Light Specific Data

If you do the Twitter thing, follow me at @HousingITguy or LinkedIn here https://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy

I remember many years ago reading VS Naipaul’s “A house for Mr Biswas”. It’s a recognised classic, a tale of a Hindu Indian with a small disability, trying to fit in the community of rural Trinidad and Tobago. I recommend it, a brilliant and insightful book, that was acclaimed world-wide.

Early in the novel, Mr Biswas sets out to acquire a home library to appear well-read and intelligent. To do so, he orders x feet of book. He doesn’t particularly care what the books are, but he builds a library for himself.

The character collects books like many organisations collect data.  

I have met many people in organisations, who are more focussed at time on the quantity of data we have, rather than the quality of it. Often its very burdensome to look too deeply into our data. Its expensive and often irritating to have to fix it. No wonder many obsess about the abstract concept of big data, most of us have not actually cracked small data yet.

I have met many ICT and data professionals, who have tried to make improving data quality their aim. Personally I have been there myself, creating exception reports and generating automated prompts, in order to flag up issues to staff before they become much bigger data problems. They like me I think were all universally hated, and referred to at times, to be the data police! It’s a moniker I can live with, and deep down I know good quality data, leads to better decisions.

How often do you and your organisation question your data quality? Only on one occasion in my career, have I seen an organisation underline the importance of data to staff on a full day of presentations. Everyone should try it.

How often in particular, are staff involved in :-

• Inaccurate data
• Incomplete data. If data is incomplete, organisations may make decisions based on a false understanding of the situation.
• Outdated data: If data is not kept up-to-date, organisations may make decisions based on out of date information. This can lead to missed opportunities or a failure to identify new trends
• Lack of data standardization: Poor data quality can also be caused by a lack of data standardization, which makes it difficult to compare and combine data from different sources. This can lead to confusion and mistakes in decision making.
• Inconsistency in data: Inconsistency in data can lead to difficultly in tracking progress and identifying areas for improvement, which can lead to poor decision making.

Lets think now about the last time you spotted a data anomaly.

I have discovered many when migrating data from one system to another. Often systems are patched historically and data left incorrect in-situ. Data migrations do tend to flush a lot of this out. One example I saw around this involved car-port assets that were thought deleted seven years back. We had to reinstate them as historic data referred and related to them. Watch out for this yourself.

Another lovely data story I remember was from a West Midlands socialhousing landlord. I cannot actually remember what I was on-site doing, but I was asked if I could do my client a favour. I try to be a helpful bloke, so yes, I would always try my best to help, even if it caused me to miss my lunch!

What they were looking to do is mailshot/SMS txt all their live tenants over the age of 65. Quite an easy query in most integrated housing systems, (if you can avoid any Mr Void’s in one particular one, I am not so rude to highlight – but you guys know who you are!). My SQL query was soon done and its results dropped into Excel. (Not a database itself, before you ask!).

Now many people would have surely stopped there, passed the list and maybe the query on and cracked on with my lunch BLT. Being me I just thought I would check the sensibility of what was being pulled out, based on Dates of Birth. It was then that I wondered if I had made a serious scientific discovery, or was just looking at some dodgy data. I discovered that over a hundred of their tenants were over 1,000 years old. Digging further, they all lived in a place called Tipton.

I had never been to Tipton at that point, and wondered if it might be one of those types of communities you read about in Japanese islands or Southern Greece, for extraordinary life expectancy. Since then I have visited Mad O'Rourke's Pie Factory, in Hurst Ln (on my birthday actually, a few years back and it was bostin, although thankfully not the 4lb Desperate Dan Cow pie), so I was in no doubt that life expectancy, could well be nearer the west Midlands average in Tipton town.

The sad truth was that the DOBs were habitually entered incorrectly in the RSLs old Tipton Office, and never challenged or corrected. So I had to cancel David Attenborough and the film crew, it was just sh*t data, that could be easily corrected by a temp.

Its not just old people with poor data that we need to concern ourselves with, the young-uns can be problematic too. At another big West Midlands RSL, I looked into a problem with residents being button-holed by DLO staff to provide satisfaction feedback, but it was often residents still of school age. A great story for the Wolverhampton based Express & Star, although on investigation a lot of resident data was being incorrectly recorded, including tenant ages (defaulting to 0, as DOB could be entered as today) and the wrong household member being flagged as the ‘main’ resident.

Once pinned down to a couple of housing staff requiring some training, plus a regular report to flag them to fix them all, the problem was no more. In this last case, the problem was causing the DLO issues, and had a source right back when the tenancy was set up. Be aware of this type of thing. Often one dept needs to ‘take one’, for the wider team, which isn’t always an easy sell.

Anyway, the thought I would like to leave you with, is that we all need to really doubt all our data, all the time. Take ownership of it and how it should be fixed. Then keep fixing it!

