The more complex a situation is, the more important accountability is to achieving a set of objectives within that context. Accountability requires that coherent approaches are utilized, stakeholders are engaged and assure that commitments are realized, and governance assures that nothing is dropped along the way!

Since it is easy for specific assignments within areas of shared responsibilities to be misunderstood by team members, and for communications breakdowns to occur in all but the simplest of situations, a closed loop system should be used to ensure that intended outcomes are understood, committed to, and actually achieved. Such an approach also has added knowledge management benefits, since independent peer reviews of such commitments enable a broader understanding and refinement of the underlying commitments across the organization.

In order to implement such approaches, requirements (the original basis of the team's commitments) should go through a process to rationalize the team's collective efforts over time, provide accountability for all stakeholders, and track progress towards completion. But it also means discipline in defining the scope of the analysis and all sources that contribute to that scope; consider how much these simple factors affects estimating our national debt, for example.

 Avoid circuses. Recognize data collection costs, and assure infrastructure is efficient and affordable in providing the right data for decision-making.