From report to decision: why data does not always help

Start with the question

It is easy to begin a report by asking what data you have, but the result is often a screen nobody looks at. The right start is to write down the decision to be made and what you need to know to make it.

Data quality decays quietly

A field changes meaning, a source stops updating, one customer is saved under two names. None of this raises an error; it just makes the results wrong. That is why you should know where data comes from and who is responsible for it.

Few measures you can trust

A handful of measures that everyone reads the same way is worth more than a long list nobody believes. Each one should have a written definition and a clear link to the decision it serves.