DATA COLLECTION, ANALYSIS AND REPORTING MANAGEMENT

Data collection is a term used to describe a process of preparing and collecting data at the conception of a project, or as a part of process improvement. The purpose of data collection is to obtain information to keep on record, to make decisions about important issues, to pass information on to others. Primarily, data is collected to provide information regarding a specific topic.  Data collection usually takes place early on in an improvement project, and is often formalized through a data collection plan which often contains the following activity.

1.     Pre collection activity   (Agree goals, target data, definitions, methods)

2.     Collection   (data collection)

3.      Present Findings    (usually involves some form of sorting analysis and/or presentation)

Prior to any data collection, pre-collection activity is one of the most crucial steps in the process.

A formal data collection process is necessary as it ensures that data gathered is both defined and accurate and that subsequent decisions based on arguments embodied in the findings are valid. The process provides both a baseline from which to measure from and in certain cases a target on what to improve.
Types of data collection

• By mail questionnaires
• By personal interview.

Other main types of collection include census, sample survey, and administrative by-product and each with their respective advantages and disadvantages.
 A census refers to data collection about everyone or everything in a group or population and has advantages, such as accuracy and detail and disadvantages, such as cost and time.
A sample survey is a data collection method that includes only part of the total population and has advantages, such as cost and time and disadvantages, such as accuracy and detail.
Administrative by-product data is collected as a byproduct of an organization’s day-to-day operations and has advantages, such as accuracy, time simplicity and disadvantages, such as no flexibility and lack of control.

Determining what information to collect

Deciding what data to collect will depend on the phase of the project—the conceptual, design, production, or maintenance phase. In any case, data should include failures due to equipment failure and human error. The conceptual phase will require the use of data from similar products. The design phase will require research or actual test data for the specific product. The production phase requires the use of a more historical type data derived sometimes from the design stages. The maintenance phase requires the use of actual failure data that may have been acquired with various failure analysis techniques. In short, all failures must be included from development to acceptance.
Five basic steps are outlined below that will help determine what data to collect:

1.      Find out what happened, and be as specific as possible. At what level in the overall system, product, or process was the event discovered?

2.      Method of detection. Internally? Externally?

3.      Find out when the event happened. During testing? During production run?

4.      Find out if there is a similar event in historical records. If the answer is "yes," it could save time by eliminating some data collection.

5.      Find out if there have been any recent changes. Check vendor materials, test conditions, etc.

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