ThinkTWENTY20

Over the past few years, organizations have faced the prospect of more decisions being dependent on data, but have often lacked the quality of data that is required. This has led to an increased focus on data fitness.

To determine data fitness requires an understanding of the data, which also requires knowledge of the purposes to which it is to be put. This includes assessing whether the data is fit for that purpose.

Information/data is prepared for a specific purpose and includes: observations about the characteristics of the specific events or instances to which it pertains, information about the environment in which the events occurred or the instances existed and other information necessary for the observations to be used for their intended purpose.

To put it more formally, information that is accurate, relevant, precise, timely and complete for a particular purpose can be termed to be “fit for purpose.”

So enterprises that are using data for important purposes need to do careful analysis of these attributes in order to take comfort in the usefulness of the information. Not a small task.