Search , E-guide Data Governance 101: Build Your Program Best practices for managing a strong data governance programPr prea Inthise-guide INsection 1: Best practioes IMsection 2: Data stewards section 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO essent ‘content Paget 72 p2 ip p29 tial pre MMM PRO+ E-guide Content VMOU LLL LAULALALLLALLLLLLLLALLLALALLLLLLLLLILULLALALALLLLLLLLILLALALALLLALLLLELLLLLLLLLD In this e-guide: Effective data governance serves an important function within the enterprise, setting the parameters for data management and usage, creating processes for resolving data issues and ‘enabling business users to make decisions based on high- quality data and welkmanaged information assets. But implementing a data governance framework isn't easy. Developing a successful data governance strategy requires careful planning, the right people and appropriate tools and technologies. This essential guide offers best-practices advice for managing data governance projects, an exploration of data stewardship and details about common problems that organizations have experienced while instituting data governance programs --and how they solved them.Oo Po i PRO+ Se ee E-guide Content MMLC YLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLD LAULALALLLALLLLLLLLALLLALALLLLLLLLLILULLALALALLLLLLLLILLALALALLLALLLLELLLLLLLLLD inthise-ouide It Section 1: Best practices Section 1: Best practices Experienced users have the best insights for managing a data governance p2 program and attaining defined goals. The articles in this section explore best ———_—__—_ practices for building an effective data governance framework, including section 2Data stewardship ‘communication processes, team involvement and strong management. p29 UILILLLLLLALLLLLLLLLELLLELELLLL LLL LLL LLLLLLLLILLLELLLLLLLELL LEAL LLL LLELL LLL ELELE DL jeusubune Next Section 3: Problem solving ‘SWNextarticle 9 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre Page2ot72E-guide Content MMLC Pr eer LLL. WILLA Inthise-ouide J Make communication, purpose priorities in NseciontBetractces a data governance program “ ‘Craig Stedman, Executive Editor Msecion 2: Daa stevardsp {About 90% of managing a data governance program ivoves intemal 328 Communication and dealing wih people issues, says Danette McGinray, residentand principal of Granite Falls Consulting Inc. in Newark, Cali In this interview with SearchDataManagement.com, McGilvray offers advice on what R Section: Problem solving to do-- and what not to do —in setting up andleading a governance initiative. pao One of her top keys to success for data governance managers: making sure —_ you know the reasons why your organization is looking to create a data INGetting more PRO> essential ‘governance process, so you can ensure that the program addresses those ‘content pre issues. Can you briefly explain what data governance is and what the potential benefits are for organizations? Danette McGilvray: | look at data governance as being what outlines and ‘enforces three important things: rules of engagement, decision rights and accountabilities as it relates to data and information. And we do this by ‘organizing and implementing the right level of policies and procedures, structures, roles and responsibilities in order to effectively manage our information assets, And the right levelis an important phrase there, Because fundamentally, data governance gives us venues for interaction and Pageot72Pr eer Inthise-guide Section Best practices IMsection 2: Data stewards IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO essent ‘content Page ot72 p2 ip p29 tial pre MMM E-guide Content MMM ‘communication so that we can make effective decisions [about datal, identify and resolve issues, and escalate those issues when necessary. How important is it to get business units and departments involved in data governance programs? McGilvray: The short answer is that i's very important. The caveat Im going to make on that is people need to be involved appropriately. What you're trying to accomplish will determine exactly who and at what level will be involved in this, but it does definitely need to include the business. I's not truly data governance unless you have representation from [the standpoint of] how data is being created, used and updated, which is on the business side. But the technology folks need to have a say ini, too, as far as how data is stored and shared and the different things that we do to maintain and dispose of data, ‘Should the business side take the lead on data governance, or does that depend on the specifics of the organization? MeGilvray:| would say in an ideal world, the business side would take the lead because that means they reelly understand how they have responsiblities around the data However, Im very practical. If there are people on the technology side who are aware of the need [for data ‘governance] and are wiling to step up to the plate and lead that effort, then ‘we should go with that, But we need to bring in the business side as well, as uickly as possible.PRO+ be E-guide Content eer LALLA Inthise-guide Do you need a formal data governance council to be successful? McGilvray:| don't now that | would say you have to have adata governance ‘council per se. What you do need, though, is an acknowledged group whose responsibilty includes makingthe decisions, setting the priorities and resolving the issues related to the organization's data and information. fit — ‘ends up being a formal data governance council, that's fine. If you have a section 2: Data stewardship decision-making body that is already set up and that makes similar kinds of p29 decisions, you can take advantage of that and whatever that group is called is fine, Section Best practices p2 Msection 3 Problem solving ‘What's the right size for a data governance council or a less formal group pag that's involved in a governance initiative? Can it become unwieldy if it gets too large? McGilvray: Yes. And that's where people become afraid of data governance, because they think, “Oh no, its just going to add another layer of bureaucracy and it wll slow down what we'e trying to do.” When in reality, f ‘we've done it right, i's going to help us be able to speed up our decision making and the decisions we make are going to be more solid and less likely to have ill effects in the company. INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre ‘The number of people it takes really depends on how you're looking at the representation within your company. You could have a data governance ‘council that might have 10 people. But I've also seen companies where they ‘want representatives from all the different lines of business, and that can turn into 35, 45, 50 people. | think the best way to handle that is having a Pages 72E-guide Content MMLC Pr eer @PLAAAA ALLL ‘good process for setting an agenda, Really doing a good job at managing In thise-guide the agenda helps us be able to manage that large a number of people. AS. Be Do you find that most companies designate formal data stewards as part lection t: Best practices be of their data governance efforts, or is data stewardship still an emerging concept? WSection 2: Data stewardship McGilvray:! really like to emphasize the idea of data stewardship, which 928 means that when data comes across your desk or is onthe soreen infront ‘of you, you realize that not only am | taking care of the data for the sake of the transaction or the report or whatever I'm doing right now in my area, but NSection Problem solving I'm also responsible for making sure | take care of it on behalf of the rest of pag the company. That's a stewardship attitude. And everyone needs to have that attitude, realy INGetting more PRO+ essential ootee tie Having an actual title called steward, though, has evolved into something that's very common, What | see differing sometimes is at what level a steward is, An enterprise data steward might have the responsibility and ‘authority to make decisions about data, but they might not be the people doing the hands-on work with the data. In some other companies, the people doing the hands-on work are considered the data stewards And sometimes, people will use other words besides steward. To make it work, it's really important to use titles that will be accepted within your particular culture and environment, ‘What's the first thing that someone tasked with setting up and managing data governance program should do? PagetoO aa Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre age of 72 MMM E-guide Content MMM McGilvray: The very first thing isto find out why they're being tasked to do that. One of the biggest reasons of failure is if people think, “Ive heard about data governance. I don't know what itis, but we've got to have it” And Ihave heard of a few places that have set up data governance councils and then they're sitting there wondering what they're supposed to do. If someone is ‘asking me to do data governance, | want to find out what are the issues that are causing us to need data governance. That's what is going to drive where you first focus your efforts, so youtre turning out something real ‘What are some other keys to success or best practices for managing a data governance program? McGilvray:One of the biggest things is being able to articulate what data ‘governance is to your organization. People oftenare surprised at how much ‘communication is involved in making data governance work. Its an integral part of i, but people go into projects ike this saying, "Yeah, yeah, | know. Yeah, Ive heard Ineed to do communication.” And they look at ‘communicationas being something that's not real work. But what they don't understand isthe rest of it won't work unless we've got the right kind of ‘communication, There's also getting the data stewards to agree to the responsibilities that they would have, and getting their managers to agree to have them spend time [on a governance program], Data governance is all about people, which is why the communication piece is so important. And don't give up. A ‘governance program won't be builtin a day or a month. It takes time and effort, so keep moving forward and be persistent.~~ ; PRO+ Se E-guide Content MMLC XXKLL_LLE™ (On the flip side, can you talk about some of the common mistakes that Inthise-guide organizations and data governance teams make on governance es programs? RSecton t Best practices McGilvray: Not communicating and not taking the time that it takes to get buy-in, People need to be clear on what itis that you want them to do. “Am | ee there to make adecision about data? Am | taking some action? How much IMsection 2:Data stewardship time do you think this is going to take?" And the fact of the matter is, people p29 are already making decisions every day about data. They're often making ‘them without full awareness of al the impacts and all the inputs they should have; what we're trying to do is make that whole process more effective. But a mistake would be to think that nobody is doing this. p2 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 rs Another misstep is not being aware of or preparing to handle change — [NGetting more PRO* essential doing organizational change management. Data governance will initiate ‘content pre ‘change, which often causes people to be fearful. You know what they say: “im OK with change just don't do anything different!" The easy answer to that one is make it real for them: How are we going to make your life better? ‘What about measuring the results or the impact of data governance programs? Is it important to prove their value? McGilvray:Right off of the top, people need to come up with a way to be able to track the issues that they're addressing: How many issues have we resolved this month? What are we working on? But on top of that, what we really want to be able to see is the content of those issues: What did we do and what was the result ofthat? If your data governance program is focusing on some data quality type of work, for instance, and you put more Pagetot72fe io eer Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 p29 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content Pageotr2 pre MMM E-guide Content MMM detailed data quality metrics in place, that's a way to show that governance is helping increase data quality across the company. Everybody's talking about “big data” these days. What kind of impact will the growing amounts of unstructured data in particular have on. ‘governance programs and initiatives? MoGilvray:! think it actualy increases the need for governance because data is data, whether i's unstructured or it's sitting in structured databases. We still need to understand who has the authority to manage that data throughout its lifecycle, And more data means that we havemore decisions to make around that