Data Governance

When individuals think about data governance one of the last things they often think about is grammar. In fact, most data stewards focus on the alpha numeric structure of their data or how the organization they work for categorizes different types of data. However, grammar is an important part of your data structure and their are a number of things you can do to implement policies and approaches in your data governance strategy to ensure that your data accounts for quality grammar.

An area that grammar is most important when applying it to data governance is when you’re considering data elements that accept open ended information from individuals entering data into your system. This scenario may allow for data entry employees to use short hand, improper grammar, or text that only they can read. This makes it difficult to gain any value from the data you’ve collected and entered into your enterprise systems.

Data Governance Tools – Grammar Checkers

One of the first things you can do when developing a data governance plan is to identify systems that allow for the open ended data input. These systems should be sure to build in a grammar check function before the data is saved into the system. This allows software to do a lot of the major checking for you and allows you to focus on other areas of your data governance plan.

If system modifications are not an option, it maybe a good idea to offer data entry training to ensure employees understand the importance of providing clear input into your data collection systems.

Grammar Strategy Development at Conferences

Another option to improve your proper grammar implementation is by developing strategies with other data stewards at the next conference you attend. Often different organizations have implemented different approaches to ensure high quality data. Be prepared to ask specifics about how other organizations implemented their strategy, what they felt were the most important lessons learned and what they’d do differently next time.

Proper Grammar = Data Quality

When your organization takes the time insure that the data entered into its systems are grammatically correct they are also making sure that they are prepared for future use and analysis of that data. This is always most easily identified when historic data is accessed for analysis and quality data will be much more useful for future business decisions.

You do not have to be an FBI agent to keep your records secure. As a business owner, you want to ensure that everything that comes and goes into your systems are well protected, kept and stored. Data governance these days mean more than just a room full of file cabinets and thick folders. As we continue to move to a more paperless environment, we rely less on paper and hard copies of documents to a more streamlined, computerized and technology based system.

While data governance has shifted from hard copy to software, you should realize that the automated processes will not be sustained on its own. This kind of data management still needs a point of contact to be held accountable to the accuracy and security of the records you keep.  Aside from that, you also want to be sure that all pertinent information can easily be shared with all employees when needed. This may not be a huge problem to small and medium sized businesses, but as your company starts to grow and you start to employ more staff, the records may grow to an extent that managing paper trails may not be the most efficient way to do business.

Since we have been working towards data governance for maximum efficiency, another advantage of being able to implement data management strategies would be the prevention of fraud. This is especially true for any type of company. Managing financial records and information is not limited to sales or banking organizations. Nothing can be worse than losing important financial or accounting information, and if not managed properly, you can end up losing hundreds to thousands of dollars in an instant. Being able to secure your company’s records will play a critical role to your company. The sooner you are able to implement data governance processes, the more time you can devote to other things that will make your business successful.