I read with interest the October 2012 editorial, ‘Training the data managers.’ I have attended a number of discussions on this subject under the auspices of Robert Gordon University here in Aberdeen and elsewhere. Most such discussions focus on ‘unstructured data,’ the stuff which isn’t in a database, in the mistaken but understandable belief that, for instance, OpenWorks is managing your data for you or at least that once it’s in there your data is somehow ‘clean’ and remains so.
Of course this misunderstanding is not confined to subsurface data. Many believe that the implementation of an enterprise resource planning or asset integrity management system is an end in itself. In fact it is just a milestone somewhere near the beginning of a never-ending road!
I am currently working on an application strategy for our organization and I am starting with an analysis of why we have applications at all. We talk about ‘supporting business processes’ but what exactly do we mean?
One view is that an application strategy is an element of a quality management system for information, an idea that I am now pursuing through the auspices of the Chartered quality institute and amongst other avenues. Comments anyone? Graham Davidson.
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