At some point, being aware of the above and putting this into practice, your data will take you and your tenants to a better future.

If we at Acutance Consulting can help your organisation with data issues, 

please just get in touch, for a friendly chat over a brew & a macaroon ☕😋.

       Related Post: Data is bad enough, but what dodgy software have you lurking in your systems too? 

Catch the blog monthly archive at https://soundcloud.com/housingitguy/

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I would be pleased to connect with you on LinkedIn - http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy Message me with any issues or queries, you would like to be explored in this blog. We generally receive a couple of suggestions each month.

Hawkwind - Light Specific Data.
(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009


Access a quick list of our Social Housing ICT blog posts here

Could we help you or your organisation? Our contact details are here , get in touch we will be pleased to chat about your problems and help with your organisation issues.

File Under: #HomesForBritain,#HousingDAY,#InternetOfTenants,#Shout,#UKHousing, 07854655009, 1st Touch,1stTouch,360,365Agile,3squared,4Js, ACL,ALMO,AMS,AX,Aareon,Abritas,Academy,Accuserv,Accuserve,Active Housing,ActiveH,ActiveHousing,Acutence,Advanced,Affinity,Agile,Agile365,AirWatch,Alfresco,Alignment,Allpay,Amazon Web Services,Anite,Apex,App,ArchHouse,Archouse,Asprey e-state pro,Asset Management,Associates,Aurora,Average IT Costs,AWI SX Integration Toolkit,AWS, BI,BO,BPR,BancTec,BigChange,Blockwise,BluTek,Bluebox,Blueprint,Browser Applications,Business Objects,Business Planning,Business Process Review,Business social networking, CACI,Capita One Housing,CBL,CCS IT Keystone CCSIT,CEDRM,CHICS,CHR,CIH,CMS,COA,CORE,CPL,CRM,CRM2013,CRS,CTI,CTX,Cadcorp,Capita,CapitaOne,Capita One,Capital Management,Cashflow,Castle,Castleton,Castleton Technology,Cedar Open Accounts,Cerrus,Change,Charges,Chartered Institute Of Housing,Cheaper Housing IT,Chics, Citrix,Civica,Civica CTX,Civica Cx,Civica 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. . . . . . . . . . . .

For The Want Of A Nail

If you do the Twitter thing, follow me at @HousingITguy
or LinkedIn here https://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy



Predictive analytics look to me to becoming Social Housing's next 'Self-serve' or 'staff mobile working'. The latter pretty much now being rolled out by pretty much all forward thinking landlords. I have recently written a whitepaper on predictive analytics for arrears case management. Definitely one area which I would take a proven solution off the shelf.

But how should you go about building a model yourself, for other purposes? What might be the gotcha's that are worth thinking about?

Well the first one for me would be focus carefully on your end-game. As I have heard it described quite well, by one data scientist friend, don't build yourself a rather elaborate hammer, then go looking for your nail. Predictive Analytics is a current buzzword, much like 'Digital Strategy' was until recently. At least most organisations understand what the latter practically means now. Before setting out, know what most of your outcomes are going to be.

Next, when you have some outcomes in mind, check your available data supports it. Easier when you start with a well integrated set of systems. Do get in touch with me directly if you still haven't cracked that one. Never try to structure a project around data you just don't have. Ask that crucial question before you start. Where specific data is missing, there may be the opportunity to generate it or collect it specially. You might want to target a particular sub-set of residents/customers, to have reliable data to utilise.

Data quality is the next gotcha. Assume a good deal of your data will be of poor quality. That need not hold you back. Many projects have been delayed until data is thought to be 100% correct. Believe me, you won't have 3 years or more to get to that point. I would urge you to cautiously work with what you have and enforce a data culture to constantly improve it, in parallel to any predictive analytics project.

Assume too, that you will find even more poor data, as you build models & work with it. I have lost count of the number of tenancies & works order requests, with end dates before start dates etc. If your data cannot be corrected, filter it right out, lest it skew models.

One example I heard about, management were too bullish about the apparent good quality of data. After being advised that data cleansing was required in the project, this was dismissed to shorted timescales, against the advice of consultants. Later when poor data quality was revealed, and more time needed to be added to extend the project, to achieve outcomes, it became a credibility issue for the director involved. Don't be caught out by too much good news, hiding the bad.

Finally, when your lovely shiny predictive analytics model is built, ensure you have planned a proper deployment phase. It is not enough that you have 'built it and so they will come'. Work out how you are going to tell the wider organisation what your model can do and seed their imagination as to how they can apply it to their own department issues and decision making. Find out what their particular nail will be, to which they can apply your new shiny hammer.

I promise, soon I will post on what typical calculations for SocialHousing, might work for us, and how this might affect process.

