Overall Usage Guide
Purpose of this work-tool-
This work-tool is used to provide you a structure, guidelines and examples of the text, to present a Data Quality Initiation Proposal. Data Quality initiation phase is relatively as elongated one, as you typically do a comprehensive data quality assessment, root-cause analysis and possible solution-set finding, during this initiation phase, so that you have a clarity on how much its going to take to fix DQ gaps.
When this work-tool is used?
After initial study on the scope of Data Quality program has been done and size of data quality issues or opportunities(all data quality program are not re-active), is visible, one needs to submit the DQ initiation proposal to the stakeholders for resources and funding. This proposal can be submitted by the enterprise data steward, CIO, head of quality or a business owner.
Who uses this work-tool?
Ideally a data steward should be the owner of this document. The document can be filled-up in combination by business system analyst and IT specialist, Business Process specialist and other members of DQ initiation phase core team.
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Help Guide for Data Quality Program Initiation Phase Proposal
Executive Summary
- Back-Ground: Provide the back-ground on what has triggered the need for a data quality program. The trigger could involve data warehouse initiatives, major data Quality issue(s), Data Migration initiative, Business Process Re-engineering initiative or a need to audit comment or a regulatory compliance issue
- The Scope of Data Quality Program: Provide high level scope of proposed Data Quality Program. One should also state the key Gaps and DQ objectives around the Data Quality Program
- The Scope in the Initiation Phase: This document is the initiation proposal, and not the final DQ program. List the initiation phase activities. Also, list out the high level issues and DQ objectives, which will be the initiation phase
- Resource and Funding Proposal: State on the resource and funding requirements with this proposal
- Deliverables of Initiation Phase: This will state on the deliverables out of the initiation phase.
- Time-Line: State the timelines within which the Data Quality program initiation will be completed
- Proposed Next Steps
- Assumptions: This will state high level 4-5 key assumptions behind the proposal, funding requirements and deliverables.
Back-Ground
Unlike a typical business process or systems initiative, Data Quality Program, mostly does not have ‘Business-Critical’ or ‘revenue-cost linked’ need. There are many reasons on why data quality program can be initiated. Some of these reasons are data quality issues, regulatory compliance, response to an audit observation, system integration, data warehouse initiative etc..
The reason and the trigger of the initiation proposal to a certain extent, shapes the scope for the whole program. However, it may not totally drive the scope. The reason is that it may not be possible to split the DQ program, just to cater to a specific need. In that case, it will not be called a data quality program.
For example- You may have a data quality issue with a general ledger due to lack of controls on Chart of Account set-up and its mapping with the source/feeding systems. As you start you data quality program on GL data, your scope will be a logical grouping of looking at all controls and data assessment in GL system, any mapping interface and the way the financial accounting related data is managed in the feeding systems. This will naturally have an ‘end-to-end’ view with an objective of one time cleaning of the processes, controls and data.
On the other hand, if you just want to understand the GL chart of accounts and mappings, which are not correct and which systems they are coming from- It will be more of a ‘production system issue fix’
TIP- Don’t create too narrow a scope for a data quality program.
Back-Ground Section will contain
- The reasons, which triggered the data quality program initiation?
- When did it happen?
- What is the level of urgency under which you are bringing in this initiation proposal?
Another Area one needs to cover is the activities, which you did before coming out with this initiation proposal and the conclusions thereto. These activities may include the review of:
- Customer complaints
- Audit comments
- Production issue
- High-Level System architecture
Scope of Data Quality Program
This section provides the scope of the Data Quality Program, that you see at this point of initiation. This does state the scope of activities which you will do in the initiation phase, but what you see this whole DQ program to achieve in terms of addressing DQ gaps and longer-term DQ objectives. This scope will surely undergo detailing and revision, once you complete the initiation phase and come out with final DQ program proposal.
The scope of DQ program as articulated now, will need to be balanced between playing safe and over-optimism. Data Quality programs, generally have more unknowns than a typical OLTP system. Therefore, one needs to focus on the objectives instead of detailed deliverables.
One needs to focus on ‘what?’ instead of ‘how?’. For example-
- Recommended Scope- Address DQ issues related to mapping of business systems and GL system.
- Not recommended scope- Address DQ issues related to mapping of business systems and GL systems, by creating a universal mapping interface, which will be able to connect any Business systems and GL system, via a standardized set of business rules.
