To improve Data Management (DM) processes within a business first requires a detailed assessment of the current state of Data Management within the organization and must include some sort of best practice framework to measure against. The DAMA Guide to the Data Management Body of Knowledge (DMBoK) – used in conjunction with an assessment approach like the Carnegie Mellon Capability Maturity Model (CMM) – is one such framework that an organization could use as the starting point for an effective and efficient Data Management maturity assessment.
In her presentation at the Enterprise Data World 2011 Conference, April Reeve – an advisory consultant at EMC Consulting – presented an example of how an organization could use the DMBoK as a best practice framework with which to assess their Data Management capability. In the presentation, Reeve discussed the process that she implemented with a mortgage bank (the actual name of the bank was not disclosed), the results of the assessment, and how other organizations could use such a plan for their own assessments. This article will use that presentation as a guide, along with the DMBoK, CMM, and the specific bank example to demonstrate the general steps in completing a structured Data Management Maturity Assessment (DMMA) and how to read the results.
DAMA Data Management Body of Knowledge
Published by DAMA International in 2009, the DMBoK was written to provide a comprehensive overview of the Data Management field for professionals at all levels of expertise within the industry. The DMBoK outlines nine key practice areas (KPAs) in Data Management:
- Data Governance
- Data Development
- Database Operations Management
- Data Security Management
- Reference & Master Data Management
- Data Warehousing & Business Intelligence Management
- Document & Content Management
- Metadata Management
- Data Quality Management
- Data Architecture Management
For the purposes of her DMMA with the mortgage bank, Reeve also added Data Integration Management to the list for a total of 10 areas that needed to be assessed. The list of Data Integration Management activities and tools was actually taken from the other nine areas, but used specifically in reference to data integration. Also incorporated into the DMMA were ISACA protocols for the Data Security Management KPA and TOGAF Version 9.0 protocols for the Data Architecture Management KPA.
While the DMBoK is a document used for a variety of purposes within the field, its primary focus is to give a “standard industry view of data management functions, terminology and best practices, without detailing specific methods and techniques.” Thus, as a tool used for an assessment framework, it provides a business with an overall understanding of the various KPAs with which they should be concerned. It should be understood before starting such an assessment process that a specific business may want to focus more attention on one area, such as Data Quality Management, possibly extend less focus in others areas or have one KPA that at the time of the assessment is the most important.
The Maturity Model: Dimensions, Functions, and Maturity Levels
The Capability Maturity Model (CMM), developed originally by Carnegie Mellon University, is a framework to aid in the improvement of an organization’s software development processes and procedures – Carnegie Mellon developed the first CMM so that the U.S. government could evaluate the effectiveness and success of software projects completed by government contractors. It is used as a model that allows an organization (or a hired consulting firm) to understand where they are, compared to where they should or want to be, compared to what is considered to be best practice in the industry. The CMM is a series of defined levels that act as a scaffold for the assessment of business processes, procedures, practices, behaviors and activities. An organization can then use the results of a CMM assessment to better understand the gaps in their software development processes, prioritize actions, create a shared language within various layers of the organization, work through a common vision for the future and have definable goals toward which to work.
The five maturity levels used by Reeve (the Carnegie Mellon original CMM names are in parenthesis) are:
- Immature (Initial): The best practice activities are not performed by the organization. The best practice tools are not available or not used.
- Repeatable (Repeatable): Some parts of organization are using recommended tools and processes while other parts are not.
- Managed (Defined): The organization has a documented standard for performing the assessed activity or activities consistently and using applicable tools effectively.
- Monitored (Managed): The process in question is established, tracked and monitored. Recommended tools are in place and being used consistently across the organization.
- Continuous Improvement (Optimizing): The activity is continually reassessed, improved upon, tracked and built in to process.
An individual organization must then decide on the business lines they want to assess. The mortgage bank in question wanted to look at different parts of their mortgage business, retail banking business, and cross-business functions.
The Questionnaire: Activities
The first stage of a DMMA is deciding on the business lines to be assessed, the stakeholders to interview, and the questions to be asked as part of the interviews/assessment. The second stage is conducting the assessment interviews. Reeve’s used a questionnaire and interviews at the mortgage bank to obtain the necessary information that could then plugged into the assessment and the results collated. The questionnaire was broken down by KPA area with questions about specific activities and tools adopted from the DMBOK (8 KPAs), ISACA (for Data Security Management) and TOGAF (for Data Architecture Management).
For the purposes of mortgage bank’s DMMA, around 100 people within the organization were interviewed. Some were asked only about specific KPAs while others covered most of the material. This was a more extensive set of interviews than is normally conducted in an assessment. Some capability maturity assessments are performed using only one interview, to get an initial assessment. Four interviewers conducted the various interviews, with each lasting approximately an hour and then Reeve also interviewed the interviewers. Also, IT people were not the only ones interviewed. Everyone in an organization uses the various DM processes and procedures, whether they are executives, accountants, HR representatives, etc. A wide range of stakeholders must be selected to gain the broadest possible spectrum of perspectives. The most valuable perspectives are those from the business people who rely on the organizational Data Management capabilities.
The interviewers had to have good knowledge of the entire Data Management field so they could provide extra explanation of the questions during the interview, do follow-up questions and provide consistent and valuable comments after each interview. The DMBoK provides a full description of each activity and tool. The questions were sent out to each of the interviewees prior to their interview; though in many cases the interviewees did not have time to complete the questions beforehand. The interviews were by phone or in person to alleviate misunderstanding, allow for extra information and keep the interviewees focused.
To be continued … Part 2