Data Governance A Big Step for your Big Data Initiatives RoundWorld Solutions, Inc. 191 Calle Magdalena Suite 290 Encinitas, CA 92024 Phone: 866-868-5130 12.29.2014
CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction...... 3 1.1 What is Data Governance.....3 2.0 Data Governance A 360 Degree View... 4 2.1 Getting Started Establishing a Baseline... 4 2.2 Determination of your Desired Future State... 5 2.3 Execution, Transition, and Training......6 3.0 Conclusion. 7 4.0 Roundworld Solutions, Inc..... 8
1.0 Introduction In today s business climate, more and more organizations are looking to Big Data Solutions to enhance their operations and improve their bottom lines. From the manufacturer working on optimizing their supply chain, to the retailer trying to understand their customers buying habits and fill their carts, or the healthcare provider searching for ways to improve patient care and increase efficiencies - all are turning to the vast amount of data they own to help achieve top line business objectives. In order to implement those solutions, organizations must have data that is consistent, usable, accessible, reliable, and secure across the enterprise. A company s success in managing that data begins with building a framework to establish a comprehensive data management process in other words Data Governance. Taking a 360 degree view approach using a repeatable framework is a practical, proven strategy that large organizations can implement to suit their immediate and long-term needs for Data Governance. RoundWorld Solutions, Inc. is a leader in Business and IT Governance consulting. We offer a wide variety of Data Governance and Big Data solutions that provide our clients peace of mind and allows them focus on your core activities. We leverage and deliver compelling solutions to help organizations obtain a competitive advantage or additional market share. The aim of this white paper is to show you a framework for the 360 degree view that will enable organizations to achieve true Data Governance. 1.1 What is Data Governance Data governance is a set of processes that ensures that important data assets are formally managed throughout the enterprise. Specifically, those processes pertain to the overall availability, usability, integrity, and security of the data employed in an enterprise. A sound data governance program includes a governing body or council, a defined set of procedures, and a plan to execute those procedures.
2.0 Data Governance A 360 Degree View A 360 degree view approach of data governance is one that brings together people, policies, procedures, and technology to put in place a comprehensive Data Governance plan. There are three comprehensive steps in the process. The steps are: 1. Establish a Baseline o Assess o Gap Analysis o Stakeholder Alignment 2. Determine Future State o Change Management o Template Design o Policies and Procedures 3. Execution, Transition, and Training o Template execution o Ongoing staff training 2.1 Establish a Baseline Your organization has decided that it is time to take advantage of the massive amounts of data you own. Executive management sees the value of that data and how the proper use of it can impact the bottom line and stakeholders are asking for more and more information to increase efficiencies across your organization. However, your data is stored on disparate systems, ownership of different aspects of your data is managed by separate business units, and there are concerns about the quality and consistency of your data across those systems and departments. So now that management, stakeholders, and IT are on board and you recognize the challenges you are facing, your organization is committed to implementing a comprehensive Data Governance plan to ensure compliance, quality, consistency, accessibility, and security of that data. Now the question becomes: Where do we start? The first step is to perform an assessment to establish a baseline state of your processes, strategy, framework, and architecture both for ongoing projects and the life cycle governance of ongoing operational processes. The specific elements of that baseline assessment are:
Stakeholder Alignment - For a Data Governance plan to truly work, you need buy in and support from all stakeholder levels. Including: 1. C-Level Executives 2. Business units that own the data 3. IT Department 4. End-users of the data With all stakeholders you must collect pertinent information to ensure understanding of the process and enable individual accountability to keep the process on track. It is essential to receive commitment from all stakeholders to the success of the project and to help decide and record the milestones that solidify a successful comprehensive Data Governance plan. The next step to a successful baseline determination is: A comprehensive gap analysis which includes validating and assessing existing Data Processes, Ownership, Tools & Structures for Anticipation, Data preparation, Data Migration, Hyper care and Life Cycle management. It includes assessments in the following areas: 1. Current data set 2. Data standards 3. Current policies and procedures 4. Performance metrics 5. Escalation and resolution policies 6. Organizational structure 7. Change management policies and procedures 8. Current tools and technologies 9. Process flows A detailed analysis document is then prepared with all pertinent information and commitment from stakeholders combined with detailed Gap Analysis information to give your organization a clear picture on your current state of Data Governance. The document establishes the baseline for your organizations comprehensive Data Governance plan. 2.2 Desired Future State Now that your organization has built the foundation and taken the first step to true comprehensive data governance by establishing a baseline to determine where your organization is today, the next step is to determine your future state and where you want to be with that comprehensive data governance. To capture the vision and details of that desired future state, the best method is to design a series of templates where C-Level management, IT, and stakeholders can collaborate, review, utilize, and seek direction for Future State-To-Be Documents and review future state scenarios with live data sets of all pertinent data sets within an organization. Those templates include:
