Direction and system changes impacting on data editing and imputation at Statistics New Zealand

1. Direction and system changes impacting on data editing and imputation at Statistics New Zealand Paper by Emma Bentley and Felibel Zabala, presented by Emma Bentley May 2011

2. Drivers for change • Economic and social changes • Produce relevant and timely statistics • Meet users needs • Sustainable systems, flexible enough to adapt to changing needs and uses • Maximise efficiency and value

3. Organisational direction • Statistics 2020 – Te Kāpehu Whetū • Strategic Plan 2010-20 • Direction requires organisationalchange, to achieve our vision “An informed society using official statistics”

4. Strategic Priorities • Lead the NZ Official Statistics System so that it effectively meets the country’s needs for relevant, trustworthy, accessible information • Obtain more value from official statistics • Transform the way we deliver our statistics • Create a responsive, customer-focused, influential, sustainable organisation A model of sound practice for statistical production, with standard process and infrastructure across collections.

5. Delivery Transformation • Generic Business Process Model (gBPM) • Methodological standard for E&I • Standardised processing platforms • Standardised tools

6. Delivery Transformation • Improve efficiency of data processing • Perform less manual editing • Better use of quality measures • Increase use of administrative data

7. Generic Business Process Model • Guide to achieving standard processes • Benefits • Speed up development and creation of new statistics • Focus more time on complex and in-depth analysis • Decrease differences between business units • Staff can rotate around business units more easily

8. Methodological Standard for E&I • E&I Network • Comprehensive source of objectives, principles, requirements and guidelines • Ensure effective and efficient data editing processes and strategies • Approval and adherence to the Standard - continual improvement of processphase of the gBPM.

9. Methodological Standard for E&I • All outputs must have a documented E&I plan • Automate editing processes where possible, minimising manual intervention • Implement efficient editing techniques such as macro and selective editing • Ensure users are better informed about the quality of our data and statistical outputs • Ensure staff have access to E&I documentation and training

10. Processing platforms • Need for new infrastructure to create our desired environment • A platform is a logical cluster of functionality that enables components to be put together to provide a complete end-to-end system • POSS – social statistics • BESt – administrative and micro-economic data

11. Platform requirements • Support continuous improvement, flexible and user-configured, user-maintained • New developments should use standard E&I tools • Produce process flags at each step to indicate which value has been manipulated and by which method • Automate the E&I process where possible

12. Future state • More platforms based on common infrastructure and survey clusters developed

13. Overseas Trade in BESt • Overseas Trade and sub-annual survey series, retirement of 8 legacy platforms • Increased amount of automated data editing • Introduction of quality measures • Reuse of existing packages, new builds for methodologies not currently in BESt • Members of different teams involved in planning, development, testing – IT, subject area, Methods teams

14. Standard Methodology Toolbox • Tools used in the statistical process endorsed and supported by Statistical Methods division • Work with IT to ensure the Toolbox aligns with the applications and software that they support and maintain • IT understanding and support important for implementation of methodological tools in the new platforms • Toolbox is flexible as future requirements progress

15. Standard Methodology Toolbox • E&I tools • Banff - BESt • CANCEIS - POSS • SELEKT • SEVANI • Logiplus • Graphical editing tool in future? • Subject areas need to increase capability for these tools, Toolbox is a one-stop-shop of information

16. Evaluation process for tools • Joint Methods/IT project on how to assess and implement methodology tools • Ensures technological compatibility and methodology need considered together and early in any evaluation process • New process consists of evaluation, procurement and implementation • SELEKT and SEVANI used to evaluate evaluation phase

17. Standard process quality measures • Another joint Methods/IT project • Implement a standard set of quality measures for business surveys covering the gBPM using Analysis Cubes • If successful, potential implementation in BESt • Methodological Standard supports better use of quality measures for continuous improvement

18. Culture change • Statistics 2020 – making the strategic direction accessible to all staff • Multi-team involvement in these projects that are promoting change

19. Culture change • Standardise processes, align to the gBPM • Getting subject areas to accept current level of manual intervention is inefficient • Maximise common methods and infrastructure, minimise maintenance costs • More efficient processing, more analysis • Gain more from available data

20. Future initiatives • Migrate more social surveys to POSS platform • Migrate more micro-economic sources to BESt platform, develop macro editing functions • Complete macro-economic platform build • Implement quality framework • Enhance Toolbox • Expanded use of admin data sources and long term direction