Run a successful Data Governance Program

I posted the Data Governance whitepaper link yesterday thinking that it would be something particularly helpful for data governance practitioners. The press release had just came across my desk and I posted it so that everyone could read it at the same time I did. Little did I know that it was more of a sales document for DataFlux Version 8 - my apologies. I did promise that I would read it and then post my thoughts, here they are: I think if you are looking for a Data Quality product to round out your Data Governance program, this is probably a good read for you. If you aren’t looking for a Data Quality tool, the first page or two are still pretty valuable by way of defining Data Governance and the need for it pretty clearly - you can discard the rest.

So, because I was really looking for something of high-value to provide to you, I’ve spent the last hour searching through all of the Data Governance articles I have bookmarked over the months and one really stuck out. Its an easy read and provides a clear description of where Data Governance belongs in an organization and why.
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A new whitepaper just came out and it is available on Information Week. I haven’t read this one yet, but I will today and write a post on it tomorrow. You can check it out here.

Bonus links:
Mark Madsen covers some of the trends he noticed coming out of the TDWI Conference in San Diego last week, including observations on Data Governance.

DataFlux sent out a press release with info on what is going on at their conference so far. Check it out so you can say you keep your ear to the ground…

Tailoring your message is an essential project management tool that for some comes natural, but can prove to be a difficult task for others. We’ve all been in ‘business meetings’ that have been hijacked by an IT person who goes way too in depth on programming logic, database design, and architecture plans. On the flip side, I’m sure many of us have also been in ‘IT meetings’ where a business stake holder goes way to in depth on financial trending, changes in legislation, and marketing initiatives.
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Congratulations to Charlie R. in Plano, TX. His registration on September 5th was the winning drawing, and he will be receiving a free copy of the book “Alpha Males and Data Disasters: The Case for Data Governance”. Lots of new members have joined, and the contest was a great success. If you haven’t yet signed up for the mailing list, you can do so right here:

For the next 4 days you’ll have some opportunities to win the book “Alpha Males and Data Disasters - The Case for Data Governance”. This book is a great case study on why Data Governance is needed in an organization, and its a really quick and easy read. It provides a nice business perspective on Data Governance that you can easily apply to your pitches and presentations. If you don’t have it, I highly recommend trying to win it in this giveaway.

So here is how it will work. I’m going to drop names in a hat and pull out the winner on Friday, September 5th at 5pm EST. You can get your name on multiple slips of paper, as follows:

1. Subscribe to the blog. Its easy, and you’ll get your name on one slip of paper. If you have already subscribed, don’t worry, you’ll automatically be entered for this.

2. Signup for this webinar. Its free, you won’t be spammed, and you’ll learn a heck-of-a-lot in an hour long audio webinar about Data Governance. You’ll get your name on 3 slips of paper for this. All you have to do is send me an email and I’ll verify that your email address has registered for the webinar.

3. Write a post for this blog. You’ll get your name on 5 slips of paper this way and its super easy! Just write about 300 words on a tip, suggestion, or something you have learned while working or researching Data Governance and email it over to me. I just ask you not steal your content from anywhere else. You can write something up that will help the whole community in probably less than five minutes, and get a bunch of entries. In addition, you can really start to build a name for yourself in this field.

There you have it, easy right? In the next 10 minutes you could have 9 entries into the contest and a good shot at winning a great book. First things first, subscribe if you haven’t already. Next, register for the webinar. Finally, write a little tip or observation that has been on your mind and shoot it over to me. I know you can do it.

It’s no secret that I’m a big supporter of bringing web 2.0 ideas into the corporate world. There is certainly something to be said about these technologies that are being born out of the second generation of successful websites. The ideas around web 2.0 are collaboration, communication, and community. If you haven’t looked into these technologies, the following links should give you a good foundation on what web 2.0 is all about:

• Web 2.0 on Wikipedia
• Web 2.0 defined on O’Reilly

Web 2.0 sites that you’d recognize are:

• Flickr
• YouTube
• Wikipedia
• Wordpress (blogging platform, which this blog uses)

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One thing that I’ve always advised people to do when starting an enterprise wide program is to get into the corporate newsletter, magazine, weekly update, or whatever communication device your organization uses.

It is generally pretty easy to get in as the communications department is always looking for good content to fill out their publication. What I do is just check who the newsletter is coming from and shoot an email over to them letting them know you are trying to spread the word about your new Data Governance Program that is going to “greatly improve the quality and value of the data at [insert your company name here].” They are usually more than happy to include your program in the next communication. Read on for how to frame your story for best impact…
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Every few weeks I put together a list together for you of all of the resources that I’ve gathered on the latest happenings and discussions going on in the Data Governance and Management industry. Please use these resources to expand your knowledge and feel free to email in or leave a comment with any other articles that you’ve come across that may be of value. Also, don’t forget to check out the Data Governance resources page.

Data Governance and the Holy Grail
This is a nice article on how Data Governance is helping the business better connect with IT, and vise-versa. The ‘holy grail’ in this case is the idea that the business and IT and working so closely together that the business needs are always met by the IT solutions. Last I checked we hadn’t found the holy grail, but Data Governance has certainly helped build a better bridge between the two groups.

Data Governance Training Webinar
Take advantage of this one because its free… Just click on that link, then click “Award-Winning UMB Bank Success Secret: High Quality Customer Data” at the top. I listened to it again the other day and I am really impressed by what UMB was able to do in just a short amount of time. There are lots of great tips and advice that you can apply to your organization today.
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Hopefully yesterday you were able to review and fill in the sample maturity model template I provided you for. If you did, it should all be coming together for you. You likely have 5-7 Maturity Levels that are a tailor fit for your organization, and specifically your data. Remember, we crafted the model around what was already occurring within your data today. Thus, we didn’t really create a model; we actually just applied labels to your existing data tendencies. It is best to do it this way because your data will naturally follow the model going forward. Today we are going to look at the task of making sure your model works by reviewing it against your data. If you make it out of these simple tests, your maturity model is golden.
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We’re almost through building a maturity model that is just right for your organization. I hope yours is coming along nicely. Today I’m going to provide you with a template that you can use that nicely sums up your maturity model. Did I mention that your maturity model document need not be longer than one page? Its true. A well organized maturity model should be clear and concise; lots of documentation will just cloud its real value. This template will help you to be clear about how your data stacks up. Once you’ve reviewed the template, we’ll talk about how to put the levels you’ve already discovered on your own (the highest and lowest) into the template, and then work to fill in the middle using the natural maturity you’ve already found in your data. Continue on for the template…
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