Data Governance Matters

I promised an update from the MDM event in Berlin last month. We tried something different with this event, and I’m very excited by it.

 Here’s what we did: Yes, it was set up as a standard, two-day event with a series of case studies on various topics. But instead of a series of disconnected presentations, we turned it into a two-day conversation. How?

• Before most of our presentations, we took a minute to put it into context of what had been presented thus far. We highlighted themes: the focus of the program, the role of technologies, organizational structures that had been employed, and program “configuration choices.”
• We asked the audience whether there were aspects of the case study that they wanted highlighted.
• We interrupted sessions to do quick ”compare-and-contrast” with what had been  presented earlier.
• We stopped and polled the audience when appropriate to see whether the circumstances being discussed would apply to them.
• We polled the audience to see which options they might choose from the ones that the presenting company considered.
• And we left lots of time for one-on-one and small-group discussions.

As a result, it seems like the attendees (about 70, from 16 countries) really got a taste of the “art” as well as the science of setting up a cross-functional program. And I, for one, felt blessed to have the opportunity to see what was working in so many different cultures and environments.

Of course, there was a downside to this approach. (Isn’t there always?) As chair and facilitator, I spent two days sitting up front where everyone could see me. So there was no way to hide it when the jet lag and heavy lunch kicked in the first afternoon. Don’t you just hate it when your eyelids get heavy even though you desparately want to give something your highest attention? Thank goodness for the strong coffee that came at the next break. And, as at least 5 or 6 people volunteered to me, they hadn’t noticed a thing…

OK, so I was in Berlin, chairing a pan-European MDM event. And I said I’d get back with results. Then this little glitch in the financial markets really jumped into high gear… maybe some of you have heard about it.

And my agenda - just like many of yours, probably - changed a bit temporarily. But now, as far as this blog is concerned, I’m back in the saddle again. And as for the discipline of Data Governance - and the value it brings to organizations (and it turns out, the world…), you could say we’re back in the saddle again, too. The whole world wants to know what went wrong, and why, and how we can avoid future crises. One of the themes that has emerged is that corporate leaders didn’t have the data they needed to accurately assess the risk of their lending practices, their portfolios, and their policies toward buying & selling packaged-up loans.

Oh, they had information, all right. Lots of it. But sometimes they were missing critical pieces of information (such as whether a loan was sub-prime), and sometimes the data was not accurate. Clearly, the information sets that leaders used to make business-critical decisions was not GOVERNED as well as it should be.  And going forward, smart organizations want to make sure that some group within the organization - a group with nothing to gain by pushing bad data through - is in place to help set standards, monitor adherence to standards, and provide checks-and-balances for groups (such as sales) that have inherent incentives to overlook data issues.

It seems like EVERYONE has decided that now is the time for their Data Governance programs to step up and help address strategic needs. So here’s a list of some of the things I’ve been doing this last month. I’ll bet many of you have been similarly occupied…

•  I went behind doors with a bank that wanted to update their Operational Data Governance to meet more strategic needs. We’re fast tracking a program to certify data within warehouse and source system environments so that financial analysts who need to create ad-hoc reports can make intelligent choices about how to source their queries. Also, we’ll be providing a succinct certification level for standard reports so the users have a clear understanding of how mature governance processes are for the specific data feeding specific fields in the report.

• Commisserated with some folks who got caught in the middle with the crisis, helping identify lessons learned and best practices they could take on to their next opportunity.

• Touched base with a group I helped get off the ground a couple years ago - another financial institution whose internal auditors have now congratulated them for employing governance practices that kept them out of trouble. The auditors’ conclusion: keep doing this, but do lots more of it. Looks like that manager just might get the additional staff they need…

• Spent a few days in Las Vegas at the  DataFlux IDEAS event. I taught a little session on how to calculate ROI for Data Governance and Data Quality projects, and I got a chance to hear the latest from DataFlux leaders as well as industry experts Mike Ferguson, Jill Dyche, David Loshin, and Frank Dravis, to meet new people, and to touch base again with program leaders from BP, Sun Microsystems, LexisNexis, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and others.

• Worked with a current client who needs to decide how to go forward if budgets get cut drastically but the need for results stays the same.

• Popped up to Minneapolis to spend the day with the DAMA-MN chapter of the Data Management Association International, hosted by Cargill. (Thanks Andrea Thomsen for the invite, the squiring about, and arranging for all that beautiful fall foliage!). Spoke on “A Step-By-Step Approach to Data Governance & Aligning with Other Data Mgmt and Architecture Efforts,” learned about Cargill, and got to spend time with about 70 people who have dedicated data mindsets.  Smart folks that I’ve really enjoyed spending time with over the years.

• Helped set agendas for a series of Knowledge Exchanges at the Data Governance and Stewardship Community of Practice - ’cause there’s a real cry for small group exchanges like the ones I’ve been able to have. Let us know if you want to be involved in discussions…