Digital BrainFest 2013 World Café – BI & Big Data Session

Thanks again to all the participants in the BI and Big Data World Café session. Overall we had

some great and lively discussion on BI success criteria and approaches for implementing data

governance in organizations.

Successful BI project delivery and Data Governance continue to be hot topics for organizations in

striking the right balance of controls, speed of delivery, and value provided. Great BI capabilities

can quickly dwindle if the right level of governance and data quality are not present going

forward. Additionally, there is great risk in the usage of the data when assuming the quality

of the data is the same as when the BI solution was initially tested and delivered. Strong data

governance and data quality monitoring can help ensure that users are aware and factor the

quality of the data into the decisions being made.

Please find the consolidated notes

from the session on the next page

and please feel free to contact us with

any follow up questions or discussion.

Overview:

1

• Demystificationoftheterms–soeveryoneunderstandswhat’sgoingonandhow.Businessandtechnicalusersneedtoseeeye-to-eyeontermsandconcepts

• Dataqualityiscriticaltoadoptionandsuccess• Cleardefinitionofbusinesschallengeorproblem

beingsolved• Identifybusinesschampionstopartnerwithandobtain

organizationalbuyinandgovernance• Establishdatalifecyclepoliciesanddatagovernance• Metadatarequiresongoingcareandfeeding• Usetherighttoolsbyunderstandingtheneedand

requirements• Clearscopeanddefinitionofendstate• Solidarchitectureanddesignwithguidingprinciples

andstandards• Relevancycheckpoints• Regularfeedbackfromenduserondatacaptureofdatausageas

partoftheoriginalplanincludinganiterativeapproach• Identificationofkeymetrics(KPI’s)andwhatthey’llbeused

forandwhyweneedit• Timelinessofdataiscriticaltothebusiness• Accuracyandcompleteness(complianceanddataintegrity)• Abilitytominedataandnotjustprovideflashydashboards• Understandbusinessrulesthatneedtobeappliedto

thedata

• Provideexamplesofwhydataneedscleansingandstandardizationandimpactsofpoorqualityindecisionmaking

• Providearelevantcasestudy

• Obtainexecutivebuyin

• Procuresomeonewhoisverypassionateaboutittodrivetheprojectandkeeptheballrolling

• Identifyaneventordeficiencycausedbydata

• Documentvalueofcentralizationofcreationandgovernanceofdata

• Providestrongevidenceofdatadefects

• Clearlydefinetheroleofadatasteward

• Initiatedatacontrols,particularlyaroundkeydata

• Promoteawareness(e.g.anecdotes)

• Promotethevalueofgooddata

• Engageendusers/SMEondefiningdatacontrols

• Definedataqualitystandards

• Establishdataownersforcriticaldata

• Ensureaccountabilityfromthetopandallthewaydown

• ImplementQualityAssurance

• Definestandardsanduniformdefinitions

• Establishanowner&DataArchitect

• Performdecisionmakingacrossbusinessunits

• Ensure0dataloss

• Implementdatagovernancetoincludepolicies,standards,andmaintenance

• IdentifyaccountabilityandownershipempoweredbyClevel

• Determinetherightlocationandhomewithinorganizationevenifitisshared

• Providemetricsanddataaroundgovernanceanddataquality

• Establishlevelofcontrols(clearownership,mandate,accountability)

• Tiedatagovernancetorevenue/expensedrivers

• ShowvalueofITinvestment

Question 1 – What factors play the biggest role in determining business intelligence success?

Question 2 - Given the importance of data quality in decision making and insight, what is the best way to initiate and promote Data Governance and data controls within an organization?

What roles should the business play in Business Intelligence initiatives versus what roles should IT perform?

What level of governance and controls needs to be present to demonstrate clear business value and why?

2

Business role:

• Driveandowninitiatives• Establishthepurpose• Providecontext,

requirementsandcustomer/stakeholderneeds

• Clarifytheimportanceandroleofdataindecisionmaking

• PerformUAT• Owndatagovernance• Establishbusinesscase

andobtainfunding• Promoteandadvocate

useradoption

IT Role:

• Educatebusinessondifferentsolutionsandoptions

• Facilitatetherequirementsandprojectdelivery

• Establisharchitectureanddesignprinciples/guidelines/standards

• Solutiondelivery• Facilitatetesting–unit,

system,andintegration• Supporttheplatform

ensuringscalabilityandperformance

• Supportdatagovernanceprocess

• Ensuredataandsolutionaresecure

Business and IT Together:

• Performtoolselection• Trainendusers• Manageproject• Understanddata