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112 CHAPTER 10 Functional design

The most common mistake with principle development is to create policies and call them principles. If
your principles are showing any of the following warning signs, you have entered the next activity:
• There are more than ten principles. While not unheard of, when you have more than ten principles
you are starting to get very specific about what they mean.
• Using the description to declare how the principle will be enforced.
• Mentioning specific business areas or functions within the principle.
In general, you will start with 12 to 14 principles and then whittle them down to 7 to 9. They will
usually lend themselves to some sort of consolidation.
Sample Output

The sample below is the textual version of an entire principle.

Information Should Be Authoritative
Short Description
There should exist a single authoritative source that may be interrogated to determine any fact about any
subject or object of interest.
Long Description
There should exist a single authoritative source that may be interrogated to determine any fact about any
subject or object of interest. This does not preclude creating certified copies of data and information (this is
understood as “managed” redundancy).
Rationale
• A verified, accurate source for enterprise subject area data is critical to achieving comprehensive data integrity
and reduces confusion, complexity, and cost.
• Data is collected from a variety of internal and external sources, resulting in inconsistencies that must be
resolved to provide a single, accurate view.
• The shift in focus from a product-centric to a customer-centric organization requires easy access to accurate
and consistent data that spans functional business units.
• Common and consistent data is required to present customers with a single view.
• Costs associated with unnecessary movement and maintenance of redundant data must be eliminated and
access latency must be reduced.
Benefits
• Reduced risk from disconnected applications projects
• Improved business alignment due to structural need to collaborate
• Reduced costs associated with data and information movement
• Reduced costs associated with the proliferation of departmental databases
• Increased accuracy in business measures based on consistent data elements
Implications
• There will be a single, clearly identified, authoritative source for each managed enterprise subject area data
element.
• The authoritative source and definitions will need to be easy to find and determine.
• Multiple data stores may exist within a managed environment, but one is designated as authoritative.
• Data location will be transparent to strategic business units (SBUs).
• Procedural discipline (governance) is required to consistently establish this practice.
• There will be a single source of authoritative data regarding customer satisfaction and loyalty for enterprise
users, dealers, vendors, field personnel, and others.