Common Data-Related Problems

Common Data- Related Problems

Although we live in the information age, rarely is the right information available at the right time. As individuals, typically we are affected by one or more of the following problems:

• Too much information (it is difficult to find exactly what we're looking for)

• Not enough information (the information we need is not available)

• Poor-quality, improperly formatted, or just plain wrong information (we may be misled)

• Out-of-date information (we may be acting on yesterday 's news)

Applications that use your directory service will suffer from the same problems unless you give careful consideration to which data elements you include in your directory service, where to obtain the data, and how to manage it. For example, applications that rely on the directory as a source of contact information such as phone numbers or e-mail addresses will succeed, in their users' eyes, only if the information is accurate and up-to-date.

In addition, even the most accurate information may be hard to use if it is not stored in a consistent way. For example, a phone number might be stored as 555-1212, [phone], [phone], 1.650.555.1212, or yet another form. The key to understanding and avoiding data-related problems is to develop a good understanding of how both end users and applications use your directory service, and then to put in place policies, procedures, and software to smooth out the problems.

Another potential problem is especially common within large deployments: data redundancy without coordination. Data redundancy refers to multiple copies of data elements and values kept in more than one data source. Problems arise when two or more systems store the same data element but do not coordinate changes to the element. If you are fortunate enough to be designing a new directory service to support a new application, you should be able to avoid data redundancy problems entirely. Most of the time, however, you will need to address some data redundancy problems.

For example, if your home postal address is stored both in a centralized human resources database and in a database maintained by the corporate travel office, you may need to contact both offices when you change your address. In large organizations, such personal information commonly is stored in several uncoordinated data sources. Often these different sources are difficult and expensive to manage because they all use different computer systems and software packages to manage the same kind of information.

Don't be surprised to find data redundancy problems that do not involve people-related data. For example, within an organization's Information Services division, the Networking group and Help Desk group may maintain separate data sources that include information about the computers and other devices connected to the network.

The best solution to data redundancy problems is to eliminate redundant data sources and synchronize the remaining ones. This challenging task requires good communication and cooperation among all the data owners . This topic is discussed in detail later in this chapter in the section titled Maintaining Good Relationships with Other Data Sources, and in Chapter 23, Directory Coexistence.