Agility is key to Data Governance: DataGalaxy shows you why

The decades-old waterfall approach to data governance no longer meets the requirements of our dynamic, fast-changing world. When it comes to data governance, learn how the agile approach can support community-driven processes and enhance data literacy for all.

It’s time to face it: The rigid top-down model —aka the waterfall— no longer meets the needs of our era, a time when things are continuously shifting and being reinvented. Big data is now the norm, but it’s our approaches to data management that will make or break our governance program. What we need to do is inject more agility into our governance processes for enhanced collaboration.

Why focus on agility?

Data governance is not an exact science —and perhaps will never be. Companies and business processes are continuously evolving to meet changing requirements, changing needs and the changing times. Each organization is unique and needs to find out what works for them in their particular sector of activity. There is no one-size fits all solution.

Yet, there lies the root of the problem. The traditional model creates a single solution that is meant to be applied everywhere and to everyone. It does not take into consideration the collaborative aspect of processes. In this model, a group of business leaders decide on the specifications of the project —for example, what data needs to be catalogued and by whom— and then operational teams are expected to just simply execute orders.

However, this approach has many limitations. First off, the specifications are rarely reviewed once the project has been launched. Second, more often than not, they do not correspond to field reality. The result is that operational teams do not understand the approach or its value and nothing gets done. At best a catalog is created, but it is never used and quickly becomes obsolete.