’Tis the Season for a Data Governance Carol (Part Two)

By Rob Paller, Consultant

 

The writing was on the wall, and Ebenezer was beginning to comprehend that while the mergers and acquisitions looked good on Wall Street, the company was imperiled by the aftermath of poorly integrated systems, an absence of proper data management, and a gaping void in the governance of the company’s data. Furthermore, Ebenezer knew that one more ghost had yet to call upon him. Never before had the fear of uncertainty enveloped Ebenezer, but tonight was different.

The Ghost of Data Governance Future

No sooner did Ebenezer begin to calm his nerves, when from the shadows of Ebenezer’s office, the Ghost of Data Governance Future appeared. Ebenezer’s pulse quickened as he did not want to acknowledge the ghost’s presence or what the ghost would ultimately share with him. It was with great reluctance that Ebenezer agreed to go with the final ghost.

Much to Ebenezer’s surprise, their travels did not take them very far into the upcoming decade before trouble surfaced. Poor Bob had suffered through another year and a half of cobbling reports together before reaching his saturation point and submitting his resignation. The remaining analysts scrambled to glean what they could from the frazzled, empty shell that was once the brightest among them. Surely a lone analyst would not beckon the fall of a Fortune 500 company, but it would begin the unraveling that followed in the months to come.

After Bob left the company, the remaining analysts fought to produce the fiscal reports on time. The data fixes that Bob orchestrated in the various systems to reconcile the reports were not being done. Some analysts were entertaining the idea of bringing in an outside firm to try and help address the problems, but IT was adamant they could shore up the problems on their end. Slowly the company’s competitive advantage began to erode and confidence on Wall Street went with it. It wasn’t long before rumors of bankruptcy began circulating. By then, Ebenezer had seen enough.

He couldn’t stand to see the company he so proudly guided through the first decade of the new century crumble before his eyes. He asked the Ghost of Data Governance Future if it was too late to turn things around. And if he promised to acknowledge all the data management, quality, integration, and governance issues that had been brought to light, would the company be able to avoid an inevitable collapse? But the ghost made no promises and offered no reassurances that the company could be saved. He simply returned Ebenezer to his office and quietly retreated back into the shadows of the office.

Ebenezer Wakes Up

Ebenezer, startled awake by the sensation of falling, quickly realized that he was still seated in his office chair. However, the relief was short-lived as he wiped the sleep from his eyes, only to see that the once-organized stacks of paper on his desk were strewn across the floor. Dream or no dream, the gravity of the situation was beginning to weigh on him:  The single most vital asset neglected for the past decade would be responsible for saving or crippling Ebenezer’s company.

There would be no quick solution. In order to build the momentum necessary to stay the course, Ebenezer needed to identify projects that would make an impact with the right sponsors who would, in turn, spread the word.

Slowly, over the course of several quarters, Ebenezer began to see the results of his mission to properly manage his company’s data as an asset. There were policies in place that supported the data governance initiative, and there were regular meetings to review the company’s progress with regards to an industry-approved maturity model. Data quality was being driven back to the source systems whenever possible.

There were formalized processes in place to deal with exceptions. There were master data hubs that dealt with integrating the various sources of master data across the company.  Data was beginning to move with the precision of a fine time piece.

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Rob Paller is an expert at business analytics and database administration. Since joining Baseline, Rob has been responsible for developing a case analysis system to streamline the oversight of food assistance benefits, implementing a common citizen data model, and assisting in the rollout of a new public assistance data model integrating data from over 10 years of legacy with a new benefit eligibility determination system. He also believes in Christmas, and he'll gladly give you a shilling to buy the prize turkey for Christmas  day.

Comments

[Jim Harris]

These were two excellent blog posts, Rob!

You did a great job using a Dickensian framework to explain the importance of data governance and data quality – and the fact that there isn’t a simple framework to blindly follow for Data Governance.

Very well written!

Happy Holidays,

Jim

[Dylan Jones]

Great series Rob, if 2009 is anything to go by, 2010 will be another great year for data management literary crossovers, Jim - you have a lot to answer for!

Enjoy the break and best wishes to everyone at Baseline, really enjoyed your blog throughout the year.

[Rob Paller]

Jim,

I am glad you enjoyed the blogs posts. Thank you for the kind words.

Happy Holidays,
Rob

[Rob Paller]

Dylan,

Thank you for the kinds words on this series.

You're right, 2010 has a lot to live up to using 2009 as a barometer. Will Jim turn the dial up to 11? :)

Rob