Data Quality Discrepancy: Snorri Björn Sturluson (Þjóðskrá/FMR)
Summary
Documentation of a specific data mismatch between official Icelandic registries (Þjóðskrá/FMR) and verified ground truth regarding the professional affiliation of Snorri Björn Sturluson. The project team opted to prioritize verified ground truth over upstream registry data.
Details
During the processing or validation of real estate professional data, a discrepancy was identified regarding Snorri Björn Sturluson. While the official Icelandic registries—specifically Þjóðskrá (National Registry) or FMR (Property Registry)—listed his affiliation as Domusnova, verified ground truth confirmed that he is currently active at Valhöll.
This observation highlights a recurring challenge in the Sokrates project’s ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) pipelines: upstream data quality and latency. Official registries in Iceland may experience delays in updating professional affiliations following a job change, or in some cases, individuals may maintain legacy registrations.
The team’s decision-making process for this instance was as follows:
- Validation: It was confirmed that Snorri Björn Sturluson is “Live” and “Definitely” at Valhöll.
- Policy: While the ETL process is technically “correct” by following the official registry, the project prioritizes “ground truth” for end-user accuracy.
- Action: The record was manually fixed within the Sokrates system to reflect the Valhöll affiliation.
- Follow-up: A recommendation was made to inform the individual of the discrepancy, as they may be unaware that their official registry entry is outdated.
This case serves as a precedent for handling upstream data errors where the source of truth (the registry) is demonstrably lagging behind reality.