How can the framework help you?

Key points

Ideally, developing maturity would be a sequential activity and this is how the framework is presented.

However, the world is imperfect, and it is rarely possible to make progress in this way. While an overarching sense of direction is important, delivery is likely to be about taking opportunities where and when you can, but within the context of an overall plan.

• Doing is generally more impactful than talking. Try to find a way to demonstrate value, preferably in a high priority area like student experience, to make the argument and gain engagement from colleagues.
• Ad hoc activity allows you to test ideas, and it can appear agile in responsiveness to demand. However, it rarely delivers consistency and can be time intensive and inefficient, particularly at scale. Enterprise thinking can be challenging, but considering what will work across business areas will help you find solutions that will create standards and structure, rather than compounding siloed working practices.
• Embedding good practices using a framework or defining individual roles can provide a structure for initiatives but be wary of mistaking process for progress
• Domain activity is a challenging concept as it often sits across several functional areas, particularly in larger institutions. Clear requirements, driven by strategic priorities, or by an area that feels achievable, ensure you can focus on the data that is needed for a specific issue and start to build your data model from there.

Well-considered data architecture is critical.

• Do you know what your fields mean?
• Have you agreed what a student or an employee is?
• Is your data stored at the most granular level, so that it can be mapped and aggregated or grouped for multiple purposes, both strategic and operational?

Bringing people with you

Embedding new processes, driving accountability and realising the benefits of good data management is difficult. The biggest challenge is likely to be defining, implementing and embedding a structure to ensure accountability for data as an asset. This is a slow evolution and all about organisational change.

Other priorities are likely to be:

• Developing customer focused reporting provision by helping people think about what they need (information) rather than what they want (data).
• Demystifying concepts and processes most notably translating between technical and business or customer facing functions.
• Understanding and accepting different personas so that you can manage their expectations effectively.

Investment

It may be possible to make progress with existing teams and structures but you may need investment to develop roles or a function or you may need to find time for individuals away from business as usual. Getting support for data management activities is typically challenging and may need carrot, stick and a bit of opportunism.

Quick wins can help make your case – and there may be pressure to deliver them. But be mindful - they should support your vision, not undermine foundational work.