Malfunction of data processing regularity: Top 6 reasons and mitigation tips

In many industries where massive amounts of data are processed regularly, the regularity of timely reports is one of the most important criteria for success. Here are just a few examples:

• In marketing: Consistent data processing is crucial for targeted advertising campaigns in the marketing industry. Analyzing consumer behavior and preferences allows marketers to tailor their strategies, ensuring advertisements reach the right audience at the right time, ultimately maximizing effectiveness and return on investment.
• In publishing: Regular data processing is essential for content optimization and audience engagement. Analyzing readership patterns and preferences enables publishers to refine content strategies, improving the relevance and appeal of publications to their audience, which is crucial for maintaining readership and subscriptions.
• In fintech: Regular processing of financial data is fundamental for risk management and fraud detection. Analyzing transaction patterns and anomalies allows fintech companies to swiftly identify and address potential security threats, ensuring the integrity of financial transactions and maintaining trust among users.

In this article, we’ll discover common types of errors in data processing, examine mitigation recommendations, and consider examples of industries heavily dependent on consistent data processing reliability.

The Role of Data Processing Regularity

Maintaining data processing regularity is like tending to a well-organized kitchen. Just as a chef organizes ingredients and follows recipes, a data processor ensures consistent, organized, and routine data handling. Below are key reasons for empathizing with the importance of regular data processing for business.

1. Effective decision-making and business intelligence

Regular and systematic data processing enables businesses to extract valuable insights from their datasets. Analyzing customer behavior, market trends, and operational efficiency can provide critical information for strategic decision-making.

Furthermore, continuous data processing transforms raw, uninformative data into a consistent stream prepared for analysis and decision-making. This not only enables the utilization of insights for problem-solving and planning but also facilitates timely actions. Moreover, it provides up-to-date information on audience and market changes, enhancing the overall responsiveness of the decision-making process.

For instance, an e-commerce platform might use data processing to identify specific customer segments interested in particular product categories, allowing them to tailor promotional efforts and increase the effectiveness of their marketing strategies.

2. Enhanced customer trust and reputation

The greater the positive customer experience (CX) resulting from the preceding point, the stronger the trust and long-term loyalty customers will exhibit towards the brand or company. Whether a prospective customer becomes a customer or a loyal existing customer depends on their user experience in the individual phases of the customer journey. 

You can see the inextricable link between regular handling of any data flow and customer experience with these two examples from different industries:

1. E-commerce pricing errors: In an online retail setting, regular data processing irregularities led to website pricing errors. Customers encountered discrepancies between displayed prices and those charged at checkout, resulting in confusion and dissatisfaction. Such discrepancies can erode trust and tarnish the overall customer experience.
2. Banking transaction glitches: A banking system experienced irregularities in processing daily transaction data, causing delays and inaccuracies in updating account balances. Customers faced issues such as incorrect overdraft notifications and delayed fund transfers, leading to frustration and negatively impacting their banking experience. Reliable data processing is critical for maintaining customer trust in financial transactions.

Given our extensive experience in providing business intelligence services, we compiled the most frequent reasons that may impact data processing regularity.

Reason 1: Coding Errors

Coding is intricately involved in every step of the data processing pipeline, from data collection to storage, transformation, analysis, visualization, and integration. Throughout these steps, there is a high probability of encountering errors that can disrupt the regularity and cause various types of errors in data processing. However, this is a fairly obvious reason, so let’s take a closer look at where errors may actually be lurking and how to avoid them. These include: 

• Bugs in the code: A bug in the code refers to an unintended mistake or flaw in the programming that leads to unexpected behavior. This can include syntax errors, runtime errors, or logical mistakes, disrupting the proper execution of the code and potentially causing irregularities in data processing.
• Logic errors: Logic errors occur when there are flaws in the algorithmic or logical flow of the code, resulting in incorrect outcomes even if the syntax is error-free. Common reasons for coding errors include insufficient testing, lack of code reviews, and complexities in the code logic, leading to unintended consequences during data processing.

