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Summary 67

Business Benefits and Ramifications

Obviously, approval to proceed with management consensus is a good thing. Additionally, the DG
team now has, albeit modestly, the ability to say they are real and have some authority.
Approach Considerations

Make sure you are getting true approval based on the scope and approach. Too often we see a “rubber
stamp” and then shock and surprise when the leadership teams starts to see resistance. The approval
process should contain a good walkthrough of the process.
Sample Output

Again, there is a sample deployment plan in the appendices.
Tips for Success

The concept of “authority” is critical here. As long as the DG team has some perceived authority, it can
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proceed. If you have been staffed with marginal personnel, you can train them. Then, plan more
training. If your steering body is weak, then develop tactics to be noticed (in a diplomatic way).

SUMMARY

Remember our earlier mention that most DG programs get started within an information technology
(IT) area. While not ideal, this is okay. Just remember to build in the effort to engage the correct
personnel in the future.
The main emphasis of this phase is to get started. Scope may wobble a bit; the project plan will
definitely change; staff will come and go. However, just getting started is decidedly the hardest aspect
of any type of effort in the EIM universe. It is important to remember that the main driver of the scope
and plan will be where the initiative of DG is coming from. MDM, whether brand new or repairing an
SAP implementation gone ugly, will provide a focused scope. General DG as part of enterprise EIM
or data quality will require some thinking as to the nature of DG, or the areas that will be first exposed
to DG.

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We have never really run into anyone who was totally incapable of adding some value to the DG team. After all, you are
doing someone (who probably is a source of resistance) a favor by taking a resource off his or her hands. But, in a more
idealistic light, we are often surprised that individuals we are assigned who have been perceived as marginal performers
actually just need a breath of fresh air, and we always find something we can leverage in them. This drives the author’s staff
nuts, by the way. We never throw anything back.