Don't Blame "Culture" for Data Governance Failures

July 7, 2017 Dennis D. McDonald

"Culture" -- whatever that means -- is often accused of being the corporate killer of innovation. People kill a data-driven strategy and other reasons yours is failing by Lisa Morgan repeats a similar accusation with respect to the difficulties associated with "making" organizations "data-driven."

My colleagues and I have been digging into what makes changing how data are managed and analyzed so much of a challenge. One thing is clear: attributing such resistance to "culture" is an oversimplification. You can't change how data are managed and used without rolling up your sleeves and intelligently addressing a combination of both tactical and strategic challenges.

An important aspect of our approach, for example, is an initial focus on how data and metadata are used in human-human, human-machine, and machine-machine communication. Also, attempting to impose a data governance solution via a top-down basis for many organizations, especially those with siloed legacy systems and processes, is likely to failure if you (1) over-rely on technology-based solutions, (2) attempt too much at once, and (3) fail to focus on business process change as well as technology.

A well-defined process that is explicitly aligned with the organization's goals is critical. Scroll down for links to articles that address this in more detail, or go here.