Pricey Laura: What Function Ought to Management Play in Information Governance?

Welcome to the Pricey Laura weblog sequence! As I’ve been working to problem the established order on Information Governance – I get numerous questions on the way it will “actually” work. I’ll be sharing these questions and solutions through this DATAVERSITY® sequence. In 2019, I wrote the ebook “Disrupting Information Governance” as a result of I firmly consider that poor Information Governance packages are getting in the best way of information packages being as profitable as potential.

Learn the latest weblog posts on this sequence right here and right here.

“Pricey Laura,

We’re a multinational firm that’s been round for over 100 years. By way of what we do, the processes haven’t modified a lot in that point, however lots has modified about how we handle the information and analytics. For a very long time, we have been caught within the ’90s and have labored diligently over the previous few years to modernize our information and analytics work, transitioning to the cloud, amongst different large efforts. We like command-and-control constructs right here, so we have been engaged on Information Governance to handle some points with information definitions and ontologies however have failed to achieve traction. Disruption, on a small scale, appears to be warranted. I’ve a number of questions, however I’ll begin with this one: How does the management change in a disrupted Information Governance mannequin?  

Curious in Connecticut”

Hey, Curious,

Thanks for reaching out. I do know the sensation; I typically really feel like I’m caught within the ’90s too. The style, the music, the social media-free existence all will get me nostalgic, however I digress.  

I applaud weighing the worth of disruption. As my readers know, I like to blow stuff up, however the reality is, “If it ain’t broke, don’t repair it.” It appears like some stuff is damaged, so let’s begin with management. I additionally like to begin with individuals as a result of that’s the place the work is, and I do assume that management has a much bigger function to play in a modernized model of Information Governance. 

For a very long time, we let our leaders off the hook. We requested for an “govt sponsor” within the title alone.  Typically we might ask them to take part in conferences, however their publicity to the delicate underbelly of Information Governance was informal at finest.  Typically, these sponsors when pressed would roll over and never defend the work, and truthfully, it in all probability wasn’t their fault. We didn’t do a great job of serving to them perceive their function. And that’s the job – to assist the chief sponsor higher perceive their function with Information Governance.  

For so long as there are organizations, there might be discussions concerning the top-down/bottom-up strategy (and if the information groups ought to report back to enterprise or IT, however that’s a distinct publish). It isn’t an both/or proposition. The reply is, you have to do each. But it surely’s not simply having a top-down govt sponsor, it’s about altering your sponsor’s relationship with Information Governance, and that begins with a great old style RACI. Sure, the windfall of all administration consultants: the “accountable, accountable, consulted, and knowledgeable” (RACI) mannequin for Information Governance reads one thing like an economics textbook from 1970. Boring. However someplace buried in these letters is an enormous shift: We’re going to make our govt sponsor accountable for figuring out the success standards for Information Governance and understanding the inherent threat and reward of accelerating utilization of the information. I usually do that with what I name an “Inception Board.” A staff of executives might be accountable for framing Information Governance by way of its scope, finances, success metrics, and timeline. As soon as they’re finished, don’t hold that board working for perpetuity. Hand the perform off to an working board, however the govt sponsor ought to at all times be round to make sure that issues get finished in alignment with how they have been outlined. The Information Governance chief is accountable to make sure that the chief sponsor is well-informed and working as a sponsor in additional than the title alone.  

The primary takeaway is, your govt management should play a extra lively function in Information Governance. They need to aid you decide the scope for the perform, assist it with a finances, and assist decide the success metrics so you may present – with information – how successfully you’re working.  

For the document, I miss the ‘90s.

Laura

Do you’ve gotten a query about Information Governance you’d like me to reply? E-mail me at Laura at viagurus dot com.