Data Provenance

Airports are where ordinary corporate coordination problems go to become expensive. A delayed data update is not just an “alignment issue.” A vague handoff is not just “cross-functional friction.” A misunderstood phrase can move aircraft, ground crews, gates, passengers, baggage, and regulatory responsibility in the wrong order. Aviation has a talent for making management consultants’ favorite words suddenly physical. Very inconsiderate of it. ...

A dataset can look respectable for all the wrong reasons. It may have a familiar name. It may sit on a well-known repository. It may come with a license file, a citation, a download button, and just enough academic polish to make procurement, product, and engineering all feel that the risk has been handled. Wonderful. A PDF said it was fine. What could possibly go wrong? ...