Scope of the Initiation Phase
This section provides the details of the activities, which you plan to do within the initiation phase. As mentioned before the DQ program has more unknowns compared to a typical OLTP system. The idea of the initiation phase, is to come out with a project proposal which has high confidence statements on time, effort and deliverables. This level of confidence can be reached depending upon the kind of DQ program scope. Therefore the effort and activities in the initiation phase may vary.
Initiation Phase Activities
The initiation phase may include the following shades
Some examples of the activities you may do in initiation phase
High-Level
- Interviews with managers, processors and technology staff
- Segregating the data as per logical groupings.
- Competition quality standards assessment.
- Assessing organization readiness.
- Production issues review
- Customer complaints
Detailed
- Running ad-hoc queries on the database.
- Application of Data Profiling tools
- Reviewing the database design in the system
- Reviewing the programming logic
- Reviewing the front-end screens
- Review Systems Documentation
- Reviewing business process documents
- Reviewing Enterprise reports. Etc...
Finally, This section will have a scope statement, followed by the tabular list of activities to be done along with the description. Keep the description as elaborate as possible.
Initiation Phase Coverage Scope
This part provides the following aspects of coverage
- Data- Groups
- Functions
- Business Processes
- Geographic Locations
- Systems and Data-bases
Resource and Funding Estimation for Initiation Phase
This section will contain the list of activities, resource and monies estimates. One should try to impose upon the stakeholders that monies listed out here should be seen as an overall bucket as the actual spending could shift across the activities.
The resources here are not only the people, belonging to your organization, but also from the vendors who have set-up yours systems and processes.
Timelines and Responsibilities
This section will provide the medium level of detail on all the activities, the start and end-date, the person who owns and stakeholders. Refer Data Quality Program Work-break-down structure
One needs to be careful in ensuring that one gets high quality resources for the data quality program. A data quality program is a high collaborative effort and deals with the issues which might have been ignored and missed out at the time of implementation of a system or business process. Therefore one needs sharp eyes to identify and address these missed-out areas. (You may like to refer DQ Assurance Method-level tracking and DQ object level tracking- for projects, on what you can do to pro-actively address the DQ needs for an initiative.
TIP- Even for a large organization, if the DQ program initiation phase is more than 60 days, one needs to question it. This may point to following reasons:
- The DQ initiation phase is going into a level of detail, which ideally should be done after the complete program has been sponsored.
- The DQ program linked to the DQ initiation phase has too large a scope. Please remember that, it is risky to have an enterprise wide one-single DQ program to address all DQ issues. Typically DQ programs are split into logical chunks, so that you can have quick-hits.
DQ program initiation phase organization
Keep a simple organization structure, which can include:
- Initiation phase business owner
- Initiation phase IT owner
- Initiation phase manager
- Initiation phase core team
- Initiation phase stakeholders.
In the initiation phase, we will generally not have the entities, which are associated with large programs like:
- Steering committee
- Program council
- Project office etc..
The idea is not to make a complex organization structure for the DQ initiation phase
Communication Framework
Again, keep it simple and don’t keep it too rigid. One can have various ways for communication framework, like:
- Periodic status reports.
- A common reference site, where people can go a get all the material related to that project.
- Periodic conference calls..
Assumptions
this part will give the assumptions, which are driving your estimates around the initiation phase and all the content within this proposal. Some examples of assumptions are:
- System documentation is available and up-to date.
- Vendor resources are available.
- No changes are planned in the given set of systems and processes over next X months.
Risks and Mitigation
List of risks, which could impact effort, monies, time and scope estimates, and the mitigation strategies. examples are:
- System documentation not up-to date and knowledge experts have left the organization:
- Vendor staff originally associated with the system, has been deployed on some other initiative
- Agree for on need-basis questioning support with the Vendor.
Next Steps
This section provides the list of next steps and help items. Following are the examples of the next steps:
- Stakeholder Sign-off and sponsorship for the initiation proposal..
- Formation of DQ program core team
APPENDIX
You can have following items in the appendix
- List of the people Interviewed before the initiation phase.
- Reference Documentation.
- List of systems under scope of initiation phase.
- List of interfaces with in scope of initiation phase.
- List of processes under scope of initiation phase.
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