Data Quality Audit Checklist: Template for a Clean Database
A data quality checklist is used by companies to locate and fix any errors related to data entry. The everyday nature of dealing with data, including entering the data, reviewing it, and signing off on its validity, leaves huge potential for error and certainly wastes a lot of time.
Because go-to-market teams rely on accurate data to fuel their activities, it’s critical that the number of errors is kept to a bare minimum. Even with extensive attention and labor, data errors can still occur, leading many teams to enact a systematic way of managing data quality.
A data quality checklist template is an effective tool for data quality managers to use to reduce the number of mistakes and errors that occur.
Data Quality Checklist Template
Basic Data Checks
This part of the template should include the tasks that you perform every time data is reviewed. These tasks should include:
- Verify formatting is correct
- Confirm the data is what you expect
- Compare data to previous values
- Observe changes in information where change might not be expected, such as industry classification
- Identify values that are not valid
- Perform spot checks at random
Once basic data checks have been completed, you should move onto advanced data checks.
Advanced Data Checks
Advanced data checks involve a review and submission process, which includes tasks like:
- Check that the data reflects reality, accuracy
- Confirm that all red flags and errors were identified and fixed before data is submitted or approved
- Confirm that information in reports matches the original documents
- Determine if the information was recorded by someone with direct knowledge
Once all of the tasks have been completed, there are several more steps that must be completed before the data can be submitted or approved.
- The data must be checked to ensure that all of the records required are there. Any blank entries in the data should be intentional and not omissions of information.
- All fields with text should include complete information, not abbreviations or nicknames. For example, if a person’s name is “David,” it should not be shortened to “Dave” in the text field.
- There should be an inquiry as to whether any hard copies of additional data have been submitted since the report was completed. If so, the additional information will have to be entered correctly.
- It is important to ensure the information is unique. Alphabetical sorting may be necessary to spot duplicate entries. There should also be a check to compare the current information to last year’s or last quarter’s information.
- The data checklist should include the timeliness of the data reported. The timestamp should be checked to confirm the version of data received is the most current.
- Finally, the data should be checked for consistency. The information that is being reviewed and submitted should be the same in all of the departments within the organization.
Having a data quality checklist template is an important step to ensuring your organization’s data is managed effectively. This will help to improve efficiency, maintain good customer relationships, and a strong brand image.
