Improving financial services data quality - A Citigroup practice

This paper aims to propose a funnel methodology that selects business data elements for data quality improvement practices at a financial company. Data quality is crucial in the post-crisis recovery of the financial services industry. This allows the bank to monitor its critical data assets and improve its business operation by Six Sigma engagement that benefits from the good quality of data. A funnel methodology is invented. It utilizes a rationalization matrix and statistical methods to identify critical data elements (CDEs) for data quality efforts from numerous candidates across business functions. The “Voice of the Customer” is achieved by including subject matter experts, whose knowledge and experience contribute to the entire process. The methodology eliminates redundancy and reduces the number of data elements to be monitored, so that attention becomes focused on the right elements. In addition, the methodology ensures that the conduct of the data quality assessment is framed within the context of the functional area’s business objectives.

Recommended citation: Shi, C., C. H. Heien, J. R. Talburt, R. A. Granese, D. W. Gray, R. Jugulum, R. Ramachandran, J. Singh, J. Hamilton, and H. I. Joyce (2015). Improving financial services data quality - A Citigroup practice. International Journal of Lean Six Sigma 6(2), 98-110