Data integrity guidelines: what they are and why you need them. (Tech Tool Kit).

Think about a sock drawer. Some sock drawer owners organize their socks according to style and color, fold them in pairs, and arrange them in that order every time they do laundry. This approach takes thought, time, and energy. Other sock drawer owners just dump their socks right out of the dryer and into the drawer. This approach takes no time, no thought, and much less energy.

But here's the question: If you have one minute to locate a pair of black dress socks, which drawer would you rather have to look in?

Your organization's database is like that sock drawer. You can put the effort in on the front end and have clean, usable data that you can work with on a moment's notice, or you can enter data haphazardly and then do extra work later when you are rushing to produce those statistics for tomorrow morning's meeting. Since the sole purpose of a database is to save data for use later, I'd go with putting in the effort on the front end, which means you need to create data integrity guidelines.

Data integrity guidelines are the set of rules that you create to eliminate inconsistent data entry in your database. Here are some examples:

Create consistent meeting codes: so that everyone in the organization knows to look for codes AC2001 and AC2002 when they want to compare meeting data from your 2001 and 2002 annual conventions.

Set a standard address format: so that everyone knows that when they print Avery 5162 labels, every address will fit on one label and not run onto the next.

Create a list of agreed-upon title codes: so that members can have their titles printed as they want them but you can clearly identify someone as a CEO or president for statistical purposes.

Create a list of standard abbreviations: so that everyone always enters "street" as "St." or always abbreviates the word "Corporation" as "Corp."

Create formal procedures for financial transactions: so that some staff aren't entering financial transactions without regard for what an incorrect entry will do to your financial statements.

Set a formal process for deciding what gets stored in your database: so that you don't get dribs and drabs of useless information clogging up your system. Ask every time, "What exactly am I going to use this information for?" If there is no definitive answer to that question, the information should not get stored.

Most important: Data integrity guidelines don't do anyone any good if they aren't written down, maintained, and used. Too often, rules are created by one person but then lost if that person leaves the organization.

If you've never had data integrity guidelines, now is as good a time as any to create them and start using them. Consult with your database vendor for the best ways to clean up older data. It'll be worth the effort.

RELATED ARTICLE: Integrated Software Solutions, Inc. (ISSI) is a privately held small business that was founded in March 1989. Our staff members possess a wealth of experience and knowledge of membership organizations, having worked continuously with such organizations for more than 18 years. As an organization, ISSI is committed to providing flexible. comprehensive, user-friendly, affordable software solutions to our clients. We offer our association management software package, IMPak, and all-inclusive service. We work closely with you from the initial review process through the post-installation phases of each project. Moreover, we are committed to providing outstanding ongoing support in a responsive, personalized, and knowledgeable manner.

Contact:

703-255-1130

www.issimpak.com

Katie Plona handles client development and support at integrated Software Solutions, Inc. E-mail: [e-mail].