Big data is now part of every sector and function of the global economy. How can quality management help you to manage your big data?
The amount of data in our world is huge. Companies all around the world capture information about their customers, suppliers, and operations as a way towards driving economic activity, innovation, and growth. But what is big data? Big data is a large pool of data that can be captured, communicated, aggregated, stored, and analyzed.
A report from Mc Kinsey Global Institute “Big data: The next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity” said that as big data “become an increasingly valuable asset, their intelligent exploitation will be critical for enterprises to compete effectively. The use of big data will become a key basis of competition across sectors, so it is imperative that organizational leaders begin to incorporate big data into their business plans.” They defined 5 themes leaders need to start thinking about to keep their companies in the loop: manage inventory data assets, identify potential opportunities and threats, buildup internal capabilities to create a data driven organization, develop an enterprise information strategy and address data policy issues.
In God we trust, all others must bring data
As Edwards Deming once said, In God we trust, all others must bring data. These 5 characteristics sound really like a Deming company where measuring data and following the Plan Do Study ACT cycle has to be part of the company culture. The problem is that unfortunately there are many companies in the world that are still lacking this insight. In my recent book SOS PYMES (A.k.a. Small business Help) I describe the situation of small business in developing countries where measuring data is not exactly part of their day to day activities.
Here is where quality experts can help the new generation of business leaders all across the world. Teaching about the importance of big data and all kind of company measures to capture, communicate and analyze as part of the decision making process is key. Six Sigma or the Deming System of profound Knowledge are such great examples of starting points for training people to think about data as an asset.
Companies will need not only supporting technology personnel to implement big data, but also managers and analysts who know how to request and consume big data analyses.
All of the business leaders in an organization will have to develop a baseline understanding of analytical techniques in order to use big data effectively. As McKinsey report mentions, “Organizations can modify their recruiting criteria to take this requirement into account, but more importantly, they will need to develop training programs to increase the capabilities of their current management and analyst ranks.”
Measuring tools
Control charts, Pareto charts, Design of Experiments, statistical sampling or process capability are some of the most common used tools in quality management that can help companies to analyse big data. They help to find issues, recognize trends and also to monitor he effectiveness of changes.
Companies like Amazon or Target, big data as an integral part of the way they do business. Did you know that using big data, Target gets to offer your daughter diapers before you even get to know she is pregnant? That is big data, and it has so many other ways to help. While it is very well know as being directly connected to marketing and social networking, big data has always been part of the quality culture. Technologies will continue to evolve, so companies which adapt faster will be the most successful (as usual).
Is your company READY enough?
Luciana Paulise
Director – Biztorming Training & Consulting
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