Obama Success Highlights Value Of Good Quality Information.

Nov. 6, 2008 - PRLog -- If poor quality information can threaten an election and trust in the system, the success of the Obama campaign in managing the data about voter activity at the polls highlights how any organization that places a value on the quality of the information they use to drive their processes can reap significant strategic rewards.

The details now coming to light about “Project Houdini”, as mentioned in Newsweek (http://www.newsweek.com/id/167581/page/2) and discussed in detail on the DailyKos website (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/11/5/12333/6627), evidence a political campaign team that truly understood the value and power of good quality, accurate and timely data to help inform critical decisions and deliver significant success.

“Reading the coverage of Project Houdini I am struck by the obvious priority given by the Democrat team to the quality of the information they were using to drive strategic decisions to get out the vote. From their ‘executive office’ in Chicago down to the front-line ‘flushers’, everyone involved clearly understood the value of the information and the importance of the data to achieving their end goal – the election of President Obama”, says Daragh O Brien, Director Publicity IAIDQ.

The monitoring and control of the quality of the information was clearly top notch, with front-line staff getting support to work around bottlenecks and discrepancies in input data being spotted quickly, with immediate feedback to the knowledge workers involved. That information allowed the GOTV (Get Out The Vote) teams to more effectively focus their efforts to ensure maximum turn out on the day, so timeliness and accuracy of the information were obviously key factors in its quality to the Obama Campaign.

“While the run up to this election highlighted the impacts of poor quality data on critical processes such as Voter Registration, the success of President-Elect Obama clearly shows how organizations who value the quality of their Information Asset can make better decisions and more effective use of their other assets to achieve strategic and competitive advantage”, added Christian Walenta, President IAIDQ.

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About the International Association for Information & Data Quality
The International Association for Information & Data Quality (IAIDQ, www.iaidq.org) is a professional association for those interested in improving business effectiveness through quality data and information. Chartered in January 2004, the IAIDQ is advancing the quality of information and data around the world by building a community, supporting learning and sharing knowledge for the benefit of all information consumers. For more information, please visit iaidq.org.

About Christian Walenta
Christian Walenta is the President of the IAIDQ and has served in a number of voluntary leadership roles in the Association since its foundation in 2004.

About Daragh O Brien
Daragh O Brien is the Director of Publicity & Recruitment for the IAIDQ. He is a Fellow of the Irish Computer Society. He has served as a volunteer director of the IAIDQ since 2006 and has lead the IAIDQ's Irish Community of Practice since 2005.