Data (big?) part 1
Posted by EYHokie
I went to an event last night about “big data.” Come to find out that is the hot topic right
now. Now I sat through an hour and 15
minutes and over 60 slides in a powerpoint presentation about “big data.” After that, do I know what “big data” is? The guy took a bunch of definitions that
other organizations/people have said and tore them apart. What was his idea: putting the Information
back in IT. Wow. Deep.
My best understanding at this point is taking all of the
information that a company amasses and finding ways to use it. Its all too easy to live in a bubble and not
take into consideration what other departments are doing, what data they are
storing. If we talked together as an
organization; how much more could we achieve?
The likely will never happen, atleast to the fullest extent
possible.
My concern with this whole idea is that we spend a bunch of
time analyzing our data and forgetting our core. When I write a research paper I spend a lot
of time researching. I often get lost in
my research and forget where I was headed in the first place. Might that happen with all the focus on “big
data?”
What if I don’t have a lot of data to start off with? Well, start with what you have. As a small business owner, you most likely
have a lot more data than you think you do.
Lets say your business is lighting and your job is to bid on large projects. Should you focus on every single project
available? Probably not. That would be a waste of your time. You will spend too much time focusing on bids
you’ll likely never get. Which projects,
historically, have you won? Start
there. What are the characteristics of
those projects? I’ll stop here with the
business side. I’m sure I could write
for hours.
Now lets start thinking of what an audit program may look
like for this lighting business.
Governance:
1.
Organization
a.
Is there a clear structure and position
descriptions?
b.
What is the mission of this organization?
c.
Are they in a niche market? Do they have a direction?
2.
Talent Management – keep in mind this isn’t a
large organization
a.
Are the right people hired for the right
job? Do you have qualified people making
bids?
b.
For new hires, is there a mentorship program?
c.
Is there a methodology for sharing information?
d.
Is there a clear path for career progression?
As with any governance review,
there a lot more topics to cover. Just
keep in mind we are talking about small businesses so don’t go overboard.
Access: This is where its at.
1.
Administration
a.
Who is responsible for managing the applications
used for bidding?
b.
Is that person qualified?
c.
What other tasks does that person do?
2.
Access to data
a.
Who has the ability to enter data?
b.
Who has the ability to change existing data?
c.
How can you change data? Is it possible?
d.
What type of application are you using to enter
in bid information?
3.
View data (key part to consider):
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