Related Post: Sick of your housing management system? Why not write your own?  

Catch the blog monthly archive at https://soundcloud.com/housingitguy/

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

I would be pleased to connect with you on LinkedIn - http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy Message me with any issues or queries, you would like to be explored in this blog. We generally receive a couple of suggestions each month.

Todd Rundgren – For The Want Of A Nail.
(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009


Access a quick list of our Social Housing ICT blog posts here

Could we help you or your organisation? Our contact details are here , get in touch we will be pleased to chat about your problems and help with your organisation issues.
File Under: 360,1stTouch,4Js. , 07854655009 ,365Agile," """" ",,#UKHousing,#HousingDAY, #HomesForBritain,#InternetOfTenants, #Shout,1st Touch,3squared,Accuserv,Acutence,Aareon,Academy,ActiveH,AirWatch,Alignment,ALMO,Anite,Apex,ArchHouse,Archouse,asbestos, Asprey e-state pro,ActiveHousing,Asset Management,Aurora,Average IT Costs,App,Associates,ACL,Abritas,AMS,AX,aspireview,Agile365, BO,BPR,Browser Applications,Business Objects,Business Planning, Business Process Review,Business social networking, Blockwise, Block wise,BI,BancTec,BluTek,Bluebox, Castle,CBL,Cedar Open Accounts,Cx,Change,Cheaper Housing IT,Chics, CHR,Citrix,Civica,Clearview,CMS , CCS IT Keystone CCSIT,Civica Genero,Contractor Systems,CORE,CorVu,Cost Reductions,Covalent,CRM,Crystal Reports,CTI,CTX,Customer Relationship Management,Cashflow, COA,Coactiva,Codeman,Comino,Competitive Dialogue process,complex IT procurements,Component Accounting, Community Reward Services, Consilium, Consolidation, Consultancy,Consultant,Contact 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Shine Like It Does

If you do the Twitter thing, follow me at @HousingITguy
or LinkedIn here https://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy

Around reporting, sadly “The Story Since Time Began”, has been that most standard software reporting is pretty poor, an afterthought if you are lucky, maybe some columns that go to a ‘spooler’. (FTAF is a ‘spooler’?). 

Now this amazes me as so many people are looking to procure new solutions, especially integrated housing systems and then will need a BI tool to make the undoubtedly pretty graphs that make it easy for the Board to understand the data.

Have you ever attended a software demo, where the supplier opened with all their space cadet reports, blowing the audience away, before all that stuff that will support your core processes? Nor me during my time in Social Housing or before that in Healthcare.

I sometimes, especially these days see some sexy PowerBI reports wheeled out, unfortunately excitement going flat, like a day old opened bottle of Prosecco, when these are just ‘examples’ for this particular demo. I despair when the excuse is, “well your organisation might not have the necessary PowerBI licences”. Suppliers don’t seem to see those ‘examples’, if given free, would be the gateway drug to selling much more report consultancy further down the line. It's not how your local ‘Mr Pharmacist’ works.

More likely your prospective supplier will describe how some ‘train the trainer’ will happen and your staff will then be capable of knocking out your 35 KPI’s and board reporting pack. Even more likely, you will realise the 35 reports are missing the week after go-live and you will spend an arm and a leg with your supplier to do them for you, over the next 12 months.

And after having done all this one of the operational departments will turn up with a spreadsheet showing that in fact the performance isn’t as bad as reported because of “data issues” between the different systems.

Is this sounding familiar?

Not surprising within this cats cradle, we don’t have a single version of the truth

Well meaning visionaries for getting on for a half a decade, have sold many seminars & conference slots around agreeing a ‘UK Housing Data Standard’ to overcome the data issues created by the different ways databases hold, structure and update data. Interestingly, software providers have not been killed in the rush to re-write all their solutions, to any of these templates. Its costing many of them short of £10m each to just port solutions to the cloud and browser presentation. The chances of them all reorganising their data structures, is next to zero. Chances of all their customers paying for a project like that, would get even lower odds.

So, clearly a different and much better approach is desperately needed by many, who are struggling to hand craft and hand crank a bespoke framework for reporting. I am aware of two local RSL’s, near me in the North West of England, who are utilising a new innovative solution called Illumar, to organise, cleanse, manage and (at last) properly make data work for them.

Illumar is part of Inprova, best known for hosting PfH, have worked with NHS systems data and is now starting to crack the more popular integrated platforms, such as MRI Orchard/Promaster, Aareon QL and others. From what I have seen, this provides a major leg-up to pull in off the shelf data definitions, with the added layer of innovation around data quality. Readers of this blog will be well aware of my protestations in this area. So many performance teams are massaging/correcting their stats, rather than correcting core data. Its unique ‘Jail-IT’ facility shines a spotlight on poor quality and nonsense data, rather than sweeping it under the corporate carpet. This allows audit right back to source, whether that is in multiple tables or in many solutions. Thus tackling the traditional low levels of confidence in data quality internally and externally when reported.

