DataDelta Master Data Management (MDM) Workshop

Session 10:
MDM Project Execution

Aaron Zornes Ed Allburn

Chief Research Officer President & CEO
The CDI-MDM Institute DataDelta, Inc.
aaron.zornes@tcdii.com allburn@datadelta.com

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Project Execution
1. Applying Industry Best Practices

2. Real-world strategies & tactics

3. Success requires maintaining project focus

4. Success requires maintaining project team cohesion

5. Success Criteria - getting credit for your success

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Applying Industry Best Practices

• Compile
p & Review Industry
y Best Practices

• Use vendors & SIs for their best practice templates

• Determine which best practices are realistic for your environment

• Document & get key people to signoff on best practices you will use

• MDM is new & evolving, and so are “best practices”

• Allow flexibility for your best practices to also evolve

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Real-world strategies & tactics

• Narrow p
project
j scope
p & “chunking”
g are keys
y to success

• Clear, measurable project objectives are keys to defining success

• Invest heavily & early in

– Data Governance
– Data Profiling & Data Quality

• Ensure staff compensation & performance measures are aligned with

new roles & responsibilities (don’t
(don t just hand out new job titles)

• Executive recognition that “superhero” tactics are not viable for

enterprise MDM projects
– Impossible for people to accomplish alone, no matter how dedicated
– True collaboration, teamwork and executive support (priority balancing) are
fundamental requirements for success

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Maintaining Project Focus

• Project
j execution will naturally
y uncover many
y more opportunities
pp

• Early success will encourage more demands from executive sponsor

• Early success will encourage more demands from other executives

• Project is not “done”

done until measurable results are documented
– Follow-through to get credit where credit is due BEFORE new projects

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Maintaining Project Team Cohesion

• Executive sponsors
p change/leave
g

• New CDI-MDM market = high talent demand = high talent turnover

• Vendors & SIs all need more talent, and are happy to take yours
– “Golden Handcuffs” performance-based incentives
– P
Personal/corporate
l/ t recognition
iti (including
(i l di conference
f participation)
ti i ti )
– Career tracks
– Contractual non-compete/”hands-off my people”

• Keep the “brain trust”, especially when using outsource/offshore

– Vendors & SIs also face talent turnover issues
– Ensure the safety & preservation of strategic vision

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Success Criteria
• It’s not a success until executive team recognizes it as such

• Objective success evaluation requires clear, objective and measurable

success criteria

• Best success criteria ties back to key business metrics, financials and
pain points of original business case

• Third-party recognition of project success also is a major help (such as

at major industry conferences, vendor & SI “success stories”, etc).

• Formal recognition of success is VITAL for winning more funding for

next project phases

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Session End

Questions & Answers

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