Customer Reviews

Improving Data Warehouse and Business Information Quality: Methods for Reducing Costs and Increasing Profits

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The book is fantastic. English obviously has plenty of front line experience. He doesn't simply state the problem and offer suggestions. He empowers the reader to join the data quality movements by giving them the tools necessary to convince the decision makers that data quality is worth the investment. Chapter Seven, "Measuring Nonquality Information Costs," is worth the price of the book alone, because it gives us a solid ROI model to throw at the bean counters. The writing style is extremely accessable. The book is so well organized that it can be read straight through or employed as a reference.

This is an important and unique work that addresses a big problem: data quality. Why is this a problem? Data warehouses are proliferating at a dizzying rate. Since data warehouses are fed by production databases, many of which are legacy systems, the poor quality of existing data quickly becomes [painfully] apparent. I spent the last half of 2000 bringing data warehouses into production and can attest to this sorry fact. However, the author drives home this point in chapter 1, titled "High Costs of Low-Quality Data" by giving nearly three pages of eye-opening examples from real life. This alone should inspire anyone responsible for data integrity or quality, or who uses data to carefully read this book.

The big question is "what is quality"? Specifically, "what is information quality"? Answers to these basic questions are given early in the book, and sets the tone for what follows. The foundation of data quality is carefully built by how the author applies quality principles to information, which segues into a chapter on improving information quality. It quickly becomes obvious that Mr. English is a Deming fan - although I am more in the Juran camp, I like the way that the author places data and information quality into a recognizable framework.

Things get interesting in the chapters on assessing data and information quality. The two chapters devoted to this subject are strengthened by the chapter on measuring the costs of non quality. This is a great foundation for a business case for data and information quality improvement, which can be expensive.

The rest of the book is a step-by-step approach to getting data quality under control using data reengineering and cleansing; proactive measures for data defect prevention, and how to establish an information quality environment.

Although I found every chapter to be both informative and thought provoking, I particularly liked the concept of information stewardship (this goes far in aligning IT and business, and places roles and responsibilities where they belong), and the chapter on implementing a quality improvement environment. This is especially valuable because it clearly outlines the critical success factors and steps needed to get there.

Who should read this book? Obviously DBAs, data architects and anyone else responsible for designing and implementing data warehouses. It should also be read by key business process owners because they, after all, own the data (or should) and depend on it as the basis for information. In fact, Mr. English's approach and writing make this book highly accessible to non-technical readers, which is probably the book's most valuable aspect. I personally believe that this book is the best on the subject and strongly recommend it.

While providing some of the traditional quality assessment measures, Larry English provides a Deming 14-points approach to information quality and continuous data quality improvement. For example, instead or rewarding those who find major quality problems, change the culture to provide quality early in the process. His chapter on "assessing data definition" quality is an important step often neglected. For example, some of us are may be using minimal metadata (perhaps federally mandated standards) that are inadequate for true enterprise wide data definition. The examples included in the book (particularly in "High costs of low quality data") are instructive, and show how someone saturated with thinking about quality (like Larry English), views such simple things as getting a fax at a hotel. If you are planning a data warehouse, this book might fit nicely into the "Enterprise Infrastructure Evaluation" phase in Moss and Atre's "Business Intelligence Roadmap" terminology.

I would have liked more specific methods of detecting low quality in the section on information quality assessment. The final third of the book, on establishing the information quality environment, provides good direction, but seems too optimistic. How does a single database analyst change a corporate culture and how does a small warehouse group influence the quality processes of hundreds of diverse data sources? This is a good, thought-provoking book.

This book takes the reader from understanding and applying principles of Quality Management to a step-by-step guide for implementing a quality improvement program.

I liked the organization and writing style of this well-referenced text. I found the diagrams and tables very helpful.

In the introduction, the author states that the text is a "concept book, a textbook, a reference book, and a practitioner's guide." At first I didn't believe it. Now that I've finished the text, I believe every word.

When I read the "Author's Warranty" (and how many books do you know come with a warranty?), I had an inkling that this would be a good book.

I was wrong. This is a GREAT book!

The author presents information and advice that is not readily available anywhere else.

Unfortunately, the book is so boring that it is doubtful that it will actually get read by many people outside the data administration community.

The problems with the book are many. It is the most repetitious book I ever read. The author should learn about tautologies because they constantly appear in the book. Also, there are too many bulleted lists, step-by-step programs, and diagrams that may be okay for a spoken presentation but make for distracting and dull reading. Finally, there are many "do an effective...." and "conduct a thorough..." type of statements. The author should just say what a thorough or effective (or the like) practice is.

One more aspect of this book is really bothersome. It is titled as if it is a data warehousing book. But references to data warehouses seem to appear as afterthoughts. Most of the book is relevant to designers of transaction processing systems. And the author never lets us in as to why, if we follow the principles in the book, we need a data warehouse.

Finally, this book mostly discusses structured information. At this time when information technology professionals are "discovering" that most information used is unstructured, the author's orientation is shortsighted.

As an Banking and and Business Intelligence consultant, I bought this great book hoping to discover some kind of integration methods or guidelines.

This book provides much more than that, it's a detailled method to structure your IS around Information Quality.

The author provide countless of methods, tools and analysis to build a total quality information architecture, content and system

A must read if you want to understand and gain the true productivity of information, specially for "information intensive" industry such as banking, insurance and telecom

Every time I put the book back on the shelf, I wind up taking it down a day later to refer to it. Every chapter is jammed full of value. For those of us who are responsible for information quality initiatives, chapter 7, Measuring Nonquality Information Costs, is a must read. If you want to know how defective your data is, then read chapter 6, Information Quality Assessment, to learn how to measure and quantify your information problems. Concerned about the cultural issues in your organization? Chapter 13, Implementing an Information Quality Improvement Environment, will get you started in the right direction. If you are a "knowledge worker," supervisor, CIO, or on the business or IT side, this book is for you.

To me it is the bible of information quality. Larry explains information quality in all its aspects and everybody who descide to step into this area should not read but study this book. This is a very good pylon on your journey with information quality.

I strongly recomend this book to others having deep interest in this area and open to understand that information quality is not a data cleansing or data assessment only.

Book is written at excellent form.

Data warehousing conjures many myths - both technical and business. Seldom is a marriage of business and technical skills more necessary than in data warehousing implementations.

Many data warehousing books wax on the technical issues and requirements - such as data extraction, modeling etc. These are important and bring great benefits to any implementing team. However, till recently, there has not been a good book to follow through on the data warehousing implementation.

The business benefits and how it can be enhanced from data warehousing are discussed in Larry English's book. Many reader, will no doubt, have data warehousing implementations and will want to enhance the investment. This is the book for you.

Understanding the business is an almost primordial instinct that a data warehouse designer must have. Mr. English's book will enhance on this instinct and also give tips on cutting cost and finding areas of additional business value.

Please let me know if you found this review helpful - contact me if you have any questions or suggestions. Thank you.

Some books belong on a shelf in the library; not this one! As a quality practitioner, this book stays on my desk where it belongs - in active use! "Improving Data Warehouse and Business Information Quality" is a 518 page source of enlightenment and should be considered mandatory reading; not only for Data Warehouse professionals but for every knowledge worker and business manager. This book "delivers the goods" and then goes the extra mile by transcending industries and corporate levels to promote a deep understanding of quality concepts. Not only does Larry use relevant examples to show causes and effects of poor quality, he also shares practical advice that is meaningful and can be readily implemented. Larry's writing style and human component make reading this book very enjoyable and thought provoking. I have used this book for over four years and found no other book to be as relevant and useful.