IDIS PAF Validation. Version: 1.0. INTEC for Business Ltd intecforbusiness.com. COPYRIGHT 2017 INTEC for Business Limited. All rights reserved.

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Herbert Wright
5 years ago
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2 Contents Contents C o n t e n t s 2 O v e r v i e w 3 What does PAF Validation do? 3 What are the benefits of PAF Validation? 4 What if my addresses don t match to the PAF data? 4 Is this data cleansing? 5 Can I control the PAF validation? 5 IDIS PAF Validation Version 1.0 Page 2

3 O verview PAF validation is the process of validating addresses against the Post Office Address (PAF) file supplied by Royal Mail. What does PAF Validation do? IDIS is very flexible in the way that it allows data to be imported, however that flexibility means that without a fixed format, addresses supplied can be of a variable standard. Consider the examples below: Address line 1 Intec for Business Intec Address line 2 Theatre Buildings Intec for Business Carrington Business Park Address line 3 Carrington Business Manchester Park Address line 4 Carrington Manchester Road M31 4DD Address line 5 Manchester Carrington Postcode M31 4DD M31 4DD To the human eye, we can guess that these three addresses are in fact the same place, however to a computer these are just words that cannot be easily matched together. Using PAF validation we are able to use the postcode as a key identifier, and then use additional matching algorithms to obtain a Unique Delivery Point Reference Number (UDPRN). The UDPRN is then tagged on each address, and we are then able to identify that these are in fact the same. IDIS PAF Validation Version 1.0 Page 3

4 What are the benefits of PAF Validation? Being able to match addresses accurately is essential for IDIS to be able to derive intelligence from your data. Consider the following: Name Jack Sparrow Jane Sparrow John Sparrow Address line 1 1 Mountain View Address line 2 High Street 1 Address line 3 Manchester Address line 4 Carrington High Street M31 4DD Address line 5 Manchester Carrington Postcode M31 4DD M31 4DD If we were unable to identify that these people are living at the same address then: We cannot identify additional tenants at the property (tenancy campaigns) We cannot identify additional residents at the property (SPD campaigns) We cannot perform internal matching campaigns There is a higher chance of false positives if the addresses are matched incorrectly What if my addresses don t match to the PAF data? If IDIS cannot match the addresses you supply to those in the PAF data then IDIS will still accept your addresses as-is. Any campaigns that perform matching will initially work with the validated addresses. We then perform a second pass using any non-validated addresses. This second pass may still produce results, but it is less accurate than using validated data. When you import data into IDIS, you will receive an that details addresses that failed PAF validation. The will contain a summary such as: IDIS PAF Validation Version 1.0 Page 4

idis read 42312 of the 42312 records with 0 records failing to be read. 827 addresses could not be validated. These errors are shown below.

5 idis read of the records with 0 records failing to be read. 827 addresses could not be validated. These errors are shown below. This will be followed by a list of the addresses that could not be validated. Is this data cleansing? No. We do not update any of the data you send us with the full address from PAF. We only store the UDPRN to allow matching. Can I control the PAF validation? A new Customer Settings option is available for customer administrators: This option displays the following: IDIS PAF Validation Version 1.0 Page 5

You have the option to turn off PAF validation completely if you want to use your own data without any quality checking. Matching will still take place, but this is likely to be less effective.

6 You have the option to turn off PAF validation completely if you want to use your own data without any quality checking. Matching will still take place, but this is likely to be less effective. If you apply PAF validation then you can also set a data quality limit if you want to enforce PAF validation. In the example above the percentage of person addresses records allowed to fail is 15%. If failures go above 15% then the file will be rejected. IDIS PAF Validation Version 1.0 Page 6

BFPO Postcode Data. The preferred format for printing on an address label is to place the BFPO number on the last line,

BFPO Postcode Data. The preferred format for printing on an address label is to place the BFPO number on the last line, Postcode Data More than 100,000 British service personnel and their families are stationed overseas at any one time. It is very difficult for these people to order goods and access services without a UK