Data Governance Blog

Innovation via Data Governance

To some people, Data Governance and innovation seem like contradictory  subjects. A perception exists that governance as a whole squelches innovation. That may be the case if a data governance program is poorly implemented and attempts to police the data environment with unyielding zeal. If another approach is taken, then data governance can become the means to identify where innovation is occurring in the organization so that company can exploit it. Read more »

Data Governance – Getting Started

Many of my blog entries have focused on developing understanding about why data governance matters, or fundamental concepts. Some readers are challenging me to make it more actionable. They want answers to the question of what actions can they put into a project plan?

One of the first things you can do is answer the question, “What reference data do we have that no one wants to manage?” This may seem like an odd question, but it will point you to the most critical data in your organization. Here is the logic; most people do not like to share responsibility. Most people prefer to manage something that is uniquely theirs. So if people shy away from the reference data describing the organization structure, then you found the data that needs governing … precisely because no one is intentionally managing it and everyone is using it. Read more »

Is your IT shop a rebellious teen?

Sitting around with some developers recently and I asked why they were hesitant to embrace data governance. They acknowledged that there was good to be gained from it, but they felt they would be too constrained if they had to follow a bunch of governance rules. A woman in our group stated that they sounded like her teenagers, they understood her rules, but did not like to follow them. It really gave me a reason to pause and think about what she said and how it applies to data governance. Was the resistance due to our industry being at a relatively low level of maturity? Read more »