[AccessD] Estimating Help

Comes down to how much data entry control the app needs I guess. I suppose
you could write a procedure that eliminates a lot of the errors but
educating the data entry operators makes more sense. If the app won't take
the record, get help. :) It is the one flaw that really hurts with no
logical way to remedy it other than good training. You just can't program in
every mistake they might possibly make.

I think a cleanup routine would be a good idea, and I've thought alot about
it, but haven't actually done anything. You create a number of queries to
report on the data discrepancies and train someone well enough to make
competent, intelligent decisions about what gets changed.

However, back to the training -- use to teach a course on data entry, batch
operations, all that and the very best thing you can do to protect your data
is to draw up rules and train the operators to enter things correctly.
Everyone enters Street or St. -- pick one and stick with it, everyone enters
PO or P.O. -- pick one and stick with it -- and train them to enter it
correctly. Then, when an operator has trouble, they get help -- and that's
when the developer can go back in and improve the data entry logic -- one
possibility at a time. Nothing beats good training.

Susan H.


> Those aren't always spelling errors.  Sometimes they're intentional.
> Users try to enter data and the app won't let them because it would be
> duplicate, so they do something creative like adding a space before the
> value to get the system to accept  the record.  Then they can't
> understand why the application loses some of the records when it comes
> time to report!
>
> Charlotte Foust
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Clark [mailto:John.Clark at niagaracounty.com]
> Sent: Monday, February 03, 2003 7:18 AM
> To: accessd at databaseadvisors.com
> Subject: Re: [AccessD] Estimating Help
>
>
> >>> I once read of a data-cleansing study in Framingham, MA where they
> found the city name
> "Boston" spelled 19 different ways! I'm not sure how that is
> possible...<<<
>
> I had to write a new program to track pistol permits for our County
> Clerk, a couple of years ago, and there were, if I remember correctly,
> 17 different designations for New York...some of them "not so logical"
> and some of them, because of the lack of authentication, were simply
> spelling errors ("NY"; "N.Y."; "N Y"; "NY."; "Ny"; "New York";
> "NewYork"; "N..Y.." (belive it or not); and several more that I can't
> think of at the moment).
>
> I am surprised at how many of my users fight me on authentication...they
> want to control this via "policies", but what they don't realize is that
> their constant "altering" of policies is half or the problem (i.e.
> they'll decide six months down the road to re-title something, and then
> again in six more months, etc.). I stick to my guns on this issue
> though, because I will be the one having to fix it down the road. And,
> this may be job security, but it always happens, when I am trying to
> pump something new out. Unlike a independant, like many of you, I get
> paid the same either way, so I'll opt for "no problems" way.
>
> John W Clark
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