Often the argument against standardization and data governance centers on not wanting to hobble the creativity of the application developer. The perception seems to be that in allowing the creation of customized data elements and data models, developers build a better application. In reality, the application comprises only one part of the entire information system and the customization adds tremendous overhead increasing total cost of ownership.
There are numerous examples in other industries and trades with some degree of standardization where creativity flourishes. Artists, designers, and photographers are both creative and adopters of a widespread standard. The Pantone® standard for colors allows the creativity to flourish by elimination of the problems of color matching and color management. Once the decision for a given color is made by artist, the color management standard allows efficient matching and reproduction. Read more »
The reason the Prime Business Decision (PBD) Loop (TDAN May Issue) functions so well up and down the organization hierarchy is that it is an extension of the model we use on a micro, or personal level. The PBD Loop maps the exact process we use personally minute-by-minute throughout the day. For example, as you drive your car to work or the store, you cycle through the process continuously.
You continuously Acquire information about traffic around you, observing the cars adjacent to you and coming up behind you. You may listen to traffic reports about what is beyond your line of sight. That information is Integrated with your knowledge of traffic laws, typical patterns for the road you are on, traffic reports, and available alternate routes. Armed with this information and the integrated view, you Analyze your options; do you change lanes, change routes, or stay the course? You then Act, choosing to take one of the options open to you completing the PBD Loop and starting another. This is the loop being completed on a micro scale.Read more »
I think James made some great observations and I wanted to comment on them. The model does allow for fully automated decision loops and not just manual ones. For the article I focused on the situation most organizations are in today. In a true marketing engine, the information that has been acquired and integrated would be automatically analyze and acted upon. Perhaps in the form of a customized offering. This is clearly the direction we are heading and why I call the model a natural base architecture.
The model is also recursive, in that each cornerstone process has a subordinate decision loop running inside it. The loops are representative of the delegation of the decision authority from the persons responsible for the parent cornerstone process. I cover this in more detail during presentations and training.
Footnote September 12, 2010: The quadrants of the loop are labeled Acquire, Integrate, Analyze, and Act (AIAA). The integrate quadrant and function could be labeled Absorb vice Integrate. This represents the process function where all data and information acquired becomes consolidated or absorbed into a common repository or system. It represents the point of standardization. This would also allow branding of the loop as Acquire, Absorb, Analyze and Act (AAAA).
Thanks for stopping by. My writing is intended to take a lighter look at Data Governance, and toss in some pragmatic advice along the way. If you are interested in more information on how to implement Data Governance in your organization, please contact me via LinkedIn or the email address below.
Communication, Data Governance Fundamentals, Data Management, Data Modeling | TomJ May 29, 2008 | 
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