| | Dec - Jan8CIOReviewIN MY OPINIONMANAGING DATA QUALITY ­ TOOLS ALONE ARE NOT ENOUGH By Laura Sebastian-Coleman, Ph.D. Chief Data Officer, Data Quality Director, Prudential FinancialMany people think of data quality as a purely technical problem that can be solved through tools. But it is not as simple as that. Data represents the activities of an organization ­ its business processes executed through its technology. The enterprise is an overall system that produces, obtains, and uses data.An enterprise is like the human body: a cohesive overall entity, comprising a set of systems and processes that turn inputs into outputs, bring about growth, and enable the enterprise to perpetuate itself and meet its goals. To understand the body, we view it through the lens of sub-systems (respiratory, digestive, circulatory, and so on). Each bodily system can be understood as a thing in itself, with tissues, organs, and distinct functions. Each can also be understood in relation to the other systems of the body. Within an organization, data is not only a thing itself; it is also the means by which different parts of the organization interact. Recognition of the role data plays is likely the origin of assertions that data is the "life blood" of the organization. Data quality management should be understood in relation to the goals and overall strategy of an organization, its management and culture, and its business processes and its technical architecture. Knowledge of the enterprise and its goals should prompt data quality practitioners to ask better questions about context and better understand the size and shape of any given data-related challenge in context. This perspective also helps practitioners apply a range of tools and methodologies as they address challenges of different shapes and sizes. I've experienced this firsthand through my work with data at many organizations and I apply these principles in my current role at Prudential Financial, Inc. ("PFI"), a US-based global financial services Laura Sebastian-Coleman
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