In 30 seconds

For each important fact, choose one place to treat as correct. Prefer the system that owns the data and is actually maintained. Then make copies clearly copies, and decide how they stay in sync.

Why this comes up

Discovery often reveals several places holding the same fact, a price, an address, a status, that quietly disagree. Before a workflow can be reliable, someone has to decide which one wins. Automation cannot make that judgment for you; it can only follow it once it exists.

How to choose

Prefer the system of record

The system of record for a data type is usually the best source of truth for the facts it owns. Customer data from the CRM, order data from the order system. It is designed to hold that data and is more likely to be maintained.

Prefer the source that is actually updated

Sometimes the official system is not the one people actually keep current. If everyone edits a spreadsheet and ignores the CRM, the spreadsheet is closer to the truth in practice. That is a finding: either make the official system usable, or formally accept the spreadsheet and give it an owner. Do not pretend the ignored system is authoritative.

Prefer the source closest to the event

The system where a change first happens is often the most current. If deliveries are marked complete in the logistics app, that app knows first. Downstream copies lag behind it.

Make the decision explicit

Once chosen, write it down: "The CRM is the source of truth for customer contact details." This single sentence prevents future arguments and tells every workflow where to read.

Then handle the copies. Either stop editing them, or set up a deliberate way to keep them in sync with the source. See the single source of truth pattern.

A small example

Three teams kept their own customer lists. Choosing the CRM as the single source, making the other lists read-only views of it, and moving edits back into the CRM ended a long-running problem of customers receiving conflicting information. No AI was needed; the confusion was the whole problem.

What this does not solve

Choosing a source of truth does not make it accurate. The chosen source still needs an owner who keeps it current, and a way to correct errors. It removes the disagreement, not the maintenance.

Good enough to move on when

  • Each important fact has one named source of truth.
  • The choice favours the maintained system of record.
  • Copies are labelled as copies or kept in sync deliberately.
  • The decision is written down where the team can see it.