I have long been an advocate of trying to help companies understand and communicate the business value behind data governance and data quality. I truly believe organizations that fully grasp the business benefit of their data quality initiatives make better investment decisions and are far more successful selling, positioning, implementing, and scaling their programs across the enterprise.
With that said, it’s amazing how many data quality technology projects are funded without a solid business case. Seems there’s a generally accepted practice of not developing a business case at the technology layer. I realize there are a number of reasonable, and not so reasonable, explanations for this, but a few stand out in my mind as to why in-depth business cases may not be the norm:
• Project-based focus limits the need to sell others outside of IT,
• Little cross-functional participation required,
• Company assumption that technology alone will fix the problem,
• Business case built around the automation of data management activities, not business benefit of the data itself.
On the other hand, data governance programs have polar opposite characteristics that subsequently raise the bar for business case requirements:
• Enterprise-based across business and IT,
• Significant cross-functional participation required,
• People, process, policy, technology, and business alignment collectively solve the problem,
• Business case built primarily around financial, operational, and risk implications to the company.
When we compare the two, we better understand why companies around the world are struggling to demonstrate a business case for data governance. In essence, a business case for data governance is far more complex to develop and requires a different approach, focus, role, and skill set than traditional IT projects.
This poses a unique set of challenges to IT professionals who are often tasked with the job of building a business case for data governance. IT folks are not always called upon for creating cross-functional business cases, and the demands of data governance frequently fall outside the realm of their experience and skills. Finally, it’s common to see traditional IT project-based methodologies applied to data governance initiatives when in fact they are very different.
The result rings clear when I hear so many companies talk about failed data governance initiatives and the challenges in securing executive support. If one has a compelling business case, then executive and organizational support almost always follows. It also carries over to the sustainability and growth of the program.
A business case is both fundamental and mission-critical to data governance. With that in mind, we leave you with two thoughts. One is to consider carving out the time in your plan to conduct a thorough, mid-to-high level business case. The other is to consider partnering with outside organizations that have completed this type of work in the past. Both are worthy investments that will contribute significantly to the success of your program.
“The success of your data governance program is proportional to the strength of your business case and ability to communicate it!”
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