Why we should capture good quality addresses at source
Addresses: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The impact of poor-quality addresses
Returned mail.
Potential to remove customer access to goods or services.
Delays to the delivery of goods and services.
Affects organisational efficiency.
Creates bottlenecks.
Creates flawed insights.
Reduces confidence.
Negatively impacts system implementation and migration.
GDPR – Data breaches.
Results in costly expenses.
What makes a good quality address?
Complete (House Name / Number, Road Name & Postcode).
Contains all the information required to find the property or post a letter to.
Validated.
It’s been through a quality control process.
Up to date.
It’s current.
Links to a Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN).
Enables linking to other datasets.
Contains co-ordinates. Provides a geographical locator.
How to capture a good quality address?
An address lookup lets users specify a UK address by entering their postcode and selecting a valid address from a list.
It could also be configured to enter a street name or number.
In the background this can be configured to take advantage of the UPRN and other associated attribution depending on data source.
Considerations
When a need to capture addressing occurs the following questions should be considered:
Sources of a good quality address
Your Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG), if you have one
AddressBase
AddressBase Core
AddressBase Plus
AddressBase Premium
OS Places API
Other commercially available address products
Benefits of capturing a good quality address
Consistency
Enables the linking of disparate data
Significant reduction in human error
Time saving by reducing the need for address matching
Increased efficiency through automation
Reduce fraud
Easier to share data with external organisations/partners
Adheres to Government Digital Service style guide
Capture It Right, Once – Always Right!
This content has been developed from what was originally a Lightning Talk PowerPoint slide set. These slides are available to PSGA members to view and download from the PSGA members area of the OS website
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