Seeing the world through your ‘Unified Data Layer’, with validated data

A productised data management structure, driven by low code (surely worth a post all on its own), provides the ‘major leg up’, taking 85% or more of the legwork out of the data discovery phase. Most organisations have some disparate applications and these can be easily knitted in, to a full Microsoft/SQL Server cloud delivered product stack. One of the key benefits is that the system structures documents itself, overcoming one of the major Achilles Heel’s of the traditional internal ICT developer led data management and application strategies. That of building technical debt as the systems typically outlast the tenure of the particular developer who has done the coding.

As more of the ‘usual suspects’ major solutions are mapped, a true off-the-shelf route looks to be available at last, for better corporate reporting. As last many will finally be able to exploit the real value of the data we all hold.

Chatting to Zahir Yasin locally to me at ForViva, it’s clear that with the Illumar tool, they have moved faster in four months, than possibly that same number of years. He describes it as “the fastest way to get an enterprise data warehouse up and running. We're integrating our finance system, QL and Promaster then starting with automating SDR and our board PI's”. 

If I have the opportunity over the next few months, I will try to organise a webinar together with Zahir.  (Update: A webinar will take place May 19th 2021 - reserve your place here)

This shows just what is possible, when with our existing data, we take a very different approach. For those RSL’s considering building new solutions with Microsoft D365, they could also use Illumar in reverse. Start with the unified social housing data layer and use that to organise their new solution, rather than get tied up in MVP and potentially another bespoke data structure.

As the Michael Hutchence lyric goes, ‘You Will Find It’, Illumar will help you find it faster, clean it up and drop it into your initial KPI & board formats. Do check it out and let me know what you make of it.

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Related Post: Big Bang, is that the way you would tackle go-live?

Catch the blog monthly archive at https://soundcloud.com/housingitguy/

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

I would be pleased to connect with you on LinkedIn - http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy Message me with any issues or queries, you would like to be explored in this blog. We generally receive a couple of suggestions each month.

INXS - Shine Like It Does.
(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009


Access a quick list of our Social Housing ICT blog posts here

Could we help you or your organisation? Our contact details are here , get in touch we will be pleased to chat about your problems and help with your organisation issues.

File Under: #HomesForBritain,#HousingDAY,#InternetOfTenants,#Shout,#UKHousing, 07854655009, 1st Touch,1stTouch,360,365Agile,3squared,4Js, ACL,ALMO,AMS,AX,Aareon,Abritas,Academy,Accuserv,Accuserve,Active Housing,ActiveH,ActiveHousing,Acutence,Advanced,Agile,Agile365,AirWatch,Alfresco,Alignment,Allpay,Amazon Web Services,Anite,Apex,App,ArchHouse,Archouse,Asprey e-state pro,Asset Management,Associates,Aurora,Average IT Costs,AWI SX Integration Toolkit,AWS, BI,BO,BPR,BancTec,BigChange,Blockwise,BluTek,Bluebox,Blueprint,Browser Applications,Business Objects,Business Planning,Business Process Review,Business social networking, CACI,Capita One Housing,CBL,CCS IT Keystone CCSIT,CEDRM,CHICS,CHR,CIH,CMS,COA,CORE,CPL,CRM,CRM2013,CRS,CTI,CTX,Cadcorp,Capita,CapitaOne,Capita One,Capital Management,Cashflow,Castle,Castleton,Castleton Technology,Cedar Open Accounts,Cerrus,Change,Charges,Chartered Institute Of Housing,Cheaper Housing IT,Chics, Citrix,Civica,Civica CTX,Civica Cx,Civica Genero,Civica 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. . . . . . . . . . . .

Slave To the Data Rhythm

If you do the Twitter thing, follow me at @HousingITguy or LinkedIn here https://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy


Well I heard at the NHF conference, just recently from Nick Atkin, 'Data is an asset' and we should be 'rethinking the office'. Cheers to both of those, I will raise a glass of IPA to Nick for giving it straight between the eyes, to a room full of housing folk. Quality of data, well poor quality of data is something I see a lot of.

Why are we so reluctant to respect the data, why is regarded as being so worthless?

Older workers may recall the times when data was entered by a team of clerks. Probably this would be the same time when there was a typing pool on the 3rd floor and you could pretty much while away 3/4 of the day, looking busy running around with a piece of paper in your hand.

In case you may have been elsewhere for the last 25 years, those halcyon days look to be well behind us. We seem to do all our data management ourselves now, including all that troublesome use of Word, Outlook and Excel.

