Pick The Low Hanging Fruit of Data Quality and Data Governance

This has always been my favorite terrible consulting / business cliche. I suppose I’m using this forum to solidify it’s status there, but I imagine many of you have been told or said something very similar. Of course this fits into my Lightweight Data Governance theory as well.

Saying that you are going to Pick the Low Hanging Fruit resonates with budget conscious managers and technologists who want to see quick results. It shows that you are unwilling to get bogged down in low value projects, and that you want to make a difference quickly. And, with slim budgets for new tools and consulting services due to the Economy, it’s a good approach for Data Quality and Data Governance today. Now which sagging branches are the most attractive?

Review Existing Processes

Have you reviewed your matching logic for external data entering your systems? What about the rejection rows from your ETL? These activities are essentially free - you can do them while you’re sitting on conference calls or waiting for others to join a meeting. They don’t take long but you may see patterns that help you to recommend great new projects.

Rethink Rollout of Underutilized Tools

I was at a conference recently and saw a demo of a Data Quality report from a vendor we work with. I went back and asked my Sales Rep if we owned the tool, and sure enough we do. It’s part of a larger contract, but no one is using it. Ca-Ching. That’s a free reporting tool from my perspective. How am I going to use it? To rollout Key Quality Indicators (KQIs) of course!

Educate, Communicate, and Build Relationships

Another freebee. A down economy is a great time to reach back out ot the business to understand their issues, and how you can help to resolve them. Also, take the time to formalize your message. Create a "walking deck" if you don’t have one. A walking deck is 3 or 4 slides you keep in your binder that you can present whenever the topic comes up. I use these when I meet someone new to quickly educate them on the Data Governance work at my company. It’s a relationship building opportunity that could lead to a new sponsor or commitment from a new department to join in your efforts.

Please comment with other ideas!