A best practice master data management approach seeks to maximize business value and minimize risks and uncertainty. An understanding of people, processes and technology, are considered “best practices” for a master data management approach.
Here are seven best practices for master data management:- Define mission, objectives and business value for project in order to justify budget, motivate the organization, provide focus and measure progress.
- Agree on an up front organizational governance model before implementing any new IT solutions. This will make ongoing issues easier to resolve and provide clear direction for business analysts configuring new validation and taxonomy solutions.
- Business “users” (stewards) must take full ownership of a master data project in conjunction with the IT group for technology support.
- Organizational change and knowledge transfer are the biggest master data challenges. A change management team, with a well thought out plan suitable for the client culture is critical. This team provides the leadership and fosters communication to resolve issues throughout the organization.
- The recommended IT strategy will require use of appropriate real-time governance and data quality tools. These tools must be capable of data cleansing, validation, integration, and enrichment suitable for the client.
- Business user workshops and easy to understand graphical modeling tools is strongly advised to improve communication during the analysis phase of a MDM project.
- The recommended IT landscape must consider which software applications best support corporate goals in a cost effective manner. The pros and cons of “standardized” versus ”best of breed” software and IT resource skills and training requirements must be correctly weighed. Trends in hardware/network technology and the impact on sizing, performance, backup and security should all be considered when assessing MDM viability.
Learn the full story by downloading our whitepaper Master Data Management Best Practices and Organizational Considerations.