In many organisations, I see many users who despise data and really feel a slave to it. "I used to just write out my notes on a form in pen and file it, why do I have to type it all in here now"? We can all relate to why they have to, particularly if you work in the customer services team. Without everybody's interactions & contacts going into the system, no way can it deliver a 360 degree view of the world. Its 110 degree's otherwise at best.

When the form was just filed, it and the questions and answers on it, had little value. In most cases it just audited the fact that the interaction took place. If we were lucky. Data gains value when we can use it to take decisions, or use it for specific purposes like building essential reports and returns. We might use it to improve or shape customer service to individual needs.

Valuable data needs to be always accessible and can be costly to replace if corrupted, lost or access is denied to it. The cost per customer, of collecting accurate data might easily be £50 or much higher. While hardware and infrastructure can pretty easily replaced and replicated, particularly if hosted in the cloud, data needs to be protected reflecting its value. The more data is used, the cost per access is effectively reduced.

Poor or lack of data recording will generally create problems for someone else in the organisation. when they or another third party fix it, someone else feels the pain, other than the original suspects. Until the people causing the data issues are pointed at their problems first hand, and it's their job to correct, they will not get out of their bad habits. If each issue they cause creates them some pain, they will slowly change their bad habits. It is far easier to get things right and not come to grief than constantly be doing the reverse.

To see how data is being used, is also a good driver for users to record it properly, as they can understand how processes and service levels rely on it. Feeling other team data pain, is as useful as feeling it themselves. It can create some good habits around keeping good data and getting the best value from it, like a commodity.

If it's not a useful commodity,  why force our staff to slavishly record it?

Catch the blog monthly archive at https://archive.org/details/@housingitguy

Related Post: Are some of our HMS Supplier implementers One Chord wonders? 

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I would be pleased to connect with you on LinkedIn - http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy Message me with any issues or queries, you would like to be explored in this blog. We generally receive a couple of suggestions each month.

Grace Jones - Slave To The Rhythm.
(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009


Access a quick list of our Social Housing ICT blog posts here

Could we help you or your organisation? Our contact details are here , get in touch we will be pleased to chat about your problems and help with your organisation issues.
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Boss Drum – Corralling in Your Wayward Info

If you do the Twitter thing, follow me at @HousingITguy
or LinkedIn here https://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy


During my first few years working with Social Housing Systems, I was involved in a lot of full integrated solution implementations. I still surprise suppliers when pulling them up on implementation and data extract/transformation processes. You soon learn how to locate trouble-some and hidden data and use tried and tested approaches to clean it up and present it in the best form possible, for a brand new system.

Strangely, lately I have been involved in a raft of data conversion work, for Housing Groups merging systems or new properties in, and for a few organisations, taking their first housing solution.

That all covers the relatively structured stuff. Even Excel spreadsheets have some structure, however possibly haphazard. I am used to telephone numbers, containing comments, like (work) or (Daughter – Mon-Thu only) etc. Notes and scratch pads are another matter. Free text is of course notorious and using conventional database languages, a bugger to report from. I often come across sensitive data in text and note fields. Historic account references, person details, credit card data, sort codes and others. Some of it innocently blows PCI compliance right out of the window.

The above of course refer to database info. IE in SQL Server, Progress, Oracle, Ingress or Informix etc. Every organisation also has Terabytes of data held on local, network and cloud drives, as well as local Exchange Server storage. Once you start looking, unfortunately you start to see sensitive data in the strangest of places. Fascinating that all this is, within the recent GDPR rules, we should be managing every single byte of sensitive data that we own. Much of it is historic, and a lot down to poor user training and poorly managed habits.

Innocent recording of card/payment details in free text notes are a major Achiles Heal for GDPR compliance

Searching just a small corner of your unstructured data, can take several days and then you only just scratch the surface. You would need a small army (well maybe a platoon), to do a proper job, then keep on top of it too. Data quality groups are something I always promote, wherever I can, but they have  a limit to their vigilance. For a few years I have been actively seeking some more intelligent solutions, to help crack this one.

Last month I think I spotted a pretty comprehensive, proven tool to do the job, called InfoBoss. You don’t need an army of people either, to feed and water it. Just a few pioneering Social Housing landlords are currently using it, in addition to at least one credit rating agency in the Midlands.

It pretty much sniffs out the problems by itself with a set of inbuilt rules, that can be activated to detect data in the wrong place, suspect data problems and breaches of GDPR policy, such as ‘Right To Be Forgotten’. Integral white and black lists enable checking for what should have been long since archived ID’s, that potentially are breaking the law.

The tool has been built on Elastic Search, the platform is scalable, cloud based and quick to setup and very easy to use. Once it has been pointed at a multitude of data sources, within an organisation, it will collate details into a single reportable repository. A messaging API allows set up of automation. Stakeholders can be created that are automatically alerted on new and newly discovered exceptions.