data. LAULALALLLALLLLLLLLALLLALALLLLLLLLLILULLALALALLLLLLLLILLALALALLLALLLLELLLLLLLLLD ‘Next article< i PRO+ prea E-guide br MMLC Pr LILA UL Inthise-ouide IBM users reveal five data governance section Bestpractons best practices to remember “ ‘Mark Brunelli,Former News Director Msecion 2: Daa stevardsp Organization launching an enterprise wide data governance intative must 328 prepare for setbacksand be villng to employ a mashup of cfferent techniques to succeed, according to IBM customers Nationwide Mutual Seaton 3: Problem song Insurance Company and Cardinal Health, pag Representatives from Nationwide Insurance and Cardinal Health two —_—. ‘companies that have launched data governance programs on an enterprise [Getting more PRO+ essential scale spoke to a crowded room of attendees an|BM conference late last ‘content p72 fall to share their experiences and explain five key data governance rules of thumb they learned along the way. Keep it realistic-- especially in the beginning Getting various departments within an organization on board with a data ‘governance initiative takes time and patience, according to Frank Sheridan, ‘associate vice president of marketing and information management at the ‘Columbus, Ohio-based Nationwide. ‘Organizations should begin the process by building a "coalition of the willing” ~ representatives from each department who recognize the value of data, ‘governance and want to help, Sheridan seid, Paget0o 72i PRO+ PRLS E-guide Content MUA Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre Paget 72 But as those representatives begin meeting to discuss and agree upon definitions of business terms, there are bound to be setbacks. Different departments have their own way of doing things and change rarely comes easily ‘Sheridan said the best way to deal with setbacks and disagreements — particularly in the beginning --is to take them in stride and continue moving ‘gradually forward until agreements can be reached, "You need to be a litle bit more flexible in terms of being perfect every time ‘we have [those] interactions and share that information," Sheridan said. Use top-down and bottom-up approaches ‘A question often asked at information management conferences centers on whether data governance initiatives should begin from the bottom rungs of an organization as a grass roots effort, or whether they should stem from a top-down’ or executive-level mandate, ‘The answer is that both approaches should be used where they make the most sense, according to Sheridan and Ted Friedman, a data management analyst with Stamford, Conn-based IT research firm Gartner Inc. Ifthe data governance rule or metric that an organization is trying to manage is important across multiple departments, then it should be mandated from the top down. In that case, its important to gain executive ‘support early on. But when the metric applies primarily to one department, then a bottom-up approach to data governance may suffice.E-guide Content MMLC oO aa LLL” “Alot of our clients try to do this comprehensive enterprise-wide data Inthise-guide {governance from the top down and they get stuck," Friedman sald oe “Individual business units have the need to localize a lite bit and have unique requirements, so that's why finding a center of gravity and working a RSectony Best practcss bit bottom up at times is also effective." p2 Enforce data governance rules while incentivizing compliance IMsection 2:Data stewardship ‘Organizations should enforce data governance rules consistently across the p29 organization. But as new data governance rules, policies and procedures take shape, organizations shouldn't expect that mandate alone will get Je to comp IAsection 3: Problem solving peop! Py p49 Organizations need to strike a delicate balance between enforcing the rules consistently and providing incentives for thase who willingly comply INGetting more PRO> essential conee So "You cant just force everybody to comply, nor can you just rely on good will ‘and incentive and just hope that people get the job done,” Friedman explained. "You have to have a bit of both because one or the other alone isn't going to work Begin business glossary work early on ‘A senior project manager for information governance at Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal Health, Brooks Zaremski is currently charged with building and maintaining the company's master business glossary. He recommends that ‘anyone considering a data governance program begin work on the business glossary as early as possible, ‘Abbusiness glossary contains all the mutually agreed-upon definitions of business terms and uses metadata to expose those definitions to the entire age eot72E-guide Content MMLC Pr eer XXKLL_LLE™ enterprise. Zaremski said business glossaries are typically built out In thise-guide ‘gradually Friedman said organizations increasingly see the task of building business Section 1: Best practices glossaries as an essential early-stage data governance activity, p2 —— ' all about getting people on that same page with the terminology,” Nsecton 2: Data stovardship Friedman said. If you don't do that early on, the whole effort is that much p29 harder” — Use common tools whenever possible section 3: Problem sobving Organizations use many different technologies to ensure data qualty and p49 catalog and enforce data governance policies and procedures ~-so many that it may be difficult to standardize on one or just a few. Getting more PRO essential But organizations should try to use common information governance and content pre data quality tool sets wherever possible, because this will encourage the consistent use of business terminology across systems and departments, according to Zaremski "You have to have a common business language," he said." you're not ‘speaking the same language, (data governance is] pretty challenging, if not impossible” ‘Ww Next article age sct72< i PRO+ prea E-guide br MMLC Pr MMT LALLA CLIIDULDILLILLLLLDLLLDLLLLTLLDLLLLLLLLLLLELLOLLODDILOLD In this e-guide W\ Increase the success of data governance section + Best prctioes programs from the bottom up 2 Merk Brunellormer News Dvector section 2 Data stovardhip Most data governance programs continue to be plagued by a lack of high- 928 level executive interest and the resulting lack of funding, but proponents of the discipline say there are ways to combat the problem and eventually win Section 3: Problem solving ‘reater support pag ‘A recent SearchDataManagement.com survey of technology professionals —_—. found that about a third of organizations aren't addressing data governance [Getting more PRO+ essential at all And companies that are doing so tend to do it at a highly informal, ‘content p72 departmental level Meanwhile, the people charged with enforcing data governance policies and procedures - data stewards- are often people with lots of other duties. ‘About 39% of organizations that are addressing data governance report having only informal data stewardship roles in place. ‘According to technology analysts, vendors and end users, most of the problems associated with enacting "enterprise-wide" data governance policies and procedures are a direct result of an ongoing lack of executive interest and support. ‘They add, however, that dala governance programs will persist, even if they're starting from the bottom levels of an organization and occasionally Page ot72oO aa Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre ages 72 MMM E-guide Content MMM producing poor or mixed results. They also point out that there are some ‘steps to take that can increase levels of support and, ullimately, the success of a bottom-up approach to data governance. “I think that oftentimes, practitioners want to stat too big,” said C. Lwanga ‘Yonke, an information quality professional and an advisor to the International ‘Association for Information and Data Qual." think its important to define ‘a specific problem one is trying to solve [and start there] * ‘Yonke added that data management professionals trying to get adata ‘governance program off the ground should also take a hard look at the corporate culture- or, on a smaller scale, the departmental culture. “First I would look at the organizational structure: How is the company structured?" he said. "How is it organized? | would look at the key data the ‘company creates, uses and provides. What are the major data flows? If you don't try to change the corporate culture about how the company sees data, then you wil fail. 'm sorry.” ‘Support for data governance programs must cross boundaries Its true that executives today are highly concerned with budgetary issues land a weak economy. But even if they weren't, data governance would probably stil be a tough sell, said Rob Karel, a data management analyst with Cambridge, Mass-based Forrester Research Inc. Karel, who has researched data governance extensively, says there is, ‘almost an intrinsic feeling among executives that the discipline simply isn't critical to success, And that feeling will almost always trickle downi PRO+ PRLS E-guide Content MUA Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre age 6ot72 throughout an organization. The only people immune to the syndrome will be the database managers, data architects and others whose jobs are directly affected by untrustworthy data, he added, ‘The result, according to user interviews, is that data governance programs ~ if they exist at all- tend to be informal, bottom-up efforts that are focused ‘on small areas and often get swept aside when "more important” issues pop up. \Vendor-sponsored research into customer behavior also backs up these findings. IBM's initiate Systems Inc, a Chicago-based provider of master ‘data management (MDM) software, recently conducted a data governance ‘customer survey and got similar results IBM acquired initiate last February. Initiate found that most organizations have no formal data governance program, and those that dooften produce ineffective results owing to mediocre policies and guidance. The Initiate survey also found that data, ‘governance programs are generally being led by mic-level IT managers and- = perhaps not surprisingly - most executives beyond the ClO havellitle interest in the discipline. “The thing that jumped out at me the most was that these programs are still fairly bottom-up efforts [that are] initiated by data architects and people that believe in data governance and data stewardship," said Marty Moseley, chief technology officer at initiate Systems. "But they still don't know how to frame this from a value perspective where business leaders would see value initoO aa Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre ager 072 MMM E-guide Content MMM Forrester’s Karel points out, however, that the “success factor’ may depend ‘on gettingexecutives to see the value of data governance. When executives ssee that the methodology actually is critical to success, he explained, data ‘governance programs tend to be more successful “Paint that line of sight which says [that the organization needs data governance] to be successful because itis highly reliant on trustworthy data ‘and most of the breakdowns and inefficiencies and risk exposure comes from bad data” Karel said. "i's also about actually making them recognize and understand how data governance is going to make them [personally] ‘successful by allowing them to make better decisions more effectively and more efficiently" But for steadfast proponents of data governance initiatives, i's not enough to get just one executive or manager on board, because data flows across all departments, geographic locations and information silos, Karel explained, “For data governance to truly be successful,” he sai, "you need a level of sponsorship and support and commitment that crosses these silos.” National Life Group is one organization that is currently in the process of ‘enacting a data governance program that crosses institutional boundaries. The Montpelier, Vt-based collection of insurance, annuity and fund management comparies began a major data integration and MDM project ‘about two years ago and says that data governance is fundamental to the plan, While analysts tend to recommend that organizations enact data ‘governance programs before going forward with an MDM project, the groupOo , PRO Seas E-guide Content Pr MMLC XXKLL_LLE™ ‘opted to do both at the same time, according to Jarugumili Brahmaiah, Inthise-guide enterprise data architect with National Life. National Life now governs data by subject area. For example, financial data Section 1: Best practices ‘governance Is governed by financial workers, and production data is p2 ‘governed by production workers, The company also has cross-functional boards and collaborative meetings that incorporate workers from different IMsection 2:Data stewardship