Data Governance at Scale

Data Governance Computer-Based Training Suite
(Available Fall 2020)

Active, engaged data governance requires an educated staff. DataWise offers computer-based Data Governance courses to convey the skills and techniques needed to motivate staff and help them to succeed.

DataWise is the exclusive channel for “Data Governance at Scale (DGS),” a suite of courses designed for large or distributed organizations which need to quickly educate staff engaged in data management and governance activities.

The DGS education suite consists of three computer-based training courses.

  • Data Awareness – (Introduction) – aimed at imparting practical principles of data literacy to everyone in the organization who uses a computer
  • Data Stewards – (Intermediate) – aimed at business data experts entrusted with representing the data interests of a business line. Imparts essential knowledge – concepts, data analysis skills, methods and techniques – for successful data governance participation
  • Domain Stewards – (Advanced) – aimed at business leaders and recognized subject matter experts, who are designated accountable for making decisions over a data domain (data owners). Imparts understanding of responsibilities, policies, methods, tips and techniques.

Accelerates Governance Capabilities

Large organizations often struggle to communicate the importance of managing data well to the broad range of individuals who define, produce, and use data. Staff members from every business line depend on data for their decisions and operations, yet it is challenging to impart key principles and adoption of practices that make the organization’s data consistent and better for everyone. This is especially true for organizations that have many business lines, multiple locations or operate in more than one country.

The Data Governance at Scale training suite is a cost-effective solution designed to rapidly educate large numbers of staff in an accessible, time-compressed format.  In their original form, the courses were developed to educate over 20,000 state government employees. 

Refined based on feedback and enhanced to be deployed for any industry, offering the DGS training suite is the quickest way for staff to:

  • Gain a common understanding and terminology which improves the effectiveness of inter-organization communications
  • Adopt a shared vision and language about the principles and practices to improve data assets
  • Participate actively in the many efforts that focus on data, such as defining data, managing metadata, reporting, and partnering with IT to build systems and repositories
  • Improve data quality through data working groups, analyzing the condition of data, setting quality targets, and creating quality rules
  • Undertake functional responsibilities for two key organizational roles:
    • Data Stewards – business and technical representatives whose knowledge is needed for data decisions and improvement efforts
    • Domain Stewards– Business sponsors and decision-makers of enterprise data who need to grant access, decide on modifications, sponsor data working groups, create policies, and protect privacy.

 

This course suite overall targets rapid cultural change through intensive education. Offering the Data Governance at Scale suite positively impacts launching and expanding data governance, achieving greater participation, and sustaining governance over time.

Data Awareness - Introduction

This course is designed for every employee whose work involves data, from the summer intern entering data, to business staff producing or using data for decision-making, to analytics teams aggregating and analyzing data for business insights, and for managers of operational data stores and repositories. It is also recommended that all new employees take this course.

Course duration:  20 minutes

This communicates key principles and practices suitable for any employee who uses a computer in their work, using examples that everyone can understand.  Course highlights include:

  • Everyone has a natural role to ensure good data
  • Quality begins at your fingertips
  • If it’s broken, you can help fix it
  • Correct data entry is important
  • How to avoid creating duplicates
  • Participation in a data working group
  • Elevating data issues to a manager.

Data Stewards - Intermediate

When an organization is establishing data governance – collaborative decision-making about shared data – or seeking to broaden participation, an obstacle frequently encountered is that business staff who know their data well are reluctant to participate, because they are unfamiliar with the responsibilities and how to execute governance tasks. 

This information-packed course is designed to rapidly educate data stewards in concepts, analysis and specific activity skills, preparing them to assume this important role. Designed for both business and technical data stewards, it leads to clear communication and a shared understanding of roles, and for their managers, a sound rationale for supporting and approving time spent in governance activities.

Course duration:  Three 40-minute modules

This course addresses the core skills that a data steward needs to know to have confidence and enthusiasm working in their role.  It empowers the individual to gain practical knowledge and specific skills and helps the organization by engendering enthusiasm and encouraging participation.  Course highlights include:

  • How knowledge about data empowers people
  • How to develop shared business terms for a business glossary
  • How to define, gather, and use metadata
  • How to create cogent business data requirements
  • How to read a data model – the steward’s role in data design
  • The steward’s role in development projects – partnering with IT
  • How to form and lead a data working group
  • How to participate in and manage data quality efforts.

Course material files include handouts and templates that are immediately useful in a data steward’s work, both within their business unit and in governance group tasks.  An organization may also enhance the value of this course by supplementing with its own policies, processes, and standards, a highly beneficial channel to promote adoption across the organization.

Domain Stewards - Advanced

Many organizations experience challenges in communicating responsibilities and developing consistent staff performance in the roles of domain leaders, business sponsors of shared data stores, and data owners.  This course empowers students to confidently execute their responsibilities in these roles, including working with technical staff to manage data stores.

"Doesn't IT handle all this?"

IT has custody of the data...

...but the data belongs to the business.

IT designs and architects the data...

...based on definitions & requirements provided by the business.

IT stores the data...

...based on business needs.

IT manages the databases and security...

...based on business requirements and data classification.

IT manages backups & disaster recovery...

...based on business needs for system availability.

IT provides and maintains data tools...

...based on business requirements and quality metrics that you provide.

Course duration:  45 minutes

Highlights of this course include:

  • Clarifying business and information technology roles with respect to data
  • Leading data teams for requirements, data quality, and metadata efforts
  • Managing backups and ensuring disaster recovery capability
  • Data sharing, access permissions, and security requirements
  • Participating in development of organization-wide data policies
  • Leading data sharing decisions across the organization
  • Creating and managing to data quality metrics
  • Core documentation needs for a data store
  • Participating in a Data Owner’s Group or Data Governance Council.

Course Customization

In addition to course materials provided, an organization is encouraged to provide with its own policies, processes, standards, and templates associated with the course modules.  Customization, such as the addition of data topics of particular interest, can be arranged to enhance or tailor the course suite to the precise needs of your EDM program.

Is your organization interested in learning more about Data Governance at Scale?