Information/Data

[sobrique]

Data: Factual information, especially information organized for analysis or used to reason or make decisions.

Information: Knowledge derived from study, experience, or instruction.

We're mixing the two up. Recently, I've notice there are trends. We have a world waking up to the abundance of data. Failing to realise that there's an important difference between information and data.

One has intrinsic meaning, the other does not.

We've had the ages. Stone, bronze, iron, steam, industrial.
The 80s and 90s I were the information age. The growth of the internet, worldwide communications, and the growth of mankind into one big fluffy happy family.

This age is coming to an end. I think we're now entering the age of stats. Of meaningless numbers. We are 'performance measuring' so many things now, and generating data by the tonne. Information becomes increasingly scarce as we are deluged by meaningless numbers.

Hospital waiting lists.
Service availability.
Performance scoring for schools.
Statutory assessment tests.

These numbers mean nothing. They are the truth behind the old quote "lies, damn lies and statistics".

At work, we're 'performance assessed' on service availability, on generalised uptimes, call resolution times and numbers of calls closed.
As if they were in any way relevant.

Service availability, is a straight percentage of time that a set of servers were 'working'.
And it's a waste of time. In terms of 'quality of service' there's a great deal of difference between a system outage at 9am monday morning, and 2am on saturday morning. In all actuality, about 5%* of our user base actually give a shit outside the hours of 8-5pm. But pretty much all of them will notice not being able to login on a monday morning.

We're still induced to produce these reports. Of service levels and performance metrics. Numbers, to be given to managers, to pass to customers, NONE of whom understand their significance, other than high = good, low = bad. But they feel they justify their existance, by producing or looking at these meaningless numbers each month.

This is the tragedy of the modern world.

* made up number.

Comments

[jambon-gris.livejournal.com]

"and 2am on saturday morning. In all actuality, about 5%* of our user base actually give a shit outside the hours of 8-5pm. But pretty much all of them will notice not being able to login on a monday morning."

would this be part of the 75% of all statistics which are made up on the spot*

*as was this one

[sobrique.livejournal.com]

Well 5% is obviously much more likely to be accurate than 'a minority'. Isn't it? Quite clearly.