Great guide Nicola - very useful, particularly how to use resources already in the business to define the levels (risk matrices, etc.). Prioritising data for governance is really useful at the very start of a DG initiative. As you say, it can help engage the interest of senior stakeholders - always important. Current projects can help identify priority data. Analytics uplifts aimed at realising commercial opportunities might not represent data risks, but instead leveraging data value. As the DG initiative matures, the focus might shift from critical data to critical parts of the data ecosystem. Is availability holding us back with analytics or quality with operational reporting? Have we balanced access and availability measures at the right level to reflect the organisation's risk appetite and strategic priorities? Either way, the underlying message is for DG to stay relevant to the business's reason for being - the goal of good governance is not good governance - it's good commercial outcomes.
Great guide Nicola - very useful, particularly how to use resources already in the business to define the levels (risk matrices, etc.). Prioritising data for governance is really useful at the very start of a DG initiative. As you say, it can help engage the interest of senior stakeholders - always important. Current projects can help identify priority data. Analytics uplifts aimed at realising commercial opportunities might not represent data risks, but instead leveraging data value.
As the DG initiative matures, the focus might shift from critical data to critical parts of the data ecosystem. Is availability holding us back with analytics or quality with operational reporting? Have we balanced access and availability measures at the right level to reflect the organisation's risk appetite and strategic priorities?
Either way, the underlying message is for DG to stay relevant to the business's reason for being - the goal of good governance is not good governance - it's good commercial outcomes.