The IQ Solution Cycle

There is a repeatable series of phases that a data quality initiative will move through as an organization first attempts to achieve a corporate goal and ultimately implements a solution that rectifies the data quality problems that hinder the goal. The IQ Solution Cycle is the series of three phases, Awareness, Quantification, and Implementation that the data quality project team will implicitly or explicitly follow in the course of deploying a solution. From identifying the problem and making the decision to proceed, to solution research and project approval, organizations go through a number of stages before they reach the implementation phase of an information quality initiative. This paper discusses in depth each of the twenty-one stages aided by the actual experiences of Generico, Inc. the fictional name of a real firm. As with all good quality processes and methodologies, the IQ Solution Cycle is repeatable, and the paper concludes with an exposition on “round-tripping” through the cycle, and the benefits derived by the data quality practitioner for simply knowing the cycle exists. THE IQ SOLUTION CYCLE