How can businesses avoid these issues? Lightpoint developers shared a few tips you can use on a regular basis:

1. Implement comprehensive testing procedures, including unit testing, integration testing, and system testing, to identify and rectify bugs and logic errors early in the development process. Automated testing tools can assist in running repetitive tests, ensuring a more robust evaluation of the code’s correctness. 
2. Conduct regular code reviews involving multiple team members to catch errors that individual developers might overlook. Collaborative efforts allow for diverse perspectives and insights, helping identify coding bugs and logic errors.
3. Employ static code analysis tools that can automatically scan code for potential bugs, security vulnerabilities, and adherence to coding standards. These tools analyze code without executing it, providing insights into potential issues early in development. Integrating such tools into the development workflow can help proactively identify and address coding errors before they impact data processing regularity.

Reason 2: Inadequate Testing

Case 1: Insufficient test coverage

Undiscovered issues may arise in live environments if testing does not cover all possible scenarios. The three most popular ones include:

• Data accuracy testing is crucial for ensuring the reliability of the processed information. Teams compare input and processed output methodically, evaluating system adherence to business rules. This scenario thoroughly examines data transformation, calculation, or manipulation. Identifying and rectifying discrepancies safeguards information integrity, fostering confidence in data processing accuracy.
• Data integration testing is crucial for validating the seamless flow of information within complex systems. Teams assess how well components of the data processing system collaborate, ensuring smooth data exchange between modules, databases, or systems. This scenario involves accurate data transfer, transformation, and updating across various processing stages. 
• Data security and privacy testing are vital for evaluating a system’s robustness in handling sensitive information. Teams systematically assess the system’s adherence to privacy regulations, validating access controls, encryption methods, and data masking techniques. This scenario ensures sensitive data remains safeguarded throughout the entire data processing lifecycle.

By applying these three techniques, you can ensure robust test coverage of the processed data.

Case 2: Lack of regression testing

The lack of regression testing can lead to undetected errors and unintended consequences and the subsequent violation of the terms of data processing can potentially compromise the integrity and reliability of the entire system. Make sure to conduct regression testing regularly, as it is responsible for the following: 

1. Error prevention: Regression testing identifies unintended consequences of modifications, preventing errors and disruptions in regular data processing through thorough impact assessments.
2. Algorithmic accuracy validation: Regression testing validates changes to algorithms, ensuring accurate data processing results and maintaining a high level of reliability in the data processing workflow.

Data testing can be a time- and labor-intensive process. It can also be difficult to accurately review large and complex data sets. However, a thorough and comprehensive approach to testing can avoid many data processing errors in the future.

Reason 3: Data Quality Issues

1. Redundant data. Duplicates occur when the same information exists multiple times in a database or file. Redundant data, however, happens when identical information is present in different files. Detecting redundant data is challenging, and its presence can lead to deteriorating data quality. CRM tools often contribute to redundancy as users may add contacts without checking existing entries.
2. Hidden data. Companies generate vast amounts of data, but only a fraction is utilized, leading to hidden data in silos. For instance, customer purchase history might not be accessible to customer service, limiting the ability to offer personalized assistance or identify upsell opportunities.
3. Inconsistent data. Inconsistencies arise when working with multiple data sources, causing format, unit, or spelling variations. Distinguishing between similar entries, like «Patrick Schmid» and «Patrick Schmitt,» is challenging but critical for maintaining data quality.
4. Corrupt data. Incorrect data significantly threatens data quality and can result in irrelevant personalized experiences or operational challenges. Eliminating incorrect data, whether due to customer details or inventory information errors, is vital for maintaining accurate and reliable datasets.

Implementing consistent, automated, and repeatable data quality measures can help your organization achieve and maintain data quality across all data sets. We suggest adhering to the following principles: 

• Regularly implement automated tools to profile and analyze data sets, identifying inconsistencies, duplicates, and outliers for prompt corrective actions.
• Enforce consistent data formats and units across all datasets using processing, which may reduce the likelihood of errors and enhance overall data quality.
• Set up automated validation checks to ensure data accuracy and completeness, flagging anomalies or discrepancies for immediate attention and correction.

Data analytics solution companies develop custom software to assist businesses across industries in detecting and addressing any emerging data-related issues. 

Reason 4: Integration Problems

When integrating with third-party systems, the risk of incompatibility arises due to differences in interfaces or protocols. If the communication protocols or data formats are not aligned between the systems, it can lead to the following malfunctions in data processing:

• Data misinterpretation: Incompatible communication protocols may lead to misinterpretation of exchanged data, causing a chain effect of errors.
• Data loss during transmission: Mismatches in data formats can result in data loss between integrated systems, compromising the completeness and reliability of data processing.