areas. Meanwhile, the company has no single data steward. Instead, each 29 functional area appoints its own. ————— Brahmaiah said this approach -- while not entirely formal helps ensure that IAsection 3: Problem solving the people governing information really know their stuff. p49 “They not only know the data," he sald, “they also own the data” INGetting more PRO> essential LAULLALLLALLLLLLLLILLLALALALLLLLLLILULLLALALLLLLLLLLLLLLALALALLLILLLILLLLLLLLLD ‘content pre ‘SwNext article agereot72i PRO+ relia Manogret = Pr MMLC YLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLD LAULALALLLALLLLLLLLALLLALALLLLLLLLLILULLALALALLLLLLLLILLALALALLLALLLLELLLLLLLLLD In this e-guide 7 . a J Sallie Mae exec: Meetings, metrics spur section + Best practices data governance best practices p2 Mork Brunel Msecto 2:Datastovardsip Michele Koch knows a great deal about data governance best practices. As p20 diector ofthe data governance office at Salle Mae Inc, Koch has spent the past five years eading a companywide governance program and making sure jocunapanen oan that the Newark, Del-based student loan providers business and IT Berens Provan sovng ‘operations are on the same page when it comes to data governance policies pao and procedures. WGeting more PRO essential A frequent speaker at information management conferences, Koch says one eee we ofthe Keys to Sale Mae's ongoing enterprise data governance success les inits ability to measure and quantify the business impact that the governance efforts are having. It also helps, she says, to have a large contingent of business representatives sharing their concerns and hammering out agreements to resolve any conflicts that arise when new data governance polices are implemented. ‘SearchDataManagement.com spoke recently with Koch, who also is Sallie ‘Mae's director of enterprise data management, about the company’s data governance program and her view of best practices for data governance. Excerpts from the interview follow: Pager0072PRO+ be E-guide Content eer LALLA XXKLL_LLE™ Did you have any trouble getting executive buy-in and sponsorship for Inthise-guide the data governance initiative? sccion Bost practices Michele Koch: The vice president [of IT] and the CIO bought in right away. > ‘We told them this was part of being successful, and they bought into it.I ° tell you, though - and this was a little interesting - IT middle management ee ‘was much harder to sell. | really think they felt ike they were already over- IMsection 2:Data stewardship allocated and this was just one more thing that we wanted them to do. did p29 ‘get pushback. But then, finally, our CIO told them that we are going to do this, that this is going to be part of your everyday work and that it's really not ‘going to take up that much of your time. [That] was an eye-opener for me. | IAsection 3: Problem solving was not expecting that. p49 How did you structure the data governance programat Sallie Mae? INGetting more PRO> essential ootee tie Koch: We have a data governance office, and I'm responsible for that. It includes me, my assistant and the chief data steward So itis more ike an ‘actual team, but we have other people helping us. m lucky because I can tap into other resources. We established a data governance counel that is made up of representatives from every line ofthe business -I think [wee up to] 22 to 25 representatives. We [have] IT subject matter experts, data ‘SMEs and business SMEs who we pullin and out as we need. We have a data quality services team, which is also under me. (Everyone] on the council has their real jobs i's just that this is another role for them. There isn't ‘anybody who does this full time. Does your chief data steward come from the business side of the ‘organization? age200t72~~ ; PRO+ Se E-guide Content MMLC XXKLL_LLE™ Koch: She works in loan accounting and was our controller. She has been In thise-guide with the company for along time and has also worked at a very high level at ee ‘a couple of our [loan] servicing centers. She's great because she knows the business inside and out - she knows finance and the accaunting [and] how we everything affects our 10-K and general ledger. She also knows who to contact [when data issues arise]. That saves me a lot of time, because it ‘would take me five phone calls to get to that same person. Section Best practices IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 ‘Would you say, then, that she servesas a liaison between the business. oe and IT? Section 3: Problem solving “ Koch: You know, | think of myself as that, and | think of her as that as well. Ps kind of consider myself to be both business and IT. In other words, Im not so technical where all I can talk about is the technical stuff. Im able to take that Getting more PRO+ essential ‘and explain in normal business terms. (The chief data stewardl] has a content p72 business background, but she [understands when we say what a certain piece of data] is going to mean, She gets that, and then shelll go and explain it toother people. It's just a good partnership ‘What are some of the biggest missteps that Sallie Mae has taken on the road to enterprise data governance? Koch: This was not a terrible mistake or anything, but when I started, | was ‘so new to al ofthis that Ididn't think about metrics until after it was done. ‘And then we went back and tried to do {the metrics], and it took a lot more effort to do it after the fact. What I tell everybody now is that you should think about metrics up-front, Think about the kinds of metrics you want to track and track them as you go along, That was a lesson learned. | [also] ageatet72i PRO+ PRLS E-guide Content MUA Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre underestimated the amount of time that it takes to do stakeholder care and to communicate, and it was a big eye-opener to realize how much ofthis is hand-holding and, you know, doing those five versions of every darn presentation. | stil have to force myself to do that. I don't come natural to that because Im an IT person [laughs]. But ve learned. Could you give some examples of your favorite data governance best practices? Koch: Wel, there are a couple of things. | always say the first thing that I did right was insisting that we pull everybody together the very first time [for two days of meetings about the data governance initiative). That was really important to kind of get everybody together in the same room. Al the little light bulbs went off, and they saw how [data in] one business area could impact another business area, [Another example was] creating the "cookbooks" and documenting all ofthe potcies and procedures -and doing that in PowerPoint. Then I could take the PowerPoint sides and make my presentations with them. That was a huge timesaver. How do you measure the results of the data governance efforts at Sallie Mae? Koch: We measure how the program is doing. We measure the number of issues that are opened, closed or works in progress, We measure the number of [data] fields that we've standardized and what the maturity level is for those fields. We measure the business value of working through a dala ‘quality issue. We can show potential business value if we fix the problem,E-guide Content MMLC oO io Se a XXKLL_LLE™ land then we can show actual value, too. We've done some good work [on Inthise-guide metrics] over the last six months, fe Mae 2 sccion vB pracions ‘What does the future hold for Sallie Mae's data governance program? p2 Koch: We're going to keep going. Our company has been going through drastic changes with all that has been happening in the [financial] markets. section 2:Data stewardship. My thing is that we need to stay flexible and change with the company so p29 that we can continue to add value. oO LAULALALLLALLLLLLLLALLLALALLLLLLLLLILULLALALALLLLLLLLILLALALALLLALLLLELLLLLLLLLD Mseatons:Relen etna WNext article P. INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre age2sot72i PRO+ BeCCR ea E-cuido m MMLC Pr LILA UL Inthise-ouide MA must to avoid: Worst practices in section Bestpractons enterprise data governance “ Rick Sherman, Managing Partner, Athena IT Solutions Msecion 2: Daa stevardsp More and ore companies are recognizing that theyre accumulating ever p28 Increasing amounts of data but not necessarly gaining business sights from It. The missing link is the transformation of data into information that is ‘comprehensive, consistent, correct and current. That isnt a problem Section: Problem soking technology can solve for you: The key step is establishing a data pao ‘governance program to help your organization truly treat its data as a —_ corporate asset by enforcing consistent definitions, rules, policies and INGetting more PRO> essential procedures. ‘content pre That's the goal, at least. Although enterprise data governanceefforts have been launched at many companies, the success rate of these initiatives hasn't been encouraging, There's a lot of advice available ondata ‘governance best practices that should be adopted, The following discusses the top "worst practices" and pitfalls that enterprises need to avoid, Consider it a roadmap of red flags to alert you that your governance program may be heading down the wrong path. Buy-in but not commitment.IT often regards data governance sponsorship ‘as business executives writing a check and putting people on agovernance ccomimittee (see below). While that isin facta great first step, the business needs to do more. People from the business side need to create the data aged of72Pr prea Inthise-guide Section Best practices IMsection 2: Data stewards IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 p2 ip p29 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content age aot 72 pre MMMM E-guide Content VMOU LLL definitions, business rules and key performance indicators (KPIs) for a data ‘governance program; achieve agreement on them across an organization; enforce usage and compliance; and ensure that the definitions, rules and KPIs are updated on an ongoing basis as business needs evolve and change. The really is that in the vast majority of cases, data governance tasks are. merely tacked on to the already overloaded schedules of business managers instead of being made a priority, with other responsibilities correspondingly getting taken off their to-do lists. Without a real business- resource commitment, data governance wil take a back seat to the daily firefight and will never be implemented effectively Ready, fire, aim. One thing most organizations have gotten right on the enterprise data governance efforts Im familiar with is creating a governance steering committee and a separate governance working group. The steering ‘committee should have business representatives from across the enterprise, and the working group typically is made up of the data stewards who do the real governance labor. What organizations often get wrong is the timing: ‘They form these panels and assign people to them before they really understand the scope of the data governance program and the roles and responsibilities of the participants. A guaranteed way to stall adata ‘governance initiative in its tracks and lead the business to lose interest is to prematurely organize the management framework and then realize you need ado-over. Trying to solve world hunger or boil the ocean. A significant trap that many data governance efforts fall into is trying to solve all of an organization's data problems in the intial phase of the project. Or companies start with their biggest data problems, issues that span the entire enterprise and areoO aa Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre MMM E-guide Content MMM likely to be very political. I's almost impossible to establish a data ‘governance program while at the same time tackling data problems that have taken years to build up. This is a case in which you need to "think globally and act locally." In other words, data problems need to be broken down into incremental deliverables. "Too big, too fast” is a sure recipe for disaster. ‘The Goldilocks syndrome. n the story of Goldilocks and the three bears, the litle gilkeeps encountering things that are either one extreme or ‘another, which is precisely what happens on many data governance programs. Either the program is too high-level and substantive data issues are never really dealt with, or it attempts to create deftitions and rules for ‘every data field in every table in every application that an enterprise has - with the result being that the effort gets bogged down in minutiae. There needs to be a happy compromise between those two extremes that enables the data governance initiative to create real business value. ‘Committee overload. The good news about governance steering ‘committees and working groups is that they get people representing various business