Governing Your Data for Optimal & Sustainable Data Quality
I trust by now your organization is in pursuit of harnessing the full potential of your data like everyone else. I'm sure by now we've all realized that better decision and insight can only be powered and fueled by Trusted, Quality, Business Ready Data. This is the biggest differentiator as every organization takes a critical look at the health of their data asset in months and years to come. This is what would separate winners from losers as we all start looking at our Data as the greatest asset to revive our economy, to bounce back productivity lost and growth stunted during this global pandemic.
The case for governing your data cannot be over-emphasized at such a time like this. The case for quality data cannot be secondary as the survival of every organization hinges on this.
Organizations are beginning to realize the need to prioritize Governance around their enterprise data for the optimal health of their data. It's the ultimate strategy for your organization to harness the full potential of your data asset.
Your Data Governance adoption will define and set the tone for your innovative desires, analytics capability, and growth potential. The seriousness of your organization to use data for its competitive edge will be defined by the health of your data asset.
Optimal Data Quality is at the very heart of every Data Governance adoption. Sustainable Quality can only be realized through cultural transformation and ethical creation and use of data.
To this effect, if Data Quality is a top priority for your organization, If success is a desirable goal and you're aiming to bounce back quickly and stronger from this pandemic, then Data Governance is your ultimate anchor for realizing 'Quality at its Best' for your Data Asset.
Many organizations are already realizing this. Many have learned one thing or the other from years of wasteful investment in unproductive shortcuts to realizing quality data. They've realized there's simply no shortcut to optimizing the health of their data without Data Governance adoption as their top priority.
Cleansing, cleaning, mining, or matching poor quality data for any analytics, business decision or insight is simply not governance. This definitely will not help harness the optimal ROI in your data. You need a sustainable health plan for the quality of your data.
Simply put, Quality cannot be manufactured, microwaved or mechanized. It cannot be dealt with as an afterthought. You must be intentional with the desired health of your data. Data Governance adoption is the only strategy to make you win and keep winning as the health of your data gets better. It's the only way to sustain quality and increase trust. It's the only way for your AI/ML Models to be trusted, for your models to be explainable and your insight to be meaningful and accurate. It's the only way for your decisions to be sound, your risks to be mitigated and your competitive edge to be realized.
Governing your enterprise data will help instill the desired quality in your data asset. Rightfully so, because Data governance is about building ethical discipline in the creation and use of your data. It will help build needed confidence and trust in your data.
Data governance approach to quality is proactive and not reactive. Quality is defined and continuously measured with a thorough understanding of the 'WHY' we govern and 'WHAT' the end in mind looks like.
Data Governance Adoption promotes Quality and defines what Quality looks like.
Data Governance adoption engages each data quality dimension for its standards of care execution. It rightfully sets the tone for quality standards and monitors the quality indicators for your organization in a number of ways:
·By identifying your key stakeholders, establishing right, clarifying accountabilities.
·Assessing the data quality checks required for your enterprise data.
·Setting data quality thresholds to provide consistent and standardized measurements of the severity of data quality issues impacting your enterprise data.
·Setting effective standards and directions to realize your enterprise desired data quality.
·Establishing an effective Data Quality Issues Tracking & Remediation Process.
·Monitoring and reporting status of the execution of all Data Quality Dimensions & thresholds for accountability and maturity of your enterprise data. i.e.
Validity – making sure there's a clear definition of the degree to which each enterprise data conforms to established business rules and correct values for acceptable content.
Accuracy - Monitoring the degree to which data correctly represents authoritative sources of truth.
Conformity – Monitoring the adherence of data to defined data standards
Completeness – Monitoring the degree to which each enterprise data is required to be populated with a value.
Comprehensiveness– Monitoring the degree a data record is expected to be complete, accurate, valid and conform across applicable data elements.
Timeliness & Freshness – Monitoring the degree to which data is current and available when needed with the latest updates. i.e. currency of updates and availability of the right data at the right time.
Integrity – Monitoring the relational quality of data across its various relationships and referenced tables. i.e. ensuring data can be traced and connected to other data.
Uniqueness – Monitoring the degree to which data can be duplicated
Consistency – Monitoring the reliability of data across its lifecycle. Ensuring consistency from source to target.
In a nutshell, there's no doubt, trusted, governed data is the new game-changer of our new economy. The new market dynamic will require both speed and efficiency at play at the same time. The health of our data will simply define the losers and the winners in this new market. Organizations yearning for success are already setting the stage for putting their data to work by investing in the governance of their data. Re-prioritizing your Data Governance adoption is the only way you're guaranteed to show up with your Data at its best. Your Data Governance adoption will set you on a path for success and position you to win and keep winning as the Quality of your data matures over time and you begin to realize optimal ROI from your data asset.
For more detail and practical help on how to optimize Data Quality in a proactive way with effective Data Governance & Stewardship around your data value chain. Book a Free Call with me to discuss your challenges and we can explore simple strategies to actualize your governance success.