To avoid this particular issue, you can set real-time alerts of any discrepancies, establish vendor escalation procedures, control the process with monitoring tools, and more. We’ve already addressed this topic in this article, so take a look to gain some relevant insights.

Reason 5: Security Vulnerabilities

Data security is the practical implementation of protecting digital information against unauthorized access, damage, or theft throughout its lifecycle. This concept encompasses all aspects of information security, from the physical security of hardware and storage devices to management and access controls to the logical security of software applications. It also contains organizational policies and procedures. Weaknesses leading to data processing malfunctions include the following:

• Inadequate encryption: Insufficient security may lead to unauthorized access, jeopardizing data integrity.
• Poorly configured access controls: Weak access controls enable unauthorized users, risking malfunctions and data breaches.
• Unpatched software components: Neglecting updates exposes vulnerabilities, providing entry points for exploitation.
• Potential cybercriminal exploitation: Security vulnerabilities create opportunities for unauthorized access, disrupting data processing and compromising integrity.

To establish a robust data security strategy during data processing, organizations should adopt a comprehensive approach that addresses various aspects of information security. Lightpoint cybersecurity experts suggest the following strategy to enhance data security:

1. Implement strong encryption protocols:

• Ensure that sensitive data is encrypted both during transmission and storage using strong and up-to-date encryption algorithms.
• Employ end-to-end encryption to protect data throughout its lifecycle, preventing unauthorized access even if other security measures fail.
• Regularly review and update encryption protocols to stay ahead of evolving threats and vulnerabilities.

2. Enhance access controls:

• Implement and enforce stringent access controls to limit data access to authorized personnel only.
• Utilize role-based access controls (RBAC) to assign permissions based on job roles, ensuring individuals only have access to the data necessary for their tasks.
• Regularly audit and monitor access logs to detect and respond to any unusual or unauthorized activities promptly.

3. Maintain regular software patching and updates:

• Establish a robust patch management process to promptly apply security updates and patches to all software components.
• Regularly scan and assess systems for vulnerabilities, prioritizing the patching of critical and high-risk areas.
• Implement automated tools and processes to streamline the patching process and reduce the window of exposure to potential exploits.

4. Establish incident response and recovery plans:

• Develop and regularly update incident response plans to quickly identify, contain, and mitigate security incidents.
• Conduct periodic drills and simulations to ensure the incident response team is well-prepared to handle various scenarios.
• Implement backup and recovery strategies to minimize data loss in a security breach or system failure.

By integrating these measures into their data processing workflows, organizations can significantly enhance their overall data security posture and minimize the risk of unauthorized access, data breaches, and other security incidents.

Reason 6: Insufficient Monitoring and Logging

1. Lack of visibility:

• Without comprehensive visibility, data processing operations may lack a clear overview, making it challenging to identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, or potential issues in the workflow.
• Limited visibility hampers the ability to detect issues promptly, leading to delayed response times and potential disruptions in data processing regularity.

2. Inadequate logging:

• Inadequate logging fails to create a detailed audit trail of data processing activities, making it difficult to trace the origin of errors or unauthorized access, hindering troubleshooting efforts.
• Without sufficient logging, conducting forensic analysis becomes challenging, impeding the ability to investigate and understand the root causes of malfunctions in the data processing pipeline.

Here are tips from the Lightpoint team to help you avoid difficulties from the start:

• Implement real-time monitoring to gain clear insights into data processing, identifying bottlenecks and inefficiencies.
• Use proactive performance analytics for proactive issue identification, allowing timely interventions to maintain regular data processing.
• Adopt comprehensive logging for a detailed audit trail, quickly resolving errors and unauthorized access.
• Regularly review and update logging policies to align with industry best practices and evolving data processing and security requirements.

Conclusion

Safeguarding the regularity of data processing is imperative for organizational success. Businesses can fortify their data processing systems by implementing mitigation tips such as real-time monitoring, comprehensive logging, proactive analytics, and more. Remember, the key is solving current issues and fostering a culture of continuous improvement in data processing. 

We at Lightpoint promote a comprehensive approach to prevent malfunctions in data processing systems. Contact our team for a personal consultation to enable timely and transparent insights from your organizational data.