units and departments involved in the governance process, The bbad news is that they tend to get a lot of people involved in the process. Often, the more people on each committee, the more politics comes into play and the more watered-down governance responsibilities become. To be ‘successful, try to limit the size of committees to between six and 12 people ‘and make sure that committee members have the required decision-making authority,E-guide Content MMLC oO aa @LLLLLLLLLE™ Failure to implement.If the data definitions, business rules and KPIs are In thise-guide created but not used in any business processes, a data governance effort ‘won't produce any business value. The governance process needs to be a ‘complete feedback loop in which data is defined, monitored, acted upon and RSecton t Best practices ‘changed when appropriate. Creating definitions and rules without ee implementing them is ike getting blueprints drawn but never building a —_— house. Similarly, ongoing communication about governance initiatives INsection2:Data stewardship frequently doesn't take place. That can result in business users going back p29 to their old habits and the data governance program losing momentum. Not dealing with change management. If enterprise data governance is to Msectin robe skin be success both business and processes need tobe changed pag however, the accompanying need for change managementis seldom ——_——_— ‘addressed, People and process issues, and the internal politics resulting INGetting more PRO+ essential from them, are challenges that need to be tackled, content pre Assuming that technology alone is the answer. This can be an issue within enterprises that buymaster data management, data integration or data quality software -or a mix of the three - to support their data governance programs. The combination of vendor hype and high price tags often sets ‘expectations that the software will do al the hard work and enable ‘organizations to avoid the nasty people, process and political issues. Sorry - an enterprise may indeed find value in purchasing software, but i's the internal interactions that make or break a governance effort, Not building sustainable and ongoing processes. Even ifthe initial investment in time, money and people is adequate, many organizations don't ‘establish a budget, get resource commitments or design dala governance age ot72Pr eer Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre age2s 72 MMM E-guide Content MMM processes with an eye toward sustaining the governance effort over the Tong haul Ignoring “data shadow systems." A very common governance mistake is to focus on an enterprise's transactional "systems of record’ and business inteligence (Bi) systems, assuming that al the important data can be found there. But often, key information is located in “data shadow systems" scattered throughout an organization, For example, the "real" Bl reports and ‘analytical findings used by business workers often end up in so-called sspreadmarts within Excel. Ignore such data at your peril In general, it's well understood that enterprise data governance needs to be a joint business and IT endeavor. What gets organizations in trouble ishow they actually go about implementing governance programs. But if you stay away from the mistakes and missteps outlined above, you'll be better positioned for governance success. LAULALALLLLLLLLLILLILLLALALALLLLLLLILULLLALALLLLLLLLLLALLALALALLLILLLIELLLLLLLLLD ‘Next sectionOo Po i PRO+ Se ee E-guide Content MMLC YLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLD LAULALALLLALLLLLLLLALLLALALLLLLLLLLILULLALALALLLLLLLLILLALALALLLALLLLELLLLLLLLLD inthise-ouide IN Section 2: Data stewardship Section 1: Best practices Data stewards fulfill importart tactical functions by supporting enterprise: p2 data governance initiatives in various ways, Learn about the role of data ‘stewards and the function of data stewardship in the following stories, which IMsection 2:Data stewardship ‘examine the challenges and benefits of adopting data stewardship p29 programs. IAsection 3: Problem solving WNext article p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre age29 72Pr eer Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 p29 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content ages0ot72 pre MMMM E-guide Content VMOU LLL LAULALALLLALLLLLLLLALLLALALLLLLLLLLILULLALALALLLLLLLLILLALALALLLALLLLELLLLLLLLLD Data steward role needs some shepherding itself David Loshin President, Knowledge ntgty ne Investments in data governance are largely motivated by a desire to improve business operations and performance through better oversight and management of corporate information. But while a data governance program institutes policies and processes designed to produce more ‘accurate and consistent data throughout an organization, it primarily becomes the job of the data steward to put those policies and processes into practice by ensuring compliance with them, To a large degree, the success of a data governance strategy depends on the success ofits associated data stewardship efforts. Its important to set up a data governance management structure and ‘operating model in a way that is aligned with an organization's existing structure. That includes the data stewardship element. But doing so isn't as ‘easy as it sounds, nor is managing the work of data stewards, ‘One of the issues that most frequently stymie data governance initiatives ‘occurs when the urgency to launch a program leads to decisions that may be counterproductive. In one example, a company selected a pool of data stewards before defining what they were supposed to do, resulting in significant confusion. In another, the need to demonstrate that progress wasE-guide Content MMLC oO aa LLL” being made quickly led an organization's data stewards to embark on an In thise-guide undirected metadata survey involving hours of pointless tasks. ‘Asa counterpoint to those unsuccessful approaches, here are seven Section tBest practices suggestions on how to effectively structure and manage a data stewardship pe team that can help keep a governance initiative i line section 2:Data stewardship Formalize the position. Prior to asking individuals to take on the data p29 steward role, ensure there is a formal enumeration ofits responsibilities; the skils needed to fulfilt; metrics for measuring performance; and details ‘about how the stewardship duties would mesh with existing job Mseatons:Rebien stg responsibilities, assuming that it wouldrrt be a full-time position, ». Get granular on stewardship roles. There really are a number of different roles that could warrant the ttle "data steward" — a metadata steward and ‘an operational data steward, for example. It's best to clearly delineate what distinguishes these roles from one another, as well as how the employees filing them will work together to support the data stewardship process INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre Establish business ownership of data. Data stewards may be responsible for aspects of compliance with a data governance policy, but that doesn't mean they're accountable for the data itself. Ownership and accountability must remain with the appropriate business unit or department. Get aligned with the business. As part of adata governance program, data usability expectations are framed within the context of expected business improvements, such as increased revenue, decreased costs, reduced risks land enhanced productivity. But most IT and data management practitioners, ages 72oO aa Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre Page2 0472 MMM E-guide Content MMM ‘are more familiar with the mechanics of managing data than they are with the corresponding business processes in which i's used. If your data ‘stewards don't come from the business side themselves, align them with key ‘subject matter experts in business units to help identify data issues and prioritize remediation tasks, Create incentives. As opposed to a typical project in which there are well defined milestones and deliverables, the nature of data stewardship is to ‘ensure against the occurrence of data incidents, Develop an incentive program for your data stewards that recognizes and rewards them for their ability to meet performance objectives. Find people with the right skills. Because the data steward role is still evolving, advertising for individuals with years of experience might not yield ‘a bumper crop of good candidates. And in mary companies, data stewardship isn'ta fulltime occupation. As a result, you might have to cast a net inside for people with stewardship potential. Consider which data management skills are a necessity but more important, ook for workers with valuable, transferable skills, such as good communication capabilities, assertiveness in promoting best practices and comfort with the idea of acting as agents of change. Give data stewards appropriate tools. Although data stewardship is fundamentally a procedural matter, there are some tools that can support stewardship initiatives, including data quality assessment, data validation, ‘and data incident reporting and management software perhaps even a data quality and data stewardship scorecard application.ie a Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre Paget MMM PRO+ E-guide Content MMM All these steps share a common theme: They're predicated on investing a reasonable level of effort up front in designing the structure of adata governance and stewardship program, as well as the operational processes for making it work. Once that’s done, hiring the right people, placing them in roles that are clearly defined, getting them in sync with business units and motivating them with performance incentives will help enable a practical and sustainable data stewardship process. LAUALALLLAALLLLLLLILLLALALALLLLLLLILULLLALLLLLLLLLLLLALLLALALALLLILLLLELLLLLLLLLD ‘Next articlei PRO+ relia Manogret = MMLC Pr YLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLD LAULALALLLALLLLLLLLALLLALALLLLLLLLLILULLALALALLLLLLLLILLALALALLLALLLLELLLLLLLLLD Inthise-auide Ft Successful data stewardship framework INsection t: Best practices needs solid plan, firm focus p2 Beth Stackpole,Contributor section 2: Data stewardship ‘There are multiple hurdles to get over along the path to effective data p29 stewardship, but perhaps none is as daunting as the realization that the process involves a healthy dose of plain old hard work - often without the Seaton 3: Problem song promise of a payoff that can be easily documented, pag ‘The primary benefit of a welexecuted data stewardship programis —_—. substantial: clean, acaurate and consistent data across an organization, [Getting more PRO+ essential thanks to the work of data stewards in developing common data definitions ‘content p72 and ensuring that business users adhere to rules on data entry and usage, ‘Compared with the cost savings and competitive advantages offered by other technology and data management initiatives, though, the fruits of a data stewardship framework are more subtle and less widely recognized. ‘As a result, stewardship efforts are prone to floundering once they get ‘going, according to analysts such as Shawn Rogers, who heads business intelligence (BI) and data warehousing research at consultancy Enterprise Management Associates Inc. in Boulder, Colo. “There's nothing glamorous about keeping data clean and orderly, and there's no sexy payoff that a lot of other things have in an enterprise,” Page 340472oO aa Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre age 72 MMMM E-guide Content VMOU LLL Rogers said. "These are the types of projects that are started and get cut real quick because no one understands their impact.” With those cautionary words in mind, here are five of the most common pitfalls associated with data stewardship programs and advice on how to avoid them: Lackluster commitment. Oftentimes, formaldata stewardship processes are instituted as a result of high-profile data problems or because the stakes for new systems and applications are so high that the risk of failure due to oor data quailty isn‘tan option. Those circumstances can help a program {gain lasting support among corporate executives and business users, but that "stickiness" is harder to achieve if stewardship initiatives aren't tied to specific and visible pain points. Enthusiasm can wane when the going gets tough and there isr't a clear sense of the expected value. “We see a lot of these projects start with the company all riled up, and then there's no real commitment to it- just lp service," said William McKnight, president of McKnight Consulting Group in Plano, Texas. "People get busy with their own deliverables and don't follow through with data stewardship, and the program spirals downward" Not recruiting the right