IntroductionAs Organizations grow, not only its constituents grow, but also it’s Data, which grows enormously, along with it. It is true that keeping the control and Integrity of huge data is a big challenge for an Organization, however there is an effective and organized way to manage it, by means of ”Data Governance”. Since Data is the base of any organization, Data Governance stresses the need, to view the business in terms of data. Effective view and usage of Data, keeps an organization not only to stay competitive in business but also keeps the costs down, enhances the profit and keeps the customers happy. The first step in the Data Governance initiative is to set up a small team comprised of key people across the organization with a clear leader in order to determine the strategy and goals. This Team builds a business case to obtain the funding and then sets its focus on planning and scoping a pilot program, which is the first iteration of this program. To effectively execute the strategy, the right set of people needs to be in the right place. This is accomplished by formulating a Data Governance Office and a Data Stewardship Competency. Once the working Data Governance Office is identified, the key processes for how the group works together must be established. In this area, the communication protocols are defined, Roles and Responsibilities are established and accountability is set through the declaration of decision rights and controls. The pilot being a smaller initiative enables an organization to build the Governance Office slowly, as they have a tolerance for change and iteration. Once this is successful and people have seen the benefits, the people are attracted automatically and it can be implemented in a bigger way across the enterprise. For driving the overall quality, the focus should be on the Data Standardization, Compliance Regulations and Quality Controls. Performance Metrics should be introduced to measure the overall effectiveness of the program. Monitoring enables the Governance Office and Data stewards to keep track of what is happening in the program in terms of the metrics. The definition and understanding of Metrics gives the clarity of the direction where this program is heading.
The overall emphasis here is on the Data stewardship process rather than the technology as it is being employed to enhance the process. Technology is a secondary here to enhance the Process. The Data Governance is a continuous process and can be refined over time, by showing success along the way, which translates into value for the organization in the form of improved data and information quality. Enjoy the quality of software. |