by Angela Guess
Loraine Lawson recently shared her thoughts on a few approaches that can make data governance initiatives a bit easier. She begins, “I’ve been reading about data governance a lot recently, with the idea that I might do a post on common mistakes and how to avoid them. But after a few good solid days of research, I’ve reached a few conclusions. First, there are too many common mistakes. If you’re curious, they’re things like making data governance an IT project; not involving the right people; no executive sponsor; too much analysis, too little actual work; too few resources or time; and — not surprisingly, giving the list thus far — data governance initiatives that are too rushed.”
Lawson continues, “Which brings me to my second conclusion: All of the mistakes boil down to one fatal flaw, which is that the business doesn’t like data governance. Primarily, that’s because those involved see it as (pick at least one): a. too complicated; b. requiring too much change (see reason a); and/or c. something IT should be doing, and, hey, aren’t they the ones who brought up this whole governance thing in the first place? Sure things are getting better… But, while we’re waiting for the big hug of acceptance from business, perhaps IT should look at whether data governance could be made easier?”
She continues, “I recently read two articles that suggests it is possible to simplify data governance by focusing less on bureaucracy and more on tactical, simpler steps. The first is ‘Seven Steps to Effective Data Governance,’ published in TDWI’s recent e-publication, ‘What Works in Data Integration.’ It’s written by Vincent Lam, the product marketing director for Information Builders.”
photo credit: karola riegler photography
