MES, MOM & Shop-Floor Data Systems worked example

Production Data Quality Score with severity of data quality impact on downstream decisions of 18 1-10: a worked example

What does the result look like when severity of data quality impact on downstream decisions reaches 18 1-10? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. Use during data governance reviews to prioritize which data quality issues to fix first. Higher scores indicate data problems that cause the most damage and are hardest to catch.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Severity of data quality impact on downstream decisions: 18 1-10 (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 7)
  • How often this data defect occurs: 5 1-10 (unchanged)
  • How hard the defect is to detect before it propagates: 6 1-10 (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Data quality risk score = severity x occurrence x detection) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 10.45 score for data quality risk priority number, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 18 score for severity rating.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 5 score for occurrence rating.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 6 score for detection difficulty rating.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where severity of data quality impact on downstream decisions sits at 7 1-10 and the headline result is 6.05 score, this scenario comes in 72.73% above the baseline at 10.45 score.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when severity of data quality impact on downstream decisions is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. The score is ordinal, not absolute — a 200 is not literally twice as risky as a 100, and ratings depend on consistent team calibration, so compare scores only within the same rating rubric.

Results at a glance

  • Data quality risk priority number: 10.45 score (headline result)
  • Severity rating: 18 score
  • Occurrence rating: 5 score
  • Detection difficulty rating: 6 score

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Production Data Quality Score calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.