> Data producers are irrelevant - they have no needs. There are 
> only the needs of data consumers. Sometimes a producer may 
> also be a consumer, but they're distinct roles and should not 
> be conflated.

If data producers have no needs, then they will not produce the data.
Failing to understand the motivation of data producers is often the root
cause of data quality problems. One model is that they produce the data in
exchange for money - if the data is bad, the money stops coming in, and
that's a strong motivation. Much more often, they produce the data
reluctantly, because they are told to, and that's a recipe for ensuring that
they put as little effort into the task as possible. Other times, people get
rewarded for submitting bad data, for example over-optimistic sales
forecasts or asset valuations.

If a business process is to function effectively, it's important to ensure
that all stakeholders achieve a net gain from participating in the process,
and in particular that data producers benefit most when they produce good
data.

Michael Kay
http://www.saxonica.com/


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