Measuring the Impact of Data Operations on National Security and Prosperity
The Department of Defense (DoD) data strategy aims to develop a data program “at speed and scale for operational advantage and increased efficiency.” Among the ways in which DoD will leverage data as a strategic resource is the concept of VAULTIS, striving to make all data visible, accessible, understandable, linked, trustworthy, interoperable, and secure.
To achieve these goals, DoD needs not only tools, pipelines, and processes, but also personnel who understand the value of data and the ways in which it can be measured and used to bolster services, efficiency, and mission readiness. As a longtime provider of critical data science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation, and cloud computing solutions, ECS combines the experience, expertise, and thought leadership to help DoD achieve their strategic data aims. Our team of data professionals have developed competitive advantages for our customers in both the commercial and government arenas by harnessing and measuring the power, efficiency, and value of ready data.
Legacy Readiness Measures
The DoD Joint Dictionary defines two types of legacy readiness measures as “the synthesis of two distinct but interrelated levels.”
These definitions are:
Unit Readiness
The ability to provide capabilities required by the combatant commanders to execute their assigned missions. This is derived from the ability of each unit to deliver the outputs for which it was designed.
Joint Readiness
The combatant commander’s ability to integrate and synchronize ready combat and support forces to execute his or her assigned missions.
These measures of Unit and Joint Readiness aggregate measures of personnel, equipment, supply and maintenance, and training readiness. While all measures are important, there is perhaps no crisis or critical shortfall more common among them as data—dirty, incomplete, anomalous, noisy, and inconsistent data. If units or joint capabilities lacked the organizational reporting that our data lacks today, they would be met with massive investments and efforts to right any errors. Why then has data not yet been made a comparably tangible, real, and measurable asset?
As DoD embraces data as a key technological paradigm shift, it is crucial to apply the Joint Dictionary definitions of readiness to data strategy as well. The time to make this change is now. The way forward is data readiness.
How to start measuring your “Data Readiness”
ECS’ pragmatic approach to data readiness begins with the adage “what gets measured gets done.” Our data professionals have over a decade of experience creating and delivering automated data operations and readiness systems that enable data quality and governance. Our frameworks have traditionally summarized three areas of measure, namely:
TIMELINESS
Volume
Amount of data processed per second
Throughput
Number of records processed per second
ACCURACY
Completeness
Degree of absent values and entities
Relevance
Time elapsed since last update of target repository from data source
Consistency
Degree to which data is viewed as consistent through transaction
Interpretability
Degree to which users can understand the data
REPEATABILITY
Precision
Statistical measure of consistency of repeated derived values
Interoperability
Degree to which other systems and tools use the same data
ECS operationalized these readiness measures by also introducing governance activities and best practices such as:
- Data Readiness / Errors and Exceptions Reports
- Functional Data Manager and Functional Analytics Manger Steering Councils
- Data and Analytics Dictionaries
- Data and Analytics Standards for Documentation
ECS’ applied innovation, agile integration, and trusted experts can help you too achieve data readiness that enables your organization to be data-centric and insights-driven at speed and scale.