1. Design Data Governance future state direction a. Highlights the overall direction and strategy for the Data Governance Plan 2. Design and Review Data Governance Standards specific to your business on par with the best in class Industry Data standards. a. Allows organizations to adhere to industry best practices within the governance arena. 3. Functional areas of Data Governance: a. Design Data Processes, Ownership flows, Tools & Structures for Anticipation, Data preparation, Data Migration, Hyper care and Life Cycle 4. Design & Review New Protocols a. Includes strategies put in place to allow for true Data Governance. b. Helps ensure proper utilization of Data Governance protocols. c. Includes customized checklists to assist in proactively utilizing the new proper protocols. 5. Design and Review Metrics a. Create Key Performance Indicator (KPI) chart b. This enables stakeholders and business area teams the opportunity to review a set of quantifiable measures that can be utilized throughout business areas to gauge performance in terms of meeting their strategic and operational goals. 6. Design & Review the proposed Escalation & Resolution approach a. This ensures a logical, repeatable process is in place when issues arise. 7. Design and review Data Governance Change Management processes and approach a. Once again, this enables a logical, repeatable process to ensure smooth change management is in place when needed. 8. Research, Review Data Governance Tools & technologies a. A comprehensive analysis of items that will assist with best practices for governance Once finished, these template will allow your organization to move to the final step in the process of Data Governance execution, transition, and ongoing training of these templates. 2.3 Execution, Transition, and Training Now that your current state of affairs have been established and your future goals have been clearly laid out, it s time to complete the circle and implement the plan to get your organization to true Governance. In the first stage of the process we established the importance of having all stakeholders on board and aligned with the company s goal of Data Governance. Now it s time to bring those stakeholders and Data Stewards back into the fold and implement those
processes, procedures, and templates that were created in the second stage of the process through: 1. Workshops a. Conduct Data Governance Workshops with all the Data Stewards to ensure continuity across the enterprise. 2. Templates feedback a. Take feedback from the teams on the templates and if necessary, make refinements to ensure protocols are followed and change is accepted at all levels. 3. Tools & Technologies a. Enhance the capability of Governance tools and technologies. b. With the explosion of easy to implement cloud based applications it s easy to fall back into the trap of multiple point solutions to solve individual business issues. Organizations must have a formal procedure in place to ensure any silo application fits within their Data Governance strategy. 4. Dashboards a. A key tool to keep your teams up to speed and in compliance with your Governance place is the development of detailed dashboards. 5. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) a. Develop, review and Test Metrics and KPI s with Data Governance leadership team and Data Stewards. b. No comprehensive Governance plan can be implemented without proper measurements for success. The development of KPIs is key to monitoring performance of your Data Governance plan. 6. Training a. Implement a formal training regimen to ensure all stakeholders, users, and Data Stewards are fully up to speed on data processes, templates, tools, dashboards, and KPIs. Once these steps are complete, your organization now has achieved true Data Governance. As with any initiative, follow up is the key to success. Constant feedback, constant training, and constant refinements to the system are always necessary to ensure your organization stays on track
3.0 Conclusion Data governance is critical in today s business environment. Internal and external demands to implement Big Data solutions and manage risk make it imperative to have a clear strategy coupled with accurate, accessible data, yet the challenge of disparate legacy systems combined with the proliferation of data, applications, and technology make it difficult to achieve. Data governance gives you the power to unite business objectives, technology initiatives, and information policy. It makes sure that all stakeholders are aligned, and helps ensure that data is consistent, usable, accessible, reliable, and secure across the enterprise..
4.0 RoundWorld Solutions, Inc. RoundWorld Solutions, much like the FDIC, provides peace of mind to our clients. We offer a unique 360 degree view of complete governance around Data, IT, Business Intelligence, Enterprise Mobility, and software development. We specialize in integrated governance with project execution so your organization can focus on your core activities. We deliver compelling solutions to help you provide a competitive advantage or capture additional market share. RoundWorld Solutions is now offering a no cost, no obligation, one week assessment and gap analysis to establish a baseline for your organization s Data Governance needs. We will utilize the initial stage of our unique 360 degree view to perform a detailed analysis and present a comprehensive report that is the first step to achieving complete governance within your IT/Business organization. Contact us at 866-868-5130 ext 705 via email at info@roundworldsolutions.com or click here to schedule your assessment today: http://roundworldsolutions.com/peace-of-mind/
THANK YOU. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Cunningham scottc@roundworldsolutions.com