people. Identifying good candidates for data steward positions isa key task that trips up many companies, The top priority, analysts say, should be establishing a functional partnership between the IT department and business units that can help companies identify end users who have a full understanding of the data in their domains and the ways in which itis usedi PRO+ PRLS E-guide Content MUA Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre age s6ot72 ‘Some of the biggest miscues cited by the analysts include hiring data ‘stewards from the outside or relying too much on executive-level managers who aren't as familiar with the intricacies of an organization's data as more hands-on workers are. It's also essential to make sure that the appointed data stewards are allotted enough time to devote to a program, especially f it ist their only job responsibilty. And the chosen individuals should possess strong communication skis and be effective faclitators and negotiators, said Jonathan G. Geiger, executive vice president at intelligent Solutions Inc., another Boulder-based consulting company. No connection to business goals and needs. I's critical to tie a data ‘stewardship framework to an organization's core business priorities. Ina ‘company that's pouring millions of dollars into optimizing its supply chain processes, there's a disconnect in proposing a stewardship program aimed at improving the data used in online marketing campaigns, said Jill Dyché, a Bl and data management consultant who now works for analytics software vendor SAS Institute Inc. Likewise, data stewards shouldn't get sidetracked ‘on unimportant issues, she added: “If you're looking at how good your product data is but no one is complaining about it, the effort may be for naught because people don't see the benefit.” In addition, giving data stewards general responsibility for customer or product datacan be too broad of an approach, according to Dyché. Instead, she advises companies to appoint data stewardsat the business process level --for example, tapping a user who understands every nuance of the quote-to-cash process to oversee all of the data related to sales and invoicing,E-guide Content MMLC oO aa LLL” Aiming too high.As with most large projects it's risky to try to facitate In thise-guide ‘wholesale change through data stewardship as opposed to focusing first on targeted implementations that address specific business needs and data issues, "You need to think globally but act locally,” sald Barclay Blair, president and founder of Vial umina Group Ltd, a consultancy in New York that focuses on information governance. “Ifyou try to act on an enterprise level right out of the gate, i's such a large problem that youl likely fal.” Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 inimizing the change management issue. Data stewardship programs often face cultural challenges, and companies need to throw provenchange management practices at the initiatives to ensure that people understand R Section: Problem solving why they're necessary. For example, make business units aware of the pao problems caused by poor data quality and show them how sound data SE ‘stewardship can help resolve thse problems --in language they can INGetting more PRO> essential understand, ‘content pre Working closely with the business side can also give proponents of a data stewardship program the kind of anecdotal information that can help build a business case. “Keep your ear to the ground and listen for when people say it takes three days to reconcile numbers or two weeks to find a particular data element" Geiger said. "A lot of people expect [data] problems to be part of the job, but it doesn't have to be that way." ‘SwNext article Paget 72i PRO+ BeCCR ea E-cuido m Pr MMLC YLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLD LAULALALLLALLLLLLLLALLLALALLLLLLLLLILULLALALALLLLLLLLILLALALALLLALLLLELLLLLLLLLD In this e-guide . i‘ a \ Big data adds new complications for data section + Best practices stewards 2 Beth Stackpoe,Controutor section 2 Data stovardhip ‘The growing fervor over tapping into the business value of big data has 928 ‘opened a new frontier for data stewardship efforts in organizations. And it's one that isn ikely tobe as straightforward for data stewards as dealing ‘with conventional structured transaction data section 3: Problem sobing pag That's because of the highly variable nature of collections of big data, which oe can include a mix of structured and unstructured data types ~ transaction WGeting more PRO essential data, yes, but also system and network lg files, information from sensors, eee we Internet search records and text-based social networking data to cite afew ‘examples. Such data often comes from external systems, adding another ‘complicating factor for data stewards, who can't exert any control over the quality and consistency of the information as it's being created, ‘As a result, a data stewardship framework for big data must focus on meeting quality and usabilty requirements on the usagesside ofthe data ‘governance and management process, after information has been pulled into internal systems, said David Loshin, president of consultancy Knowiedge Integrty inc. ‘Overall, the concept of big data governance and stewardship is still taking shape. Big data remains relatively new territory for many organizations, and Page s80t72Pr eer Inthise-guide Section Best practices IMsection 2: Data stewards IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 p2 ip p29 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content age s00t72 pre MMMM E-guide Content VMOU LLL data governance and stewardship processes often are immature. Because of that, few companies have attempted to combine the two in a formal way, according to Wiliam McKnight, president of McKnight Consulting Group in Plano, Texas. "Most big data programs in large enterprises are without ‘stewardship and governance," he said. "They'll eventually come into the fold, but it's just not there yet" Hands off my big data, data stewards! ‘One school of thought suggests that the nature of big data applications doesn't lend itself to heavy doses of governance and data stewardship in the first place. The idea behind big data analytics is to sift through mountains of data with highly sophisticated tools in hopes of unearthing a nugget or two that can provide strategic insights into business operations, customer preferences and the like. Data scientists might argue against any cleansing, tweaking or consolidation of the data because the clean-up efforts could ‘skew the results of the advanced analytics applications they're looking to run, "Many in the data scientist community want to protect data in its pure form,” ‘said Shawn Rogers, an analyst at consulting and market research company Enterprise Management Associates Inc. in Boulder, Colo. "They'll argue that if you want to apply an algorithm or predictive process to the data, you shouldn't mess with the data. They say it isn't a place for data stewardship, but rather its a place for discovery.”Pr eer Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content aged 72 pre MMM E-guide Content MMM ‘Another potential difference between a data stewardship program inthe big essential content pre agedtot72 analyst at consultancy Intelligent Solutions nc. also in Boulder. "Because the business imperativeis paramount, data stewardship becomes more important,” he said. "Ultimately, what you get down tos, data is data.” | LLILLLILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLAALLLLLLLLLELLLLLLLLALADLLLLLELD ‘SwNext articlei PRO+ relia Manogret = MMLC Pr LILA UL Inthise-ouide \ Data stewardship program: Quality section Bestpractons booster, but a hard step for many a Beth tackle conto Msecion 2: Daa stevardsp With deta increasingly beng recognized as actcal corporate asset the 328 issue of who ls ulimately responsible forthe care and quay of information is escalating in importance as well. Data governance programs offer a potential solution to the frequent tug-of-war between IT and the business ‘over that point, and data stewardship has a potentially important role to play in the governance process— if organizations are ready to step up and do what needs to be done. IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre If data governance results in a set of definitions, policies, processes and business rules designed to ensure that information is created, managed and used consistently throughout an organization, an associated data ‘stewardship program covers the people part of the equation, according to data management analysts. Data stewards, they said, are responsible for making sure that business users adhere to all of those rules and definitions on an everyday basis, ‘Some analysts describe data stewards as the foot soldiers of adata ‘governance initiative, and others view them as the referees overseeing the interaction between IT and the business side on data issues. Either way, stewards are at their mast effective when they are active and fully engaged agedot72PRO+ be E-guide Content eer LALLA XXKLL_LLE™ in the governance process, say analysts such as Jonathan Geiger, executive In thise-guide vice president at consultancy Intelligent Solutions Inc. in Boulder, Colo, Geiger said the primary responsibilities of adala stewardcan include Section : Best practices leading the development of common data definitions, facilitating data- p2 profiling activities to identify errors and assess their potential business impact, helping create data usage and security policies and then monitoring IMsection 2:Data stewardship adherence to them and instituting date-quality controls. Stewards often also p29 {get involved in prioritizing data quality management efforts based on the requirements of the individual business units they represent, he sald, IAsection 3: Problem solving 9 so heeteam scae Basic beginnings bring initial benefits Getting more PRO* essential ‘And you don't necessarily need to have the overarching umbrella of a data content er ‘governance program in place to get started on basic data stewardship functions. You can assign a small team with both IT and business representatives to begin formalizing and enforcing data definitions and data management and usage policies, That's a first step toward realizing the benefits of data governance: achieving high levels of data accuracy and consistency while ensuring that business users have ready access to the data they need, ‘One of the most elementary benefits of effective data stewardship is "a high level of accuracy of insight so people don't have to put up with ‘good ‘enough’ analytics," said Shawn Rogers, vice president of research for business intelligence and data warehousing at Enterprise Management Associates Inc., another Boulder-based consultancy. "Too many companies ageasot72oO aa Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre age4aot72 MMM E-guide Content MMM make business decisions with the assumption that the data they're using isn't as accurate as it could be." Given the increasing focus ondata analytics as a competitive tool and the growing treatment of data as a core strategic asset, you might think that ‘companies both large and small would be locked in on adopting data stewardship best practices and processes. In realty, that's not the case, according to Rogers and other analysts. For now, they say, there is still more talk than action around data stewardship, ‘A number of factors are holding companies back. For one thing, the concept of data stewardship can be murky and hard to explain, making it difficult to ‘communicate the potential benefits to corporate and business executives and get the required approvals and funding from them, In many cases, existing organizational structures don't easily lend themselves to data stewardship because there are no clear candidates for the role or a welt defined hierarchy that can ensure the success of data quality improvement ‘and monitoring efforts. Caught in a data quality trap In addition, data governance and quality issues are often so overwhelming that companies leave them to fester for too long, which makes it harder and harder to break the cycle and get started on a proper strategy. As a result, ‘organizations fall into the trap of ignoring the long-term ramifications of data {quality problems and instead focus on correcting individual errors with short-term fixes that don't address the underlying issues.Pr eer Inthise-guide Section Best practices IMsection 2: Data stewards IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 p2 ip p29 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content aged 72 pre MMM E-guide Content MMM But as more companies dive deeper into initiatives such as real-time business intelligence projects and master data management programs a ‘growing