Objectives and Key Results ( OKR ) are how you measure the effectiveness of the pursuit you have of some organization goal.
Master Data Management ( MDM ) is the umbrella term used to describe the people, processes, and technology that your business uses for the collection and management of master data, including the definition of schemas, business rules, sources, and targets. In our case, we’re most particularly interested in the customer master. What, when, and where.
Master Data Governance ( MDG ) is another umbrella term that is often used to describe the technology, people, and processes that revolve around the handling, onboarding, syndication, and control of the master data itself. This process is also considerate of MDM but is more concerned with the process aspects. Who, when, and how. We think of MDG as a subset of MDM focused principally on coordinated handling and control.
Standardization of the way data is created and the key attributes of the data object are key to ensuring that the master data that you have for customers, in particular, is correct, proper and aligned with your defined business objectives.
Pretectum sees the collection process as necessarily a part of the responsibility of any MDM. MDG’s role in this is ensuring that the right players and participants are involved and that they cannot engage in tasks that are out of alignment with the rules of the system. MDM and MDG don’t have to be separate systems, though sometimes they are. In the context of Pretectum’s CMDM you get MDM and lightweight MDG as a single unified capability.
Rules for governance and management
At the highest level, this means that the customer master makes use of a common vocabulary across all business units in relation to how the customer master is described. This also means that all sources and targets in relation to that data use a common set of descriptors also. This is really only possible if you make use of a unified repository that is leveraged to describe that data. Consider what kind of vocabulary items you need for your business, who defines them, who maintains them and how they are communicated and leveraged. Vocabulary objects could be part of your OKRs.
The second set of characteristics of a standardized approach to data collection and distribution (Data syndication in Pretectum speak) is full data lifecycle management, which basically means the delivery of a degree of understanding on the lineage of data in relation to sources, but also a full auditable history of events related not only to the data itself but also the metadata that constitutes the descriptions in that vocabulary. Consider the key results that you might want to leverage to assess MDM standardization practices in your organization. Proof of sustained and consistent standardization might serve as a great OKR.
The third aspect is one in which you have a clear definition of all the entities involved in the data lifecycle management. This includes, systems and people but also describes their roles. responsibilities and data ownership, stewardship, and curatorship roles. This needs to be formally described in order to assist in decision-making and triage of issues. Assessing consistency in your people, object, and organization definitions is a commonly measured attribute and one that is often considered a good DMO (Data Management Organization) OKR.
Why do we do all this?
The answer quite simply is that if you don’t have these three essential traits in your customer data management approach then your business may be flying blind with heaps of customer master data that are not being appropriately, or cannot even be used, to maximum effect for the business.
These are the ideals though, and at the same time, you need to look to the relative customer master data management maturity that your organization has. Sometimes, the technology is really not going to help and an overbearing level of process management and control will actually impair the effectiveness of your data management efforts.
Your approach, therefore, needs to be tempered by something practical and pragmatic, something that recognizes that data management is often a journey. In the end, your business’ faith and confidence in its customer data, should be influential and informative but at the same time, your business needs to have greater ambition for how and what customer data is collected and how it is leveraged.
Contact us to learn more about how you can consider Pretectum’s C-MDM to elevate your business OKR’s around MDM and MDG.