The Foundation of Data Collection

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The Foundation of Data Collection

Craig Curran-Morton

February 22, 2010






Collection: The process by which you collect the data about a question you want to answer. In this third article in our series on business ntelliigence, we are going to focus on the collection of data. A good process is based on three key foundational pieces: Collecting data from a cross section of sources that include both primary and secondary data resources and doing so in a timely manner. It is important to take into account all three of these because without even one of these in place, your intelligence will come crashing down like a house of cards on a table next to an open window.
At this stage of our business intelligence cycle, we are looking at gathering the information but not analyzing it. People often have a tendency to jump into the analysis process, but it is a little too early for that step in the process to take place because we simply don’t have enough information. Much like in my last article, I would like to premise this discussion on the fact that I am viewing this entire business intelligence process from a very simplistic standpoint: Our organization has asked us to help them answer a question.



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