33 Tangents - Episode #34 - What do you mean (insert metric) won’t match exactly across these different systems?

We’ve gotten this question, in one form or another, many many times: I’m looking at system A and system B and they don’t match, how do we fix that?  To validate that a system is collecting data correctly you need to compare it to another system.  For example you would compare your Analytics implementation to your backend order management system to ensure that you’re conversion tracking is accurate.  However these two systems will never match exactly and if you’re not careful, your validation can spiral out of control.   If the wrong audience is involved, they won’t trust any of the data so this process has to be managed very carefully.  What are some reasons systems will never match exactly?   If they don’t match exactly, what is the point of doing this validation?  How do you manage expectation, both yours and others?   How do you prevent it from spiraling out of control?  This week Jenn, Jason, and Jim discuss their experience with reconciliation efforts, how they can spawn more problems than they solve, and how to properly manage them.

 

 

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