I’m techie, but it’s clear this is more of an end-user, than an ICT team tool, all in a private cloud too.  Check it out by contacting Mark Hobart of InfoBoss or download the InfoBoss data management whitepaper.

Download the InfoBoss white paper here

If you have or suspect you may have data quality issues that possibly contravene GDPR, this is clearly a new tool worth a look.
 
Do mention you read it first on this blog and please let me know what you thought of it too.

Related Post: For big transformation projects, don't shy away from the Big Bang Approach    

Catch the blog monthly archive at https://soundcloud.com/housingitguy/

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I would be pleased to connect with you on LinkedIn - http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy Message me with any issues or queries, you would like to be explored in this blog. We generally receive a couple of suggestions each month.

The Shamen – Boss Drum.
(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009


Access a quick list of our Social Housing ICT blog posts here

Could we help you or your organisation? Our contact details are here , get in touch we will be pleased to chat about your problems and help with your organisation issues.
File Under: #HomesForBritain,#HousingDAY,#InternetOfTenants,#Shout,#UKHousing, 07854655009, 1st Touch,1stTouch,360,365Agile,3squared,4Js, ACL,ALMO,AMS,AX,Aareon,Abritas,Academy,Accuserv,Accuserve,Active Housing,ActiveH,ActiveHousing,Acutence,Advanced,Agile,Agile365,AirWatch,Alignment,Allpay,Amazon Web Services,Anite,Apex,App,ArchHouse,Archouse,Asprey e-state pro,Asset Management,Associates,Aurora,Average IT Costs,AWI SX Integration Toolkit,AWS, BI,BO,BPR,BancTec,BigChange,Blockwise,BluTek,Bluebox,Blueprint,Browser Applications,Business Objects,Business Planning,Business Process Review,Business social networking, CACI,CBL,CCS IT Keystone CCSIT,CHICS,CHR,CIH,CMS,COA,CORE,CPL,CRM,CRM2013,CRS,CTI,CTX,Cadcorp,Capita,CapitaOne,Capita One,Capital Management,Cashflow,Castle,Castleton,Castleton Technology,Cedar Open Accounts,Cerrus,Change,Charges,Chartered Institute Of Housing,Cheaper Housing IT,Chics, Citrix,Civica,Civica CTX,Civica Cx,Civica Genero,Civica Saffron,Clearview,Clik,Cloud Dialogs,CloudDialogs,Coactiva,Codeman,Comino,Commontime,Community Reward Services,Company,Competitive Dialogue process,Component Accounting,Consilium,Consolidation, Consultancy,Consultant,Consultants,Contact Manager,Context,Contractor Systems,CorVu,Cost Reductions,Covalent,Crystal Reports,Customer Relationship Management,Cx, DRS,Deeplake,Designer Software,Development Systems,Director,Document,Documotive,Dynamic AI,DynamicAI,Dynamics 365, ECMK,EDM,EDRMS,ERP,ESRI,Elmhurst,Enghouse Interactive,England,English,EnterpriseBI,Estatecraft,Etive,Exhibition,Exponential-e, Facebook,Factorwise,Field Service management,Finance,Financial Systems,Financials,Footprint,Forms,Freezes,Fusion, Gas Tag,G-Cloud,GCloud,GDPR,GGP,GIS,GasTag,Genero,GeoSolveIT,Getting best from,GoTonySmith,Grasp,Grip,Group Apex, HFI (Housing Financials interface),HG,HRA,Hardware,Hitachi Systems,Hitex,HomeMaster,Hometeam,HouSys,House,Housemark,Housemark survey,Housing,Housing Contact,Housing Group,Housing Insight,Housing Management,Housing Management Consultant,Housing Partners,Housing Portfolio Management System,Hub Asset Management, Housing Support Pro,HousingIT,HousingSupportPro,HyperOptic, IMS,IT,IT Budget,IT Training,ITIL,Impact Response,In,In4,In4Systems Promaster,InfoBoss,InHouse,InMotion,InMotion2015,InMotion2016,InfoBoss,Infoflow,Information,Information Technology,Information@Work components,Informix,Innovation, Informetis,Inphase,Inside Housing,Insight,Internet Portal,Internetalia,Invu,Ireland,Irish,itLab, Keyfax,Keylogic,Keypera,Keystone,Kirona,Kypera, Landlord,Ledgers,Linkedin,Liquid,Locality,Localz, M3,MAVIS,MD,MDM,MI,MIS,MIS-AMS,MISCS,MRI,MS Dynamics,MS Dynamics CRM2011,MWL,Management,Management Server,Manifest,Measuring,Mebus,Microsoft Dynamics 365,Microsoft dynamics GP 2013,Miracle,MobileIron,Mobysoft,Monopoly board images and pictures,Montal,Mr Void,MriEngage,MrVoid, NDL,NINTEX,NINTEX workflow,NPS,NPS ASSIST,NPS Housing,NPS Job Manager Mobile,NROSH,Natural,Neighbourhoods and Communities,Nintexworkflow,Northgate,Northgate Codeman,Northgate Public Services,Notice, OA,OGC Buying Solutions,OJEU Limits,ORS,Ohms,OmFax,Omniledger,One,OneAdvanced,OneServe,Open source,OpenContractor,OpenHousing,Opti-time,Options,Optitime,Oracle,Orchard,Outsource and outsourcing,OutSystems, PIMMS,PIMSS Data,PM,PRINCE2,Paloma,Pamwin,PanConnect,People Value,Peoplevalue,PfH,Pick,PlanForm,Planned maintenance,Plus,Portfolio Management System,PowerObjects,Pro,Pro-Points,Prodo,Progress,Promaster,Propoints,Proval,Providers,Pyramid, QL,QuantSpark,Qube,QLX,Qlikview,QueryView,Queryview reporting,Quiss, RM865,ROCC,RPs,RSL,Rave,ReAct,Reality,RedkiteCRM,Red Olive,Registered,Registered Social,Rent Increase,RentSense,RentSenseLite,Repairfinder,Reporting,Reports,RobotAutomation,Rocket, Salesforce,Salesforce.Org,SAP,SASSHA,SDM,SHBVN,SM,SOTI,SP,SQL,SQL Open Housing,SQL Reporting,SQL Server,Saffron,Safron,Saturn,Scenario,Scotland,Scots,Scottish,Scout,Sequoa,Serengeti,Serros,Server,Service,Services,Servitor,Sharepoint,Sim,SimPro, Simdel,Simdell,Slash and Burn,Social Housing ICT,Social Housing Software Applications,Social Media,Software,Software solutions,Spotlight Service,Spotlightservice,Star rating,Stores and Stock,Strategic,SunAccounts,Sunguard,Surveys, Swordfish,Sx3,Symatrix Human,System alignment,Systems,Systemwise, T-Files,TEAMS,TED,TFiles,TP Tracker,TSG,Tagish Casework,Tagra,Task,Technologies (India) PVT Limited,Telecetera,Template,Terminal Services,That,Three Star,Today,Tony Smith,Tony Smith That Housing IT Guy,TonySmith that housing IT,TonySmithHou,TonySmithHousing, ,TonySmithHousingITguy,Total,Total Mobile,Totalmobile,Trace,Tribal,Twitter, U2,UC,UK,UK Housing,Ukhousing,UniClass Enterprise,Unidata,United Kingdom,Universal,Universalcredit,Universe,Unrest, Valueworks,Van Stock,Vantage,Vantage Sentinel,Version,Virtualisation,Visualmetrics,Voice,Voice and data,Voluntas, Wales,Welsh,Wheatley,Windows Server,Workflow and,Work Hub,Works Connect, XML,Xen App,XenApp,Xmbrace, ...
. . . . . . . . . . .

