In database management objectives, beyond availability of data and quality (integrity) of data, which additional objective focuses on timeliness and currency for effective decision-making?

Introduction / Context:
A robust database management program pursues multiple objectives so stakeholders can trust and use information. Besides making data available and ensuring its quality/integrity, a third pillar is timeliness—data must be current enough to support operational and strategic decisions.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• We already have availability (accessible when needed).
• We already have quality/integrity (accurate, consistent, valid).
• We need the goal that ensures data are fresh and current.

Concept / Approach:
“Up-to-date data” (sometimes called currency or timeliness) means the stored values reflect the latest state of the business within acceptable latency. Without adequate currency, even accurate data can mislead—out-of-date inventory, for example, causes stockouts or over-ordering. Thus timeliness complements availability and quality to complete the triad often summarized as “right data, right time, right place.”

Step-by-Step Solution:
1) List candidate objectives and map to standard information quality dimensions. 2) Identify “up-to-date” as the timeliness/currency dimension. 3) Exclude items that are means (transmission) or ambiguous (desirability) rather than core objectives. 4) Choose “Up-to-date data.”

Verification / Alternative check:
Data governance frameworks routinely include timeliness/currency among top quality dimensions alongside accuracy and completeness.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Compatibility: useful but secondary; not a primary DBMS objective across all contexts. Transmission: a networking function, not an end objective. Desirability: vague and not a recognized quality dimension. “None” is invalid since timeliness is essential.

Common Pitfalls:
Confusing real-time with up-to-date; many workloads only need near-real-time with defined SLAs. Over-engineering for immediacy can inflate costs without business benefit.

Final Answer:
Up-to-date data