|
Presented by Michael Scofield
Time: Registration/Refreshments - 8:30-9:00 a.m.
Presentation -
9:00-11:00 a.m.
Announcements
- 11:00-11:30 a.m.
Location: Menlo
WorldWide - Freemont Conference Room
Many IT functions are being outsourced or off-shored, often
with delayed negative consequence to the enterprise. Why do executives make such
an irrational decision?
Often because they dont understand the value of data, and
the role of data management.
The DM community cannot adopt a if we build the data model,
they will come attitude.
The new data management must be entrepreneurial and
proactive. Many IT-ers
are naturally introverts, and are not comfortable playing a more
relationship-intensive role with various touch-points around the
enterprise organization chart.
Yet they must.
They must find innovative ways to solve problems, bring
value, and even toot their own horn in the enterprise.
This lecture explores of a number of inter-related areas
where we may make data management more vital, relevant, responsive,
and beneficial to the enterprise, its business functions, its goals,
and its values.
1. The 5-level model of
IT--where data fits in to all this.
We will first review a 5-level model of the IT
environment--the business, the data, the applications which manage
the original data, the operating systems, and the hardware
infrastructure. As the
lower two parts of the model become more complex, the IT experts who
work at those levels risk becoming out-of-touch with the
business.
2. Temperaments and personality
types in IT (using that model)
In general, IT people tend to be introverts. Many would rather not come
out of their cubicle.
Just leave me alone and let me write great code! This natural tendency must
be overcome if IT folk are going to engage with the business, its
people, and be in touch with what is happening.
3. Data architecture and
selecting business application software--avoiding catastrophe.
Every mature enterprise has a logical data architecture,
whether or not there are models to describe it. The data architecture could
be fragmented. And the
architecture tends to morph towards greater complexity as a result
of a variety of external forces. When executives are courted
by ERP or application software vendors, the legacy logical data
architecture is often ignored until well into the
conversion/installation project when the analysts discover that you
cant hammer a square peg into a round hole. We will examine how to
educate executives on data architecture and its importance in this
decision.
4. Making data quality efforts
relevant to the enterprise
Data and information are a vital asset to any complex
bureaucracy. But it is
often misunderstood. We
will quickly review techniques for inventory and profile of data
which can give visibility to the asset, and undiscovered business
phenomena which the data describes. What you discover in the data
can make DM a hero to the business.
5. Making the DW culturally
relevant to the enterprise
Data warehouse projects fail for a variety of reasons. But one is that though the
tool is spiffy, the data (particularly the dimensions) dont look
like the way executives talk and think. There is culture up there
which is often distant from how the data is stored. We shall look at some ways
to mitigate this gap in language, terminology, and culture.
6. Moving from data to
information to benefit the enterprise
Part of business intelligence and decision support is to make
information visible from a mass of source data. Some innovative graphic
techniques will help.
7. Making data bigots
politically relevant to the enterprise
Visiting again the introverted tendencies of many IT folk, we
shall examine behaviors which will put the DM role at risk of being
outsourced--a fundamentally irrational act considering the intimate
connection between data management and the success of the business
and executive decision-making.
Michael
Scofield is a popular
speaker and consultant in data quality and data management. He is an Assistant Professor
in Health Information Management at Loma Linda University. He has held numerous posts
in data architecture, data quality, and data management. His energetic delivery,
laced with generous humor and vivid graphical examples, keep
audiences engaged and learning.
His articles on
data architecture and data quality techniques have been published in
Information Week, IBI System Journal, Data Management Review, the Cutter
IT Journal, and the
Database Newsletter. His speaking engagements
include DAMA-International conferences, Meta-data Conferences in
London and the U.S., over 12 DAMA chapters, 4 Oracle User groups,
DB2 user groups, and various CASE user group conferences. He also writes humor,
published in the Los Angeles Times and other journals.
|
