Open data use cases

Yesterday I helped present a session at the Future Everything conference, along with Paul Maltby, Jamie Whyte and Tom Rowlands, talking about the open data day events we’ve helped to run and the feedback we got from them. My part was to open a discussion on the specific feedback we got at Open Data Camp in Winchester on the 21st and 22nd of February – we asked people what they thought should happen in the next 365 days around open data, one thing they’d like to see. (In fact we simply didn’t let people leave the ODCamp hall until they’d written something on a post it note. Participatory consultation, yay! Sort of …)

 

What we got out of that was very interesting and wide ranging, reflecting the very mixed backgrounds and skill sets of the Open Data Camp attendees. There were very specific items;

 

 

and some very general;

 

 

and a few tangential ideas …

 

 

But we found that broadly the different wishes and wants appeared under nine distinct themes: Catalogue, Ecosystem, Skills, Guidance, Tools, Datasets, Standards, Access and Storytelling.

 

Here’s where it gets interesting; during the discussion at Future Everything last night we heard from people with different experiences, successes they wanted to share, and caveats about things to avoid. They felt we had probably uncovered most of the appropriate themes though there were a few extra points to add to the more detailed version of our list later. But the most valuable thing for me was the realisation was that each theme could, and should, be presented as a use case. They’re meaningless frameworkery for its own sake if we don’t figure out what the purpose of each category actually is.

 

So here’s my crude starting not-a-framework-at-all-actually of use cases: I don’t think this is complete or even necessarily correct, but it’s a start. I’d love to hear from some of you out there about what you’d add, remove or change here. There’s a shared Google doc here if you’d like to comment or contribute.

 

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Catalogue

 

As an entrepreneur

I need to know what datasets are available

So I can work out if a business idea is feasible and build a prototype

 

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Ecosystem

 

As a developer

I need to find other people to talk to about working with data

So I can find out what’s possible

 

As a data owner

I need to know which datasets people want most

So I can focus on getting those done first

 

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Skills

As a data owner

I need to know how to prepare and upload a dataset somewhere

So I can share it in a way that makes it usable by others

 

As a data owner

I need quick and basic level training opportunities

So I can understand how to use the tools I’ve chosen or been given

 

As a data owner

I need quick and basic training or information resources

So I can understand the issues around open data

 

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Guidance

As a data owner

I need to know how to prepare and assess a dataset correctly

So I know I’m not exposing personal or sensitive data

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Tools

As a data owner

I need to know what platforms and systems are available

So I can choose the most relevant option for me or my organisation or my audience

 

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Datasets

As a developer

I need a particular dataset

So I can create a prototype app or service

 

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Standards

As a developer

I need datasets to come in a predictable, consistent and documented format

So I can write code that works and won’t break if the data is refreshed in a different format

 

As a data owner

I need to know what my audience expects/needs from data formats

So I can make sure my datasets meet that standard

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Access

As a citizen

I need clear summaries and visualisations or simple tools I can use to create them

So I can find the answer to questions I care about

 

As a data owner

I need to know where people get data and how they want to access it

So I can make sure I’m not excluding anyone from the opportunity to use the data

 

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Storytelling

As a journalist

I need to know how to analyse a dataset

So I can use it to illustrate a story

 

As a data owner

I need to know how people are using data like mine

So I can understand the benefits and prioritise data release

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