Dark Maven

If you do the X / Bluesky thing, follow me at @HousingITguy or LinkedIn here https://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy

I read an interesting article in last weeks Guardian about AI targeting of that girls school in Iran and possibly how that went pear-shaped. While most of what papa Trump touches goes wrong this is a surely data shaped cock-up.

The bit in that article lands harder than all the usual breathless AI chat, because it gets to the real problem. It was not some magic machine turning evil on its own. Surprise, surprise it was stale data, bad assumptions, poor governance and human beings building speed on top of shaky foundations. That is the bit people in SocialHousing and Asset Management ought to be paying attention to, because we are in danger of doing our own smaller-scale version of exactly the same thing.

No, social housing is not a war zone (I mean now and again it may feel so!), and I am not being melodramatic. But the underlying lesson is the same. When old, wrong, shanky or incomplete data is fed into newer, faster, more sophisticated reporting tools, the output can look clever while being fundamentally unsound. The system appears confident. The dashboard looks polished. The report has plenty of decimal places. The presentation to the board feels reassuringly modern. Meanwhile the underlying asset data might be a mess. Only our asset management colleagues at the sharp end may actually realise this.

That is our Achilles heel.

I see far too much discussion at the moment about clever tools, predictive analytics, AI, optimisation engines, automated investment planning and all the rest of it, with nowhere near enough honesty about the quality of the data sitting underneath. If your component records are patchy, if installation dates were guessed fifteen years ago during a rushed LSVT stock condition exercise, if replacement history, or subsequent SCS's have not been consistently updated, if attributes have been bulk-loaded from old systems with half the meaning stripped out, then wrapping that in shiny new software does not create truth. It just creates faster nonsense.

