Data Quality and MDM: A data quality mind-set increases MDM program success

Typically, a data governance program consists of business data stewards and the IT stewards who support them from a technical perspective. Additionally, a data governance board is responsible for resolving issues and establishing and managing the MDM hub. This board defines the policies and procedures for data governance processes and the roles and responsibilities for the data governance organization. The business and IT stewards report to the data governance board and are responsible and accountable for day-to-day improvements in data quality as well as longer-term, more strategic programs for managing the enterprise's critical information assets, including the expansion to other data domains. In 2001, Gartner analysts Scott Nelson and Jennifer Kirkby reported that ignoring data quality is the number one reason for CRM project failures. I think this is true for MDM projects as well. Without robust data profiling and data cleansing efforts in your project, you're likely to end up with an MDM repository that the executives and users in your organization don't trust. With this in mind, I have three real-world recommendations for incorporating data quality into your MDM initiative.