I got waylaid by a discussion about various “5 C's” approaches to data management. Personally, I can never remember any bunch of things that begin with the same letter. But anyway. What I notice is, however it's phrased and whichever “C” it comes under, the biggest issue seems to be getting people to do what we want them to do. For example: “it is not sufficient to publish data standards, guidelines and best practices; enterprise data needs to be 'managed' on an ongoing basis.” This is the focus of all Alan Duncan's C's: Communicate, Co-operate, Collaborate, Cajole and Coerce.
Why do people think standards are done to them? Using standards is in everybody's interest. How did we let this us-and-them situation evolve? I guess it's because the IT folks started with the responsibility for data, and haven't yet successfully transferred this responsibility into the business. Alternatively, perhaps IT as a profession has not yet fully integrated itself within business culture.
But I believe the situation is changing, and changing rapidly. Everybody gets data, and more and more of us appreciate the value of standards. We use so much technology in our lives that we're no longer prepared to accept arbitrary barriers to access or unnecessary incompatibilities. We're developing a kind of disgust for non-standards.
This is the E-age, so let's make the E stand for Encourage. One letter, one behavior. Let's keep helping people to help themselves – with standards. Informatica
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