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CHAPTER

Align and business value

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Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.
dPeter Drucker

You cannot manage what you do not measure, and this phase gives you the ability to measure the
success of managing data governance. One thing to be clear on as you read this section:
• If you have a business case that is aligned with business needs, then this will be a very short phase. If
there are no business value statements, ROI, a business case, or anything else resembling the
business case for managing information as an asset, then it will be a bit longer in duration, and
you must do this phase.
The steps to be taken are almost identical to the steps taken to generate a business case for all other
types of enterprise information-management efforts. This is covered in detail in Making EIM Work for
i
Business.
This chapter, therefore, will focus on the particulars regarding data governance. For example, an
exercise to do the business alignment for a refit of a data warehouse would (or should) focus on the
business benefits that will be derived from using more accessible data or having powerful analytics. In
the context of data governance, we want to make sure that the business benefits are actually achieved
(i.e., the right things are done to ensure successful use of the new data warehouse). This may seem like
a faint distinction, but it is very important when your DG program is asked to justify its existence. Your
business value for DG is stated through the same lens as the value of a Six Sigma program or
a compliance program. DG is a necessary underpinning.
People being people, however, will rapidly declare any program an inconvenience unless you hold
up a paper that says, “If you do not do this, it will cost you $$$$$$.”
Alignment refers to the direct linkage of the efforts to manage information assets to business
strategies and measuring these information and knowledge projects against the anticipated benefits.
Therefore, the DG rollout team needs to make sure that the link between IAM, business strategy,
and DG are apparent. This provides the baseline for sustaining the DG effort.

OVERVIEW

Activity: Leverage Existing EIM (or Other) Business Case

You should have business needs and a business case identified as a result of DG supporting another
effort if you are going to do this activity. All you will need to do is tie DG activities to the business

i
John Ladley, Making EIM Work for Business (Waltham, MA: Morgan Kaufmann, 2010).
Data Governance. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-415829-0.00009-5 93
Copyright Ó 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.