Four must-have master data management project skills

Digg This!     StumbleUpon     Del.icio.us

RELATED CONTENT Master data management Six criteria for master data management (MDM) tool evaluation Is it better to have a centralized or decentralized master data structure? What's the cost of developing PIM software internally vs. externally? What exactly is data governance and what falls under this category? Can we leverage existing data quality tools for an MDM program? How to get MDM pricing from a third-party before evaluating MDM vendors How important are the different styles of MDM architecture? Tips for planning a data governance strategy and MDM strategy What is the role of data quality tools in MDM? What are the advantages/disadvantages of database abstraction layers? MDM best practices Master data management adoption 'broad but shallow' across industries Six criteria for master data management (MDM) tool evaluation Is it better to have a centralized or decentralized master data structure? What's the cost of developing PIM software internally vs. externally? What exactly is data governance and what falls under this category? Can we leverage existing data quality tools for an MDM program? Keys to planning an enterprise information management (EIM) initiative Why is managing change challenging for master data management initiatives? What is business change management for MDM? Tips for aligning business and IT teams during MDM implementations

RELATED GLOSSARY TERMS Terms from Whatis.com − the technology online dictionary data management  (SearchDataManagement.com) master data management  (SearchDataManagement.com)

RELATED RESOURCES 2020software.com, trial software downloads for accounting software, ERP software, CRM software and business software systems Search Bitpipe.com for the latest white papers and business webcasts Whatis.com, the online computer dictionary

The answer to your question depends on the scope of your MDM development effort. A so-called "bottom up" MDM project in which the solution addresses a very narrow, but high-profile business effort will require fewer skills than an enterprise-wide effort targeting customer master data.

Having said that, there are four project skill categories you should focus on for MDM:

1. Program or project management skills. A unique brand of project manager needs to manage up, communicating status and time-to-value to business sponsors and stakeholders. She also needs to manage down, making sure the development team is on-budget, and on-track.
2. Hub development and configuration skills. A set of developers familiar with the MDM product will be charged with delivering it.
3. Source system data knowledge. Knowledge of source systems and their data is key to the effective on-boarding onto the hub.
4. Data governance and management skills. This can be a combination of data quality expertise, data stewardship, in which key stewards understand data lineage and usage, and data modeling.

These categories don't count business sponsors and subject matter experts who may be called to explain certain data or justify its formats and usage. They'll keep their day jobs but will be in demand when it comes to requirements. Also, the number of people in each of these categories will vary with the size and scope of your MDM effort, and will change as MDM matures in your company.

If you need more detail, our CDI book has a complete list of MDM job roles and their descriptions. Shoot me an e-mail and I'll send you that list. Meantime, just remember the following: not every skill on an MDM project is brought to bear at the same time!