And housing does love a bit of faster nonsense at times. We have all seen it. A landlord buys a new asset system, or switches on a new reporting layer, and within five minutes someone wants a thirty-year investment profile, a full life cycle costing model, and a heat map of future liabilities by estate, archetype and component. Lovely stuff on paper. But if your kitchen data is wrong, your roof data is vague, your windows are classified three different ways (by spot cost, by unit, by archetype, or a bit of all?), and half your components are defaulted to generic dates because nobody knew the real answer, then that LCC report is not a strategic asset. It is an expensive comfort blanket.

That is the danger with life cycle costing in particular. People often talk about it as if it is some kind of grown-up, evidence-led answer to long-term planning. In principle, it can be. In practice, it is only as good as the component data, assumptions and replacement rules beneath it. If the dates are wrong, the quantities are wrong, the useful lives are generic, or the survey data is incomplete, then the report can give a completely false sense of control. It can tell you with great confidence that spend will peak in year eight, flatten in year twelve and rise again in year nineteen, when in reality it is built on a pile of half-remembered survey notes, inherited coding structures and wishful thinking.

This is where people get seduced by sophistication. They think the answer to poor information is a better tool. Sometimes the answer is a torch, a clipboard, a proper data model and a grim few months of sorting out the basics. That is less exciting, of course. Nobody gets invited to a conference to say, “we cleaned up our component hierarchy, tightened our validation rules and stopped pretending unknown dates were known.” But that dull work is often worth more than the glossy AI strategy that comes afterwards.

In the article I highlight,  failure was not simply “technology”. The failure was letting a system run at speed while relying on information that no longer matched reality. That should ring bells in housing. We do it when asbestos records are incomplete. We do it when stock condition data is old. We do it when compliance statuses depend on weak integrations. We do it when repairs history does not feed asset intelligence properly. We do it when planned works teams, compliance teams and housing management all hold slightly different versions of the truth and nobody is quite sure which one drives the report to the board.

Then along comes a new supplier or a new platform promising insight. Suddenly old problems are dressed up in modern clothes. Instead of one vaguely  unreliable Excel spreadsheet, you get a dynamic dashboard. Instead of a crude five-year plan, you get scenario modelling. Instead of a rough estimate, you get “predictive” forecasts. But prediction based on bad source data is not insight. It is theatre.

That is the bit I think the sector still does not say loudly enough. Data quality is not some boring back-office technical issue. It is operational risk. It affects compliance, investment, tenant safety, financial planning and organisational credibility. If you do not know what components you have, where they are, when they were installed, what condition they are in, and whether that information has been properly maintained over time, then the fancy reporting layer is not your salvation. It is just a better quality mirror for your confusion.

And to be fair, this is not always laziness or incompetence. A lot of landlords are carrying legacy data structures and systems that were never designed for today’s expectations. They have been through mergers, outsourcing deals, stock transfers, system migrations, rushed mobilisation exercises and years of under-investment in proper data stewardship. Bits of the truth are scattered everywhere. The asset system says one thing, repairs says another, finance codes something differently, and the survey programme has never fully caught up. Then somebody asks for a fully costed decarbonisation pathway or a stock reinvestment plan by component and tenure, and wonders why the answers wobble.Because the data wobbles, so them we assume the system is wibble.

So before anybody gets too excited about AI, digital twins, predictive replacement models or miracle dashboards, there is a simpler question worth asking. Do we trust the component data? Not “is there some data”, not “can the system produce a report”, but do we genuinely trust it enough to make expensive, high-impact decisions from it? If the answer is no, or even “sort of”, then that is where the effort belongs.
 

There is no glamour in saying your first priority is data assurance, better survey discipline, tighter updates from planned works, cleaner integrations and proper governance around defaults, assumptions and exceptions. 

But that is the grown-up answer. In housing, as in every other serious field, speed built on stale data is dangerous. The consequences may differ, thankfully, but the principle does not.
 

We should remember that every time someone waves a shiny new tool in front of us. Clever software cannot rescue weak asset knowledge. It can only amplify it. And if we are honest, that is probably the real lesson here. Our problem is not that housing lacks sophisticated systems. It is that we still too often ask sophisticated systems to compensate for basic uncertainty. That never ends well 

Is your organisation struggling to justify a software change, or worried not everything has been covered? 

Get in touch , I will drop in for a cuppa & bring the Fox's Chocolate Gingers ☕

       Related Post: As a client told me recently, the right Critical Friend, will potentially save you more money than you spend.

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I would be pleased to connect with you on LinkedIn - http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy Message me with any issues or queries, you would like to be explored in this blog. We generally receive a couple of suggestions each month.

Mansun - Dark Mavis

(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009


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