Starting a Data Governance Program

Getting Started

A successful Data Governance program does not begin with the design of the program!

  • Before you start deciding who goes on what committee, you should be clear about your program’s value statement.
  • You should have developed a roadmap to share with stakeholders.
Starting a Data Governance Program
  • Those stakeholders will want to know the WHO / WHAT / WHEN / WHERE / WHY / HOW of your program before they decide to support it, so you’ll need to anticipate their questions and have preliminary answers, even if they’re only assumptions until you do your actual program design.

 

You’ll want to build the type of program that your stakeholders will be excited about. The Data Governance programs we’ve seen that are the most successful are ones with a clear focus, metrics that excite leadership, a value proposition that everyone can get behind, and a clear message.

Don’t worry if this isn’t real obvious to you. After all, we’re all familiar with the concept of not being able to see the forest for the trees. What if you ARE one of the trees?

Consider getting a fresh viewpoint from someone within your organization (or from outside) who can help you describe your vision and set an approach to:

    1. Develop a value statement
    2. Prepare a roadmap
    3. Plan and fund
    4. Design
    5. Deploy
    6. Govern
    7. Monitor, measure, report

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      Goals and Principles for Data Governance

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      Data Governance Program Phases

      As you perform the activities needed to gain support and funding, remember that your program may plan to address multiple focus areas. Each new effort should be introduced using the seven steps of the life cycle. Even specific governance-led projects, such as creating a set of data standards, will want to follow the Data Governance Life Cycle steps.

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      Focus Areas for Data Governance

      All Data Governance programs are not alike. Quite the contrary: programs can use the same framework, employ the same processes, and still appear very different. Why is this? It’s because of what the organization is trying to make decisions about or enforce rules for....
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      Demonstrating Value

      Everything an organization does should tie to one of three universal value drivers. Data Governance efforts MUST tie back to one or more of these drivers. And YOU must communicate how it does.

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      Focus Areas for Data Governance: Data Warehouses and Business Intelligence (BI)

      This type of program typically comes into existence in conjunction with a specific data warehouse, data mart, or BI tool. These types of efforts require tough data-related decisions, so organizations often implement governance to help make initial decisions, to...
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      Focus Areas for Data Governance: Architecture, Integration

      This type of program typically comes into existence in conjunction with a major system acquisition, development effort, or update that requires new levels of cross-functional decision-making and accountabilities.What other types of groups and initiatives might want...
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      Defining Data Governance

      How you define your program will influence your ability to manage it — to keep all participants on focus, in sync, and striving toward the same goals.

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      Implementing Change Management

      Most organizations have string change management – or at least change control – mechanisms for technology. They usually have change management for software applications. They have change management for websites. And yet, many organizations do not practice structured...
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      Choosing Governance Models

      It’s important to define the organizational structure of your Data Governance program. But before you can do that you have to define your governance model at a higher level. You need to consider what types of decisions your governance bodies will be called upon to...
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