book

Data Strategy

by Ian Wallis

August 2021

Beginner to intermediate

316 pages

12h 13m

English

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT

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1.1 Data is everywhere1.2 Why is gaining agreement to define and execute a data strategy so difficult?1.3 Data is becoming readily accessible1.4 How does a data strategy help?1.5 The role of this book
2.1 Terminology – so what is a data strategy?2.2 The relevance of a data strategy2.3 Alignment within the organisation2.4 A successful data strategy – making it clear!2.5 Why is a data strategy important?2.6 Ten to take away
3.1 What is your goal in developing a data strategy? The importance of context3.2 Readiness and maturity of the organisation3.3 Setting the boundaries – understanding scope and the rationale3.4 Balancing control and exploitation in your data strategy3.5 Ten to take away
4.1 The importance of accessibility4.2 Deliver with PRIDE4.3 The acid test4.4 Ten to take away
5.1 Visionary meets realism – how to keep it grounded5.2 What are your timescales?5.3 Waymarkers rather than milestones5.4 Planning for success5.5 Presenting the route map5.6 Ten to take away
6.1 Approach to defining the content6.2 Determining the content6.3 Logically structuring your content6.4 Strategy alignment6.5 Relevancy is key to enabling effective adoption6.6 Ten to take away
7.1 ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast’7.2 Barriers to change7.3 Sponsorship7.4 Organisational maturity7.5 Transitioning communications to focus on the delivery of the data strategy7.6 Ten to take away
8.1 The importance of the transition to data strategy execution8.2 Why do data strategy implementations fail?8.3 The planning cycle8.4 Dependencies – the iceberg beneath your implementation plan!8.5 Agility and flexibility in strategy execution8.6 Capability assessment8.7 Avoiding strategy paralysis8.8 Ten to take away
9.1 Assigning roles and responsibilities9.2 Plan for action, prepare for change9.3 Customer engagement9.4 Project teams, a PMO and the data and analytics function9.5 The prioritisation challenge9.6 Requirements9.7 Benefits definition and tracking9.8 Ten to take away
10.1 Managing the impact of change10.2 Assessing impact of change10.3 Capability reassessment and the role of learning and development10.4 Communicating change10.5 A dynamic data strategy10.6 Ten to take away
11.1 Evaluation to generate measurement in data strategy implementation11.2 Benefits realisation11.3 Performance frameworks11.4 Earned value11.5 Maturity assessments11.6 Data as an asset – realising value11.7 Ten to take away
12.1 Culture – is your strategy heading for the breakfast plate?12.2 Are you really ready to sail?12.3 Revolution versus evolution – the implementation challenge12.4 The tricky triumvirate – prioritisation, dependencies and capabilities12.5 Evaluation and measurement12.6 Sponsorship, executive buy-in and stakeholder management12.7 Communications12.8 Aligning and embedding the strategies12.9 Balancing risk12.10 Plan for success12.11 The next wave12.12 Is a data strategy similar for all organisations?12.13 Case studies12.14 Summary of steps – data strategy: from definition to execution12.15 Some final personal reflections12.16 Ten to take away

Content preview from Data Strategy

5 CREATING A ROUTE MAP – AIM HIGH, PLAN DEEP!

‘A good plan is like a road map: it shows the final destination and usually the best way to get there.’

H. Stanley Judd¹

In previous chapters I have covered the importance of timelines, waymarkers and articulating realistic goals as the critical focal points to have constantly in your mind whilst defining a data strategy. This is not just because these represent good practice in any major undertaking that needs a plan. In my experience, strategies have failed to be adopted or implemented, or have simply stalled, because these aspects were not thought through extensively enough in the preparatory stages and through the defining of the data strategy.

In many cases, those who define the data strategy ...