Data Governance Institute resources have been practicing Data Governance for many years. Here are descriptions of engagements they've done through companies other than the Data Governance Institute.
Major U.S. Brewery
This U.S. brewery was simultaneously addressing three significant initiatives: an SAP implementation, redefining IT efforts using the COBIT framework, and preparing for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.
The company asked an international systems integrator to recommend best practices. "Our" Data Governance architect proposed a Data Governance structure; roles and responsibilities for data ownership, collection, and maintenance; and stewardship processes in support of both compliance and operational goals.
Analysis showed that the organization's data workers were already strongly invested in detecting data quality issues as close to the point of data generation/collection as possible. They were committed to preventing data pollution and enforcing standards for critical master data elements. What was lacking, in some instances, was the vocabulary to describe individuals' efforts in the language of risk and controls. Our resource worked with program leadership to interview staff that had reported data-related issues/inefficiencies, identified the good practices these defacto stewards had been insisting upon, and documented them so they could be folded into the formal Data Governance program.
Large Theme Park and Resort
This large theme park in Central Florida asked a systems integrator that regularly assisted them with technical projects to help manage data-related risk associated with a $300 million customer relationship initiative. Our consultant was part of a team of three Data Governance experts who collaboratively recommended and helped implement a Data Governance program.
The team mentored program leaders, defined stewardship roles, and introduced issue framing, issue resolution, cross-functional communication, and metadata management processes.
Our consultant was asked back to jumpstart their program by uncovering and analyzing Master Data business rules and their impact on complicated data flows. As a result, the organization was -- within just a few weeks -- able to make design decisions that had been on hold for several years because the organization could not assess the impact of making a change.
Sporting Events
Working with data to be used in marketing, event advertising, demographic analysis, sponsorship, and projected attendance for sporting events is especially challenging. Why? In many cases, these events are designed and logistics are handled by committee and administered by teams consisting of both volunteers and independent contractors operating without shared information infrastructures or even file-sharing standards.
In the world of professional rodeo, it gets even more complicated: many of these data stakeholders have very limited IT capabilities, and remote locations mean even some IT-savvy data stakeholders will not have access to the data, content, and media files they expect to provide input to. Even the process of acquiring attendee data can be a challenge, as typically the only contact occurs during the ticket purchase at the often remote location of the event.
These conditions mean it is not feasible to adopt a "corporate-style" Data Governance model, where a cross-functional team of data stakeholders comes together to set standards, prioritize issues, and resolve those issues. Rather, the committee and contractors involved in an event look to a trusted resource to both manage and govern the information they need.
Our resource, in working with a variety of committees over the past ten years, has introduced governance principles and mentored data stakeholders while managing the flow of information in a standardized fashion.
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