Data Architecture
Manage valuable data assets
Non-existent or initial approaches to data can cause:
- Low data quality, which can lead to inefficient operations.
- Increased risk of data loss or data breaches.
- Low data trust throughout the organization, which can lead to business decisions being made based on feeling rather than empirical data.
- Increased instances of rogue data being used.
Member Testimonials
After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this blueprint and what our clients have to say.
Client
Experience
Impact
$ Saved
Days Saved
Coorstek, Inc.
Guided Implementation
10/10
$38,200
23
Workshop: Data Architecture
Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
Our Data Architecture Research is designed to enable you to make yourself World Class. We do this by:
- Breaking down Data Architecture into digestible steps
- Providing actionable instructions to complete each step
- Providing all the tools and templates you need
We recommend that you do all the modules to improve your Data Architecture processes.
Module 1: Perform a Current State Assessment
The Purpose
- Establish the organization’s approach to data and its perceived data maturity level.
- Identify the business process that will be used in the data audit.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Issue identification.
- Prepared for the data audit, validating the scope, stakeholders, and participants prior to implementation.
Activities
Outputs
Determine the organization’s data value and risk.
- Data Value/Risk Assessment
Establish maturity level.
- Maturity Assessment
Determine what data sources contribute to a particular business process.
Review and assess the IT reports.
Identify data audit participants.
Included Resources
Data Asset Management Assessment Tool
Data Audit Interview Schedule
IT Data Audit Report Guidance
Perform a Current State Assessment
Module 2: Perform the Data Audit
The Purpose
- Establish a data audit framework.
- Understand how to effectively communicate with audit participants to obtain valuable information.
- Ensure internal policies are implemented to help minimize compliance issues.
- Identify where there are gaps in your data.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Focus your efforts on fixing major gaps in your organization’s data.
- Properly identify key data stakeholders and establish data ownership and responsibility.
Activities
Outputs
Create a data audit interview guide.
- Customized interview guide
Create a data source inventory.
- Complete Data Source Inventory
Conduct data audit interviews.
- Completed interviews
Identify gaps in the data and perform a root cause analysis.
- Identification of problem areas
Included Resources
Data Audit Stakeholder Interview Guide
Data Source Inventory Tool
Perform the Data Audit
Module 3: Develop Data Architecture
The Purpose
- Set architectural principles for the target architecture.
- Select new building blocks for your target architecture.
- Prioritize the building blocks.
- Reconcile the new building blocks and their ability to solve data issues.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Selected building blocks to solve the issues uncovered in the audit.
- Reconcile the solution against the problems uncovered in the audit.
- Refined the target architecture.
Activities
Outputs
Develop a target architecture.
- Determined architectural building blocks
Reconcile architecture.
- Updated architecture
Included Resources
Data Architecture Initiative Planning Tool
Data Architecture Guiding Principles
Data Architecture Issue Reconciliation
Data Archiving Policy
Data Cleansing and Quality Policy
Data Entry Policy
Data Integration and Virtualization Policy
Data Protection Policy
Data Provenance Policy
Data Security Policy Template
Data Steward
User Authorization, Identification, & Authentication Policy
Data Governance Steering Committee Charter Template
Enterprise Data Architect
Develop Data Architecture
Module 4: Create a Data Architecture Implementation Plan
The Purpose
- Define dependencies among building blocks.
- Group building blocks into initiatives.
- Draft a high level plan to implement the initiatives, taking cost/value and dependencies into consideration.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Establish initiatives, taking cost and value into consideration.
- Tackle the initiatives that have been identified with a realistic and manageable approach.
- Determine if the target state is going to meet the data asset management goals and objectives.
Activities
Outputs
Plan initiatives.
- Initiative plan
Develop a strategic roadmap.
Included Resources
Initiative Definition
Plan Assessment Tool
Create a Data Architecture Implementation Plan
Module 5: Establish Metrics for Success and Communicate the Plan
The Purpose
- Set initiative benchmarks to track success.
- Determine what initiatives need to be communicated and to whom.
- Have a plan to communicate initiatives to the organization.
- Communicate the results of the data audit, along with the short and long term plans, to the organization.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Avoid creating a document that is never used.
- Workshop summary.
- Defined metric and communication goals.
Activities
Outputs
Establish metrics.
- Metric tracking
Create a communication plan.
- Completed communication plan
Included Resources
Metric Tracking Template
Communication Planning Template
Establish Metrics for Success and Communicate the Plan
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