I now at the sharp end of creating an Information Management Strategy and Roadmap and I have started to draft a set of IM Principles while identifying practical ways for the organisation to make use of them. I have done some research and collected together my own thoughts.
Here is where I need the help of the community. Over the next few days I will share my principles and I hope that some of you will share your own reactions, thoughts and ideas. So the challenge is for us to come up with an actionable set of IM Principles.
The principles currently fall into 4 categories:
- People
- Process
- Technology
- Content
Today's blog is about my principles and actions centred on People. Here they are:
Principle
#1 – Information Is An Asset
Business
Driver
Making
decisions based on a single authoritative source of information earns the
Company a financial return.
Actions
- Each
Company business is expected to seek opportunities to use information to
increase the quality of the services it provides and reduce the overall cost of
operation.
- Manage
Information based on the value to the Company – data critical to the operation of the
Company should be identified and managed appropriately. Each the Company
business shall employ management methodologies consistent to the Company
nationally – to guide and control the planning, acquisition, development,
operation, maintenance, and evaluation of information management applications.
- Justify
Exceptions – If an
information management principle is to be broken then this must be justified
- Data
items, data interfaces, measures and all business and data quality rules must
have Business and IT owners. Every item of data requires unique and ultimate ownership by a single
role and person. This does not imply that all customers, products or other
items of data maintain common ownership, rather that a matrix or
responsibilities is managed. This ensures that issues or conflicts always have
an ultimate point of escalation.
- Data
about data is also an asset - that can be even more valuable than the original piece of data.
Metadata will be created and stored centrally as appropriate.
- Information
should be used consistently across the Company - consistently represented across
systems, available at the same granularity and summary levels so that
meaningful comparisons can be made between Company businesses. Information
should be retained whenever physically possible within the constraints of government
legislation, corporate ethics and privacy commitments. While data is of
greatest value when aggregated and interpreted, it is important that the most
granular or detailed data be retained to allow for other interpretations and
aggregations to be made in the future.
Principle
#2 – Information is Shared
Business
Driver
Information
value is increased when it is freely shared across Company functions,
businesses and departments.
Actions
- The
value of information increases when people can use it collaboratively. Openness & sharing of
corporate information is to be encouraged for all staff, except where the
nature of the information would indicate otherwise. This openness facilitates
the effective sharing and reuse of information across the Company.
- Critical
business data should be kept in a single location (system of record) wherever possible.
- National
View of Information – critical
business data must deliver a trusted management view of all Company businesses.
Accepting that one of the major assets of any large organisation is information.
This information takes on much greater value as a whole when it is integrated
across systems.
- Consistent
use of standard business and data quality rules makes sharing easier (cheaper).
- Consistent
Presentation Of Information – increases the value to the Company as it is easier to use and share.
Principle
#3 – Information Must Be Available
Business
Driver
Value
can only be generated when information is managed as a part of real business
processes.
Actions
- Each
Company decision maker should be knowledgeable about the information requirements and
information management practices of the Company and should provide active leadership
in the exploration of new opportunities to use information technology. Each
Company business should establish clear lines of authority and responsibility
for information management.
- Each
Company business shall establish and maintain an information management
function consistent with its operational needs. This function shall serve to ensure
Company' ability to identify the information it collects, maintain the integrity
and security of the information, and provide for appropriate access to the
information.
Principle
#4 – Fact-based Decision Making
Business
Driver
Decisions
that recorded and that are themselves based on recorded facts can be evaluated
so that decision making improves over time.
Actions
The
information asset should be leveraged every day in every decision. Both strategic and operational
decisions should be based on facts, which can be sourced back to data, which is
held by the enterprise. The challenge in the organisation's federated environment
is that users may require information that originates in several systems to
make their daily decisions. The solution provides a means for integrating data
across operational and analytical systems so that users can make fact-based
decisions in a federated environment.
Apply information dynamically to:
Provide
insight to support evidence-based decisions
Target
our service delivery activity
Influence
spend behaviour in our clients
Manage
our business.
Principle
#5 – Information Improves Our Clients Life
Business
Driver
Customer
improvements can be directly and indirectly monetised.
Actions
Make
sure the information we give our clients helps them meet their needs.
Over the next few days my posts will cover the other 3 categories:
- Process
- Technology
- Content