number of them realize they can no longer afford to ignore the ‘combination of data governance and data stewardship, said Wiliam Mcknight, president of McKnight Consulting Group LLC in Plano, Texas. McKnight chalks up the limited focus on stewardship mostly to the ‘complexity involved in getting it right. "I don't think i's a lack of understanding that this is important —i's just that it's hard," he said, "It's a soft skill that involves management and negotiation." But, he added, the data quality benefits that can be gained from an effective data stewardship program make the pain of getting started and the effort required to stick with it-- worthwhile. In data management, McKnight said, “this is one of the few hills worth dying on. LAUALALLLLLLLLLILLILLLALALALLLLLLLILLLLALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLALALALLLALLLILLLLLLLLLD ‘Ww Next articlei PRO+ BeCCR ea E-cuido m MMLC Pr YLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLD LAULALALLLALLLLLLLLALLLALALLLLLLLLLILULLALALALLLLLLLLILLALALALLLALLLLELLLLLLLLLD Inthise-ouide I How ClOs can avoid big chaos through a section t Best practices Bl data steward p2 ‘Scott Lowe, Consultant IMsection 2:Data stewardship ‘When you start to peel the covers back, an organization is only as good as p29 its data, Without high-quality data and business intelligence (BI) architecture, ‘companies risk embarrassment, lost sales and even legal issues. This is evidenced by the speed with which companies have integrated ERP and R Section: Problem solving other data systems over the years, p49 rs Although these ERP integrations have helped companies streamline and [NGetting more PRO* essential ‘automate their operations, the systems suffer from two key weaknesses: ‘content pre First, by their very nature, many systems that automate company operations are transactional, Although transactional databases hold historical records, the databases are optimized for operations-- adding, changing and removing data rather than for fast reporting. The structure of transactional databases makes historical and trend BI reports difficult to develop and slow to execute. Second, extending the native capabilities of ERP integration can be very difficult. It often means working with the ERP. vendor on an ad hoc contract orjumping through various hoops. While monolithic ERP integrations represent stability, they also represent a lack of flexibility in many cases. Particularly due to feature gaps in existing ERPs, many organizations are turning to third-party ~ often cloud-based ~- vendors to solve specific issues Page 46of72E-guide Content MMLC oO aa @LLLLLLLLLE™ or meet a specific business need that can't be solved in the ERP integration, In thise-guide Further, in order to address ongoing historical reporting and Bl architecture issues, organizations are deploying massive data warehouses intended to bring order to chaos and provide new information on which to make Section Best practices management decisions. p2 ‘While these goals are well and good, the implementation of the BI IMsection 2:Data stewardship architecture solutions needs to be undertaken in a careful and considered p29 manner. Even in the smallest of organizations, there's a burgeoning use of BI architecture, With big data comes an opportunty for the CIO to act as a x data steward and use the new data in meaningful ways However, no good ection 3 Problem solving ‘can come from a system that’s been implemented haphazardly or without an p49 eye toward consistency and inclusion in an overall data lifecycle plan. ——___. Without careful planning from a data steward, big data becomes big chaos. [NGetting more PRO* essential How do you become a data steward for your company? How do you protect ‘content pre yourself against big chaos and provide the best possible opportunity for ‘success in your data efforts? + Implement a strict data governance processes. Data needs to ‘change from time to time. For example, you might need to modify lookup codes as you undertake a new sales campaign. Beforeyou ‘embark on such changes, vet them through a representative ‘committee so that any potential second-order consequences can be discussed and mitigated. This becomes more and more important as new systems are added. ‘As data changes hands during its lif, the governance process will also determine who can do what with the data. For example, just because data Page Tot 72Pr prea Inthise-guide Section Best practices IMsection 2: Data stewards p2 ip p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content Page 480472 pre MMMM E-guide Content VMOU LLL ‘originates in sales doesn't mean that sales should be able to do anything they want without consulting with others. For example, the data steward should understand what sales does with data and why and have some input to ensure that there is operational success throughout the company. + Create a data lifecycle document. All data has some kind of cycle or funnel. For example, during a data element’ lifetime at a college, it visits admissions, the registrar and business office and eventually ‘ends up in the development office. In admissions, the data is “born’ — ‘or, to look at it another way, admissions is the sales database. Once the sale is made and the student enrolls, the registrar owns that data for grades and courses while the business office owns the financial information. After the student graduates, the fundraisirg and alumni relations office holds primary responsibilty for that data element. ‘Your data steward and governance structure should determine each and every time primary responsibilty for data changes hands. It should also be well-documented so there is no ambiguity, outlining which systems are authoritative for a particular data element. This becomes even more important as additional systems are brought in-house: The risk of data ‘overlap is too great and companies risk data duplication, which results in ‘multiple versions of the truth. By identifying up front authoritative data ‘elements, companies are better prepared to track the right metrics. Big data or big chaos? Big data leads tobetter decisions while big chaos leads to turmoll. Fortunately, there are ample ways for you to keep your data house in order. My biggest advice is to go into your data projects with a clear head and a solid plan of action and become a data steward to ensure that quality decisions are based on good, solid data.Oo Po i PRO+ Se ee E-guide Content MMLC YLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLD LAULALALLLALLLLLLLLALLLALALLLLLLLLLILULLALALALLLLLLLLILLALALALLLALLLLELLLLLLLLLD inthise-ouide IN Section 3: Problem solving Section 1: Best practices Implementing a data governance framework, or upgrading an existing one, pe raises questions about required tools, data quality levels, intemal skills and ———_—__—_ potential resistance to change. Experts and users offer advice on how to section 2Data stewardship ‘overcome common issues inthe folowing articles. 929 UALLILLLLLILULALLLLLLLLLLLILILLLLLLLLLLLLLLALLLLLLLLLLLLDILLLLLLLLLLOY section 3: Problem solving “Nextarticle p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre age400t72i PRO+ BeCCR ea E-cuido m Pr MMLC YLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLD LAULALALLLALLLLLLLLALLLALALLLLLLLLLILULLALALALLLLLLLLILLALALALLLALLLLELLLLLLLLLD Inthisegude It Data governance tools: Part, but not all, of section + Best practices the governance puzzle p2 Davi Loshin Presser, Knowedgetnegty ne Msecto 2:Datastovardsip Most guidelines for instituting data governance programs specify that a p20 successful intative must involve a combination of people, processes and technology. That prescription is intended partly to ensure against a blind reliance on data governance tools to accomplish the objectives of the R Section: Problem solving initiative, and it implies the need to focus on establishing and clearly defining pe the required roles, responsibilities, policies and procedures. etn more PRO essential In most organizations, numerous systemic, technical and organizational content p72 complexities create hurdles forthe data repurposing and reuse enabled by ‘well-managed governance efforts that result in consistent information and Usage rules designed to keep it that way. Reviewing end-to-end data processing operations typically will expose many deeply ingrained data management challenges, such as variances in data models inflexibility of existing data structures and broad inconsistencies in business terminology. Gaining control over organizational data assets in spite of the often- disparate interests of different business units and departments and the variety of data platforms, business applications and data management ‘approaches commonly found in companies — starts by combining ‘operational data stewardship procedures with documented best practices for creating and using data and appropriate technology. That sets the stage age s0ot72oO aa Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre apesict72 MMM E-guide Content MMM for collaborative data management and governance on steps such as defining and enforcing internal data standards, harmonizing business ‘semantics in corporate data, embedding data validation controls in integration routines and developing shared sets of data rules reflecting the needs of business users throughout an organization. Inessence, data governance software and related technology should be Used to supplement the methods by which policies agreed upon by a data ‘governance council or a less formal group of business representatives are translated into information requirements and corresponding business rules. Various types of tools are available that support processes for improving data governance and information oversight Let's look more closely at some of them, Data governance templates. Often overlooked as a valuable tool, standardized templates can help in organizing the priorities, tasks and outputs of adata governance program For example, providing a template for a data governance policy guides the members of a governance council in propery defining the policy, its scope, performance metrics and a process for escalating issues to higher levels as needed. Another example is an ‘agenda template that spells out an orderly walk-though of data governance issues, proposals, standards and other items to be discussed at council meetings. Data modeling tools. f some of the governance challenges faced by an ‘organization are associated with variances and inconsistencies in data models, the way to address that is by rationalizing and standardizing aspects of the data modeling process. That can include steps such asi PRO+ PRLS E-guide Content MUA Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre age 20872 defining common data entity types and data structures, ensuring referential integrity and maintaining data class hierarchies. Data modeling tools not only ‘enable those and other improvements, they also help align data models with the overall enterprise architecture and influence the maintenance of data consistency. Data profiling software. Data usabilt is predicated on minimizing the severity of dala issues, necessitating a means for doing data quality analysis ‘and assessment as part of a data governance framework. That includes tools for profling data (spanning data sets, records, elements and values), running statistical analyses and evaluating data models. Such technologies can help to identify data anomalies, determine their potential business impact and develop dimensions for measuring data quality level Data quality management software. key objective of a data governance strategy is ensuring data accuracy, consistency and completeness, Data {quality tools, such as parsing, standardization, enhancement and cleansing software, clearly have a role to play in supporting theimplementation of a data governance model. Metadata management tools. These are useful for creating and managing shared glossaries of business terms, definitions of data elements and internal standards on data architecture, data modeling, naming conventions ‘and data exchange methodologies, They can also help in enabling better visibility into the information flows in corporate systems. In addition, semantic metadata managementtools can be deployed as a central platform providing enterprise-wide views of data structures and a knowledge base of data definitions.PRO+ Pr E-guide eer LALLA LLL” Master data management (MDM) hubs. While DIV is generally seen as a In thise-guide related but standalone activity, there are aspects of cross-functional data OO ‘governance and management that can depend on some of the core data mastering and identity resolution capabilities often bundled into MDM section t Best practices " software suites, p2 — ‘There's no doubt that such technologies can be an