Short Change for Data Governance

We often see a gap in frameworks and businesses, between the implementation of Data Governance and the actual execution of the resolutions required to solve the data issues.

Businesses that want to become data-driven, either underestimate the effort and cost in doing so or believe that by Data Governance and Data Quality alone they will.

There is often a lack of understanding that to actually resolve some of the attributed business data issues, there will be a need to invest in people, process or in some instances technology, either new or changes to existing.

If left until late into the implementation phases of Data Governance, advising the business sponsors and stakeholders that there will be costs to resolve issues, will be a fundamental failure to your initiatives.

"Spend to Save" - must be the approach to issues where the business priorities lie and the Data Governance Council has directed to do so. (Whether this is "Wooden Dollars" or actual expenditure)

A "Spend or Save" approach to Governance is going to fail.

Watching a business burn, while carefully monitoring it will not solve the problem

Avoiding potential roadblocks.

It is critical that any Governance Framework engages early with all business functions. Like any business, there will be competition for resources and funding, lack of cross-functional coordination, resistance to change and a lack of depth of understanding for Data Governance and Data Quality.

How do we seek to resolve this?

1. Have a clear set of defined roles and responsibilities
2. Understand the funding models for change in the business
3. Roadmap for the Data Governance and Data Quality journeys
4. Education, training, and cultural change
5. Engage with existing change functions in the business including Organisational change and IT change.
6. Embed existing change processes into the Governance frameworks
7. Ensure your stakeholders provide a very clear steer as to where there is an appetite on "Spend to Save" vs "Risk Acceptance" (do nothing)
8. Identify clear and tangible business benefits that will support the "Spend to Save" approach

This is a high-level list of some of the key aspects that need addressing.

Remember that without the support of the change functions in business, the Data Governance initiative will likely be derailed as soon as a requirement for change emerges.