Another Type of Digital Divide

The term "Digital Divide" is primarily used to signify the gap between those who have access to the digital world and those who do not. And by "digital world" I'm referring to to computing devices (computers, phones, tablets, watches etc.) as well as internet access.

In my work of software development, I have seen another digital divide. It is the gap between those who can think of data abstractly and those who cannot. Awareness of this is important for any company that seeks to perform a "digital transformation" or what used to be called a "paperless office".

I see the gap as a continuum with three milestones:

1. Those who think of data in pen and paper.

2. Those who think of data in a matrix of columns and rows, a.k.a. spreadsheets.

3. Those who think of data abstractly.

Pen and Paper

The first milestone of pen and paper is obvious among data collectors. A company needs information - patient updates, list of students interested in joining a club, potential customers at a trade show, etc. The collectors hand them a pen and paper. This is not a judgement on the method or its adherents. In fact, in some instances, the low overhead of pen and paper (cost, time, training, potential failure) may be the best way to go. But the hidden cost can be high.

A recent conversation with a client illustrates my point. We were talking about inventory data and how it enters their system. That is, who is typing in the data, how long does it take, how many mistakes occur, etc. They (there were two people on the call) told me that orders come via email. And their team types in the order.

But what does that mean, that an order arrives via email? In the body of the email? As an attachment? Turns out, orders are sent via PDF and this is attached to the email. I pointed out to my client that someone had already done the data entry. And it didn't cost them anything. The data was already digitized. Could they at least ask for a spreadsheet instead of a PDF so they could import the data into their inventory system?

Thinking in pen and paper (or PDF, in this case) often means that data is siloed in the minds of the user. It is here but not there. To get it from one place to the other requires a paper form or a PDF and re-keying.

Matrix

The next milestone in the continuum is the matrix, better known as a spreadsheet. Spreadsheets are first and most popular low-code app, a designation frequently given to the tools preferred by users who cannot wait for or afford trained developers to make customizations to existing data systems.

Matrix thinkers often have the same blinders as pen and paper thinkers. That is, the data is siloed. Sheets are made and remade with the same data. Lists are composed with data that is already digitized. But instead of pulling the data from the main data store, more often than not it is re-keyed. This takes time and is prone to mistakes.

Important Clarification

A spreadsheet is a great tool for data analysis. That was its original purpose. They have since grown to become mini databases. When a spreadsheet functions as a database it is less than optimal as it becomes difficult to control data input and related records.

Data Abstraction

The last milestone is data abstraction. At this level, a person knows that the data has already been keyed or typed into a computer. It has been digitized. No need to re-key. The question is, how does it (or can it) move to the people who need it.

APIs and ODBC are the tools of this milestone. And more graphical tools to move data are now common place (e.g. Zapier). This is the realm of workflow automation, a moniker that illustrates the movement of data.

Final Thoughts

I'm not suggesting we ignore the unjust gap of computing access in our society. Digital divide should still be used primarily to describe that reality. However, I'm suggesting that the digital divide is not just a social-economic reality, but a cognitive one as well. And having an idea of where people fall in the continuum is helpful for moving a company forward in its goal of digital transformation.