double data entry (i.e., the same data had to be
I first read this phrase in a James Clear blog post. And what it means, simply put, is that before you can really optimize any behavior, you have to standardize how you perform that behavior. And this is so true when it comes to data management. I harp constantly about the need to document processes. The
In his book Contagious, Jonah Berger discusses the concept of “social influence.” In short, social influence is a change in behavior in one person caused by another. You might call it peer pressure or normative pressure. Whatever you call it, it can have tremendous impact on how people behave. Which is why it’s important to
During the process of implementing a new AMS, one of the steps you’ll take is creating and testing scenarios for different functionality within the system. For example, what will the online join process consist of? What will the customer or member experience when they login to join or renew? And what are the different potential
The Number of Test Scenarios Illustrates How Complex Your Business Rules Are Read More »
One of the most common challenges all of my clients face is duplicate records. And the simple fact is, even the very best managed databases have some duplicate records. They are impossible to avoid. Why? There are several reasons: Your members use multiple emails. As a result, they may create new records that your system doesn’t
EVERY System has duplicate records. Get used to it! Read More »
One of the more frustrating aspects of consulting is running into staff who are unwilling to speak up when speaking up is warranted. For example, during the implementation phase of a new AMS, many processes will be changed, either by design or by default. As processes change, staff needs to speak up and ask both
I don’t mean to sound harsh, but the truth is, when it comes to data management, your association is probably a lot like most other associations. You probably manage membership, meetings, committees, product sales, and so on. And what this means is, there is probably an off-the-shelf association management software (AMS) system that can support the data
You're not special (when it comes to data management) Read More »