Supporting change with metadata review and rationalization ...

In a well managed organization, operational and administrative systems and processes are bounded by data governance and data reconciliation and control processes.

• Data governance provides the fundamental discipline and structure necessary to define data quality objectives and establish control parameters.
• Data reconciliation and validation processes provide the feedback on execution of data governance mandates; they measure compliance with control parameters and conformance with governance standards.

Data governance and data recon and control are not static conditions, they are ongoing processes. 'Business as usual' changes to mature environments may originate from:

• Operational change control processes that act on requests for modifications that have been initiated by business or technical stakeholders through defined channels (proactive sources)
• Functional discovery of new conditions that evaded change control processes or unanticipated results from data governance processes (reactive sources).

Data cartography is valuable when change exceeds the capacity or complexity of the routine maintenance that results from functional discovery or operational change controls.

Significant changes also bring the opportunity for significant improvement and often present a once-in-a-decade chance to recast business metadata and address underlying business needs.

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When changes exceed the scope of 'business as usual' processes (extra-BAU events), the level of risk inherently increases. Extra-BAU events always include significant changes to business metadata that contribute to risk. Poorly designed business content can severely impact system performance. Poorly executed change can permanently impair business processes and imperil data quality.

Actively managing the business metadata changes that result from extra-BAU events helps buffer stakeholders from the magnitude of those changes. The buffer provided by controlling and rationalizing business metadata during these events can be a key contributor to the success and sustainability of the changes being introduced. More importantly, the constructive business engagement can motivate grassroots acceptance of the changes.

Changes that go beyond business as usual like …

• Business transformations – redesigning core business processes
• Merger integration – bringing new affiliates into consolidated reporting processes
• Major systems implementations – installing new operational or administrative platforms or new Business Intelligence (BI) and analytical delivery layers
• Organizational initiatives – other changes that result in large-scale changes in business metadata

… all present opportunities to take a step back and incorporate the design and planning for your business metadata content that will provide the roadmap that delivers process, reporting, and analytical improvements in the post-change target environment.

den Karte can provide the experience and project expertise to assist clients capture requirements, design a comprehensive business metadata structure, and address other business metadata considerations that mitigate risks associated with business metadata in extra-BAU events.