The Importance of Data Governance: Cleaning with a Plan

Data governance  (DG) is a crucial facet of data-driven decision making, and the establishment of a data governance solution should be considered a priority for every organization. Despite misconceptions about this undertaking, the management of an organization’s data in terms of quality, ownership, and reliability is far too important to be overlooked.

Recently, I attended an entire afternoon of DG boot camp to further familiarize myself with CCG’s data governance offerings and the importance of DG in the analytics space. This half day of training covered a huge span of information across the entire data life-cycle, and I left with a better image of why organizations find DG overwhelming or avoid it altogether. I can understand why data governance is so often overlooked- I’ll admit, when I first heard the term “data custodian”, I wasn’t exactly sold on the glamour of DG. Data governance can also be incredibly daunting. Ensuring the quality of every piece of an organization’s data can sound like a massive feat, and a Google Images search for “data governance frameworks” returns about 80 competing, overly complicated strategies within just the first few minutes of scrolling.

I found myself later that day mopping my apartment, almost done with the task, with just my kitchen left. As I scooted into a corner, surrounded by clean, wet floors, I realized the folly of my lack of planning. I was confronted by the fact, as I spotted footprints all over my kitchen later that evening, that absence of oversight had rendered my cleaning pointless, as I was quite literally backed into a corner. My mind couldn’t help but wander back to the DG discussion earlier that day.

Ineffective or nonexistent data governance is a bit like mopping without a plan. A tremendous amount of effort, resources, and budget is invested in producing actionable insights from data, but these inputs are wasted when quality data was never there to begin with. Data is an asset capable of providing clarity, direction, and boundless value to an organization, but it is only as usable as it is trustworthy. The standing-up of a data governance program is the conscious step towards ensuring this reliability.

Every organization is different (and every apartment floor plan!), so no one approach to organizing data governance can be discovered. A  data governance framework that guides this process must be flexible enough to allow for the vital input of tribal knowledge and organizational data needs. The CCGDG framework was developed with this necessity in mind. Adaptability is accomplished through a streamlined approach that not only accommodates program engineering unique to an organization, but also prevents DG fatigue typically caused by an overwhelmingly complex framework.

Data governance can be intimidating- I can attest to this. But in no way must this be the case. Organizations can’t afford to neglect or over-think DG. Our streamlined, actionable framework is implemented to create a DG program tailored to your organization, without over complicating, to begin delivering value.

I know the next time I pull out my cleaning supplies, I will be more considerate of my approach in order to maximize use of my time and energy and minimize regret and frustration. Don’t mop yourself into a corner- instead, make a plan.

For additional information on CCG’s Data Governance services, as well as resources to support your ongoing data governance education and maturity speak with a data governance consultant right away, call (813) 968-3238 or contact us at info@ccganalytics.com.

Written by CCG, an organization in Tampa, Florida, that helps companies become more insights-driven, solve complex challenges and accelerate growth through industry-specific data and analytics solutions.