We are bombarded with big data and information from all sides.

How do we determine the information we actually need from the data available?

There are two considerations:

• What information do we get that we don’t need?
• What information don’t we get that we do need?

Why do we need information? Well, we have have objectives and we need information to help us achieve them:

• The achievement of our objectives is hindered by risks.
• Risks need to be mitigated by taking decisions.
• Decisions need to be based on good quality information.

So what is good quality information? It needs to be:

• Relevant: it must help us reach a decision. Knowing it’s raining in Outer Mongolia won’t help us make a decision about taking an umbrella – unless we’re in Outer Mongolia.
• Complete: there’s no point in only having part of the information. Knowing it’s raining is useful but it would be more useful if you knew how hard and if the forecast was for continuing rain.
• Simple: the information should convey a clear message. It’s raining, not there’s a certain amount of aqueous precipitation in the atmosphere.
• Accurate: this can vary from totally inaccurate: it’s not raining (when it is) to excessive accuracy it’s raining with drops of average diameter 0.12342mm.
• Timely: The information needs to be with us when we need to make the decision. No point in getting soaked before you realise that it’s pouring.
• And of course the information must be used! However good the information, if it is not used it’s worthless.

We can put these principles into practice as follows:

• If we receive information which doesn’t help us make decisions to reduce our risks, we should ignore it.
• Since decisions cannot change the past, only the future, we need to focus on forecasting.
• We understand that the management of risks is linked to the management of information.
• We need to tell our data and information providers: our objectives, the risks likely to hinder them and the related decisions.
• We shouldn’t expect the accuracy of any information provided to us, or by us, to be greater than we can reasonably measure or estimate.
• We should request information with an urgency related to the urgency of the decision.
• We determine our objectives, then identify:the risks hindering them; the decisions to be made to mitigate the risks; the information required to inform our decisions.

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Big data and managing information - Summary