important part of an section 2: Data stewardship overall data governance and stewardship strategy. But don't be fooled into p29 thinking that's all you need to succeed. The full value of data governance toolsand supporting software can be realized only in the presence of well Noccion Proven sow defined data governance policies and processes, and a well-structured ection 3 Problem solving ‘governance team that can effectively deploy and use the technologies to pao help support the adoption of data governance best practices in an ‘organization, meeramere PROF ALLLLLLLLALLLALLLLILLLELLLLLLLALALLLLLLLLLLLI TOLL ‘Next article Pagessot72< i PRO+ prea E-guide br MMLC Pr LILA UL Inthise-ouide J Mission impossible? Data governance section Bestpractons process takes on ‘big data’ “ Roger du Mars, Contributor Msecion 2: Daa stevardsp “Big data aluringly holds out the promise of competve advantages to p28 companies tha Gan use I to unlock aeorets about customers, website usage and other key elements of their business operations. But some caution should prevail: Without a proper data governance process, the zest to R Section: Problem solving ‘spearhead big data projects can unleash a mess of trouble, including pao misleading data and unexpected costs. [NGetting more PRO+ essential Data governance’s role in keeping big data houses in order is just starting to content p72 ‘emerge from the shadows, though. Big data, which typically involves large. ‘amounts of unstructured information, is a very recent phenomenon that has found its way into many organizations under the IT department's radar. As a result, governance of big data environmentsis at an incipient stage, and there are few widespread prescriptions for how to do it effectively, according to data management analysts. “Big data is such a new area that nobody has developed governance procedures and policies,” said Boris Evelson, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc. in Cambridge, Mass. "There are more questions than answers.” Page of2i PRO+ PRLS E-guide Content MUA Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre Page sot 72 ‘One fundamental problem is that pools of big data are oriented more to data ‘exploration and discovery than they are to conventional business inteligence reporting and analysis, Evelson added. That, he said, creates a Vicious cycle: “The data can't be governed unti it s modeled, but it can't be modeled unti itis explored [by data analysts] Data governance programs provide a framework for setting datausage policies and implementing controls designed to ensure that information remains accurate, consistent and accessible. Clearly, a significant challenge in the process of governing big data is categorizing, modeling and mapping the data as i's captured and stored, particularly because of the Unstructured nature of much of the information. "To get meaningful business information from big data, al sorts of things need to be done, like semantic analysis of the data, which is then rendered into conceptual models or ontologies," said Malcolm Chisholm, president of data management consultancy AskGet Inc. in Holmdel, NJ. “And all that involves a heap of governance stuff." Looking for clues on big data The difficulty is that everything about the data governance process for big datas so new. "There is a great deal of immaturity when talking about big data, and the majority of data managers realy don't have a clue going into this Chisholm saia. Big data, which can also include large quantities of structured transaction ata, has idiosyncratic features. It's commonly defined in accordance withoO aa Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre age sf72 MMM E-guide Content MMM the three V's: volume, variety and velocity. Forrester adds variability to its definition, while rival consulting company Gartner Inc. tacks on complexity. In addition, the data often comes from external sources, and its accuracy can't always be easly validated: also, the meaning and context of text data isn't necessarily self-evident. And in many cases, it's stored inHadoop file systems or NoSQL databases instead of conventional data warehouses. For many organizations, big data involves a collective learning curve for all concerned: IT managers, programmers, data architects, data modelers and data governance professionals. Doing too much a danger ‘One of the biggest pitfalls in coping with, and trying to govern, the flood of big data is to lose sight of business priorities, said Rick Sherman, founder of ‘Athena IT Solutions, a consultancy in Stow, Mass. For example, much of the unstructured data being captured by ‘organizations comes from social media and typically only a small portion of that information is of significant value, according to Sherman. "Trying to manage or control everything in unstructured data would be a big mistake he said, warning that companies could end up wasting time and resources ‘on unimportant data. Danette McGilvray, president of Granite Falls Consulting Inc. in Newark, Calif, also said that big data can be a big time-sink for data management and governance teams if i isn't handled intelligently and sensibly. "The only ‘way we can figure out if the data is worth managing is if we know what theoO aa Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre Page 7ot72 MMM E-guide Content MMM business need is," McGilvray said, ‘When t comes to big data, we stil need to be reminded of that" ‘Gwen Thomas, founder and president of The Data Governance Institute LLC, a consulting and training company in Orlando, Fla,, recommends that judgments about the quality of incoming data should be one of the top priorities for data governance managers looking to get their arms around big data, Proactive data quality checks can save a lot of time and grief down the road, she sald, Proper alignment avoids disjointed data Frequently underrated, Thomas added, is the importance of mapping the new data to the reference data that organizations use to categorize information. Aligning big data with existing reference data is “a huge detall” she said. “In fact, i this is not done right, the information that results from the processing of big data may be misleading, inaccurate or incomplete" To help ensure that the data is mapped properly, the task should be assigned to a senior data architect instead of being left to aless ‘experienced data modeler or someone outside of IT, Thomas advised, Chisholm said data governance managers should also make it a priority to have productive conversations about the applicable data modelswith the programmers and business users who often initiate big data installations. ‘Such discussions, though, should begin with a firm appreciation of Hadoop ‘and NoSQL technologies and how they differ from relational databases — and an understanding of the need fora unified approach to managing and ‘governing big data.io eer Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre age sot72 PRO+ E-guide Content MMM MMM ‘What companies should avoid, Chisholm said, is letting programmers and Users go their own way and bring silo-driven perspectives to the process of setting up big data systems and doing the required data modeling and mapping work. That could saddle them with big remediation bls, inadequate installations that don't yield the expected business benefits, and wasted investments in unnecessary systems. LAULALALLLLLLLLLLLLILLLALALLLLLILLLILULLALLLLLLLLLLLLLLALALALLLALLLLELLLLLLLLLD ‘Next article< i PRO+ prea E-guide br Pr MMLC YLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLD LAULALALLLALLLLLLLLALLLALALLLLLLLLLILULLALALALLLLLLLLILLALALALLLALLLLELLLLLLLLLD In this e-guide = 7 Ps ® Enterprise data quality efforts in good section Best practices company with MDM, governance 2 ‘Alan Ears, Contributor section 2 Data stovardhip “The way Rob Corrao sees it, companies need to think big when crating a 928 data quality strategy. Corrao, chief operating officer at information and asset management Section 3: Problem solving consultancy LAC Group, said information is being created and collected in pag ‘such large quantities nowadays that it behooves organizations to combine oe an enterprise data qually program with broader iniatves, such as master Getting more PRO* essential ‘data management (MDM) and data governance. "You can deal with this ina eee we piecemeal way, under the radar, but thats inefficient’ he said, adding that, disjointed efforts can cost *hundreds of thousands of dollars in wasted resources’ at large companies. While wellmanaged data quality improvement projects certainly can succeed on a standalone basis, tying them to broader MDM and data ‘governance programs can help ensure that data remains accurate and consistent across an organization, according to Corrao and other consultants. ‘Some IT and data management teams mistakenly look at data cleansing as a ‘one-time event and develop a false sense of security about the quality of their data, said Rob Sturgeon, COO at ServiceSource International Inc., aoO aa Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre Page60ot72 MMM E-guide Content MMM software developer and managed IT services provider. "They think they can clean the data once and they'e all set, But data can get out of control again if a process isn't put in place” Allin on data management Gartner Inc. analyst Ted Friedman also said that organizations should be wary of half-measures. In the nottoo-distant past, standalone data quality projects were seen as realistic investments with achievable goals, Friedman ‘said, But since the worldwide economy crashed in 2008, "the picture has changed," he added, Now Gartner recommends that companies link data management projects together in order to improve their ability to meet business requirements. For example, Friedman said an MDM program that creates a consistent set ‘of master data on customers or products can serve as a central and unifying element that helps justify specific investments in data quality tools and processes to support the effort. The same goes for data governance programs, which pull together representatives from business units to develop policies and procedures on the use of data~ and they're being adopted more widely as issues such as risk and compliance management become a higher priority for corporate executives. "We see data quality as ‘one piece of that governance initiative,” Friedman said. In addition, some companies are linking data quality measures to customer ‘engagement programs or initiatives aimed at driving new revenue, such as efforts to enter new markets, Friedman said. He has even seenPr eer Inthise-guide Section Best practices IMsection 2: Data stewards IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 p2 ip p29 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content Page stot72 pre MMM E-guide Content MMM ‘organizations tie data quality processes to application modernization projects; in those cases, they want to make sure the data contained in legacy systems that are being decommissioned is accurate before it's moved to new platforms. Larger initiatives such as the ones cited by Friedman cost more and take longer to complete than more straightforward data quality projects, But the potential rewards are much greater - and in large companies, he said, there might be no choice but to take a full-scale approach to fixing data issues and then trying to ensure that they stay fixed. First things first: enterprise data quality (On the fp side, Nathaniel Rowe, an analyst at consulting and market research company Aberdeen Group Inc, said data cleansing efforts are often precursors to deployments of MDM systems. “f you put MDM in place but you'e using old, substandard data, you won't see much value from the effort, he said. “Youll have issues with the dataif it isnt standardized." Budget limitations can get in the way of a more comprehensive approach to enterprise data quality, atleast initially. “If you only have the budget to do data quality, that's more important, but keep looking toward the horizon for the next step," Rowe said, adding that IT managers should try to get ‘approval for an MDM or data governance program "before data is allowed to ‘get bad again.”PRO+ E-guide Content MMLC Oo Po eer @LLLLLLLLLE™ In such situations, he said, citing the business benefits gained from improved In thise-guide data quality can help to justify the broader investments. Rowe's advice: Tell ee corporate executives to imagine what more could be done with a centralized INsection Best practices process for keeping data clean, consistent and accurate, p2 LAALALLLLLLLLLILLILLLALALLLLLILLLILULLALALALLLLLLLLALLALALALLLLLLLIELLLLLLLLLD ‘Next article IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential content pre Page6ot72< i PRO+ prea E-guide br Pr MMLC YLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLD LAULALALLLALLLLLLLLALLLALALLLLLLLLLILULLALALALLLLLLLLILLALALALLLALLLLELLLLLLLLLD In this e-guide Data governance programs expose hills to section + Best prctioes climb on path to success 2 Merk BrunellFormer News Dvector section 2 Data stovardhip IT representatives from Fannie Mae Inc. and Salle Mae nc. took to stages 928 ‘on opposite sides of the United States this month to explain how their organizations launched what have thus far been highly succesefuldata Section 3: Problem solving ‘governance programs, pag The data governance professionals from the federally backed financial oe services fms also offered tips on how to overcome some of the major WGeting more PRO essential ‘obstacles that arise as organizations seek toimplement data governance on eee we ‘an enterprise-wide scale. ‘Some of the problems that governance teams are likely to encounter include 4 lack of skills around data quality tools and tactics and a lack of accountability for the state of data throughout the business units of the ‘organization, But the most dangerous obstacle of all-- the one with the most potential to derail a data governance program --is steadfast resistance to newly implemented data governance policies and procedures, according to John Mulholland, Fannie Mae's vice president of enterprise data architecture. Page3ot72oO aa Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre Page 40472 MMM E-guide Content MMM "When you go through these things, no matter what, there is pushback," sald Mulholland, who spoke to a crowded room last Wednesday at the O'Reilly Strata Conference in Santa Clara, Calif. This is the biggest hill to climb." For Fannie Mae, the key to gradually overcoming resistance involves ‘educating employees about the benefits of well-executed data governance and a strong commitment to cultural change. “In the past, everybody thought data was a commodity," Mulholland said, “But now you're seeing that data is not a commodity Its the blood that is going to flow through all of our business processes. Get LOBs together and hammer out the details Its a good idea to have representatives from all ines of business (LOBs) brought in when launching a new governance program, said Michele Koch, the director of enterprise data management and the data governance office at Sallie Mae. ‘Speaking to a roomful of attendees earlier this week at the TDWI Solution ‘Summit in Savannah, Ga,, Koch said that business representatives may be reluctant to meet at first, but the benefits of doing so will quickly become evident, In one example, Sallie Mae, which first launched its data governance program in 2006, held a stakeholder meeting to discuss whether the “anticipated graduation date’ field of a particular database should be ‘changed. But one of the business stakeholders in the meeting quicky pointed out that there are compliance issues around the anticipated ‘graduation date field and that it could not be changed.Pr eer Inthise-guide Section Best practices IMsection 2: Data stewards IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 p2 ip p29 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content Pages 72 pre MMM E-guide Content MMM "We're national across the United States so | really fought to get everybody brought in." Koch said, "It turned out to be a very good thing for people to ‘communicate with one another.” Create a data governance plan and sell it ‘The task of implementing data governance at the enterprise level -a level that truly cuts across business units and data silos —requires a great deal of planning and a touch of salesmanship, according to Fannie Mae's Mulholland, ‘The first step is creating a comprehensive plan. But that can be difficult, ‘especially when organizations make the mistake of stubbornly focusing on a single goal. “The worst thing that you could possibly do is target your end state,” Mulholland said, "What you have to do is measure your progress from your baseline where you'te starting from because your goal ine is always ‘going to move." ‘The plan might include the creation of a data governance council with representatives from all LOBs. It may also include the appointment of data, stewards and subject matter experts to usher things along, "We really looked at this from a staging perspective and a plateau perspective," Mulholland sald, ‘What we dd first was define and design what we were doing. We had a plan. We had to sell that plan.” Consider taking a hierarchical approach ‘The data governance program at Sallie Mae is broken up into three tiers, AtE-guide Content MMLC Pr eer XXKLL_LLE™ the top is the data governance counell, which includes members from each Inthise-guide business unit, said Barbara Deemer, the chief data steward at Sallie Mae, Nowe Under the data governance councilis the data governance office, which is ection Best practices responsible for administering the program. At Sallie Mae the data p2 ‘governance office consists of Deemer, Koch and a third employee. ‘The third tier consists of the data governance services team, which is IMsection 2:Data stewardship charged with carrying out and monitoring data quality projects. 929 — “Every single member ofthe formal council is a member ofthe business section 3: Problem solving ‘community," Deemer said. ‘We actually take votes on the council We meet 9 every two weeks, we have an agenda, we go through the agenda and we publish minutes etn more PRO essenta AALLILLLLLILLLALLLLLLLLLLLALL LALLA content 72 . ‘Next article Page60t72PRO+ be E-guide Content eer LALLA YLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLD LAULALALLLALLLLLLLLALLLALALLLLLLLLLILULLALALALLLLLLLLILLALALALLLALLLLELLLLLLLLLD In this e-guide " Data governance roles and responsibilities section + Best practices call for diverse skill sets 2 ‘Gwen Thomas, resident and Founder Data Governance Isute section 2 Data stovardhip Data governance i rarely only a“spot solution” imposed upon specific data 928 control points within an organization, When people say they/re embarking on {dala governance strategy and program, they typically mean that they jocunapanen oan intend to improve existing operational controls embedded in systems across mevons Prose sovng the enterprise while simultaneously implementing high-level data e ‘governance policies. WGeting more PRO essential “These two sels of activites "tle g governance” on the one hand, "Big G eee we Governance" on the other - require very different skil sets, organizational knowledge and levels of authority, That's because data governance roles and responsibilities are also very different: The people involved in "Big G" efforts set governance policies and translate them into objectives and rules of engagement for “ttle g" teams to follow as they build, manage and monitor individual data controls, “Big G" participants must have excellent analytical and communication skills. ‘They must have the organizational power to negotiate on behalf of the departments or business units they represent, They must have the respect, ‘support and trust of their constituents - the users in those operations, Page Tot 72oO aa Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre ages8ot72 MMM E-guide Content MMM Not all contributors to a "Big G' initiative need to be data experts, but they do have to be able to understand the root causes of data errors and issues, ‘They also need to know- or be able to learn - basic concepts about how data flows through systems and business processes. And they must be able to express the data governance needs, requirements, priorities and constraints of their stakeholder units, If decisions or recommendations made by a data governance council or ‘other type of "Big G" group will have a significant impact on operations within an organization, the data governance programalso requires resources who can work with affected business managers to explain ‘governance policies and their rationale, set expectations for compliance, essential ‘content pre age 00t72 ‘communications arm within IT that can be invoked to support the data governance office. ‘The work that goes into "litle g governance” tends to be more routine, and more hands-on. It depends on specific skis for designing, analyzing, maintaining and monitoring the data controls that have been inserted into systems, applications, data stores and data flows. Those duties might be labeled data stewardship instead of data governance; ether way, they involve executing everyday activities in a way that enforces data-vrelated policies. But what happens when data governance issues bubble up through the layers of operations? Who documents, addresses or escalates them? In ‘some organizations, that is a function of the management structure: Issues. and concerns flow up the corporate hierarchy until they reach the ‘appropriate level to be addressed or are handed off to a data governance ‘council or equivalent group. However, other companies find that approach to be ineffective or inefficient, Instead, they create layers of data stewards- workers who have other jobs but also defined data stewardship responsbilies. Typically, they're ‘organized into groups, teams or hierarchies focused on specific information issues. The rationale for this approach is that the potential for bureaucratic ‘overhead is far outweighed by the advantages of focused attention, clear paths of communication and the deepening knowledge of participants. ‘Such data stewardship hierarchies can include highevel roles with titles ‘such as “lead steward" or “enterprise steward,” The people filing those rolesoO aa Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre MMMM E-guide Content VMOU LLL might also serve on data governance councils or other "Big G" groups, effectively tying together all of the various strands of data governance and data stewardship. But those are complex models that you might not want to implement. ‘Setting data governance roles and responsibilities: question and answer time ‘So, what kind of resources wil you need for your data governance program? ‘And what skis and knowledge will they need to make the program successful? The answers, of course, depend onthe data governance model ‘you adopt and the type of data governance framework you implement. ‘The decision about which model is right for you depends on what your ‘organization wants to achieve through data governance and how much it's wiling to put into reaching those objectives. Indeed, that question needs to be asked before a data governance program is designed or staffed, and every time a new governance project, task or challenge is taken on, ‘The ability to ask the question, get an answer from senior management and validate it with business stakeholders is probably the most important skill that a data governance manager can have. Next is the ability to recognize political danger in the answers (or nor-answers) you receive. The absity to learn how to respond to such dangers is also critical to the long-term survival of a data governance program ‘As a result, choosing the right data governance manager or managers is potentially the most important decision that can be made when a ‘governance program is being designed, The temptation is to pick someoneE-guide Content MMLC fe io eer LLL” who is deeply knowledgeable about information management practices and In thise-guide ‘can work well with the organization's operational layer. oosuonn Boston However, "Big G Governance" programs require leaders who can manage ection kBest practices ‘out and up as well as down, Your data governance management team must pe be skilled in activities such as securing access to required resources and —_ bringing participants to the point where organizational alignment on data, IRsccton 2: Data stawardship ‘governance policies and procedures is possible. They must be trusted p29 diplomats with the confidence, communication skills and organizational power to do what needs to be done to make your data governance program a success section 3: Problem sobving 49 ULLILLLLLLLLLLLLLLALLLLLLLLALLILLLLLLLDALLLLLLLLLLDLL LILLIA ‘SwNext article Getting more PRO: essential contont pre age 7ict72ata i PRO+ PRLS Rae E-guide Content LAM LLOLLLLLLLLLLLOLLLLL Ll Inthise-guide Section Best practices p2 IMsection 2:Data stewardship p29 IAsection 3: Problem solving p49 INGetting more PRO> essential ‘content pre Page 720172 LAULALALLLALLLLLLLLALLLALALLLLLLLLLILULLALALALLLLLLLLILLALALALLLALLLLELLLLLLLLLD / Getting more PRO+ exclusive content This e-guideis made available to you, our member, through PRO+ Offers—a collection of free publications, training and special opportunities specifically gathered from our partners and across our network of sites. PRO+ Offers isa free benefit only available to members of the TechTarget network of sites. Take full advantage of your membership by visiting http://pro.techtarget.com/ProLP/