People and Data

Everyone’s personal and professional lives depend on data.

Data permeates daily life in numerous ways. The daily “step count” your smartphone registers is data, as is your shopping list, meeting appointment book, and calculations of whether you can afford your dream house. Data is everywhere.

Structured data has two dimensions: a “data model” and “data values.” The data model shows what the data is about – aspects of interest, crucial qualities of those aspects and the relationships between them. The data values display the data’s relative importance to the question or questions you are trying to answer. 

Data enables meaningful action in private life and commerce. You need data to anticipate and shop for what you need, for example. You make rational home-purchasing decisions because you have data regarding your anticipated future income. Your product marketing depends on data on sales trends, supply chains and availability. 

Business requires far more complex data than most people need in their private lives. Companies need data for everything from product design and manufacturing to delivery...