“A new regime" - Section 10 of 14: THE DATA ARCHITECTURE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT (free excerpts)

This is the tenth part of the chapter titled “The Data Architecture Construction Project”, from the book “The Data Garden And Other Data Allegories”.

______________________________

A new regime

When everyone returns, you start by playing back some of the points that you’ve heard. You acknowledge frustrations and concerns, before drilling down into some of the changes that you’ll be making to the way everyone works, which you’d like to implement as soon as possible.

The structure of the teams and their leaders will stay as they are for now, to minimise disruption, but there will be a weekly meeting scheduled, where all of those present in the room today, including the contractors, will gather and collaborate, from this point forwards. This group will start to act as a joined-up leadership team, and that means that everyone will support each other and prioritise shared objectives over any goals that teams have individually. This may take some time to get right, and that’s OK: the main thing will be to start thinking of each other as being part of a bigger whole. You invite people to be open and free to speak their mind, so that issues can be identified and dealt with quickly.


Pragmatic Data Architecture

Turning to the Data Architects, you praise their vision and enthusiasm. Your plan for them is to involve them more directly with the work that all of the other teams are delivering, so their role can become more pragmatic. This should dramatically increase the chances of delivering the more advanced tools and technologies that they have been researching.

In order to facilitate this change, the Architects’ time will need to be divided between four activities.

  • The first, most important activity, will be to use their design expertise to review the current plans that Build and Infrastructure Maintenance teams are delivering, to either help them improve by suggesting alternative ways of designing things, or to endorse them so that everyone can have more confidence that the projects that are being delivered are making the town’s architecture better. You look around the room and ask that the other teams are open to the Architects’ help. This is all about starting to work better together and benefitting from each other’s different skillsets. This first task will mean that the Architects will be involved in the design phase of all new projects, so their expertise will be used practically. It will mean that project teams can learn from them, and they can learn more about the practical realities of how the town is currently setup.
  • The second task that you want the Architects to take on will be even more dependent on support from the other teams. You want them to start developing a set of schematics that reflect the known current state of the town’s infrastructure and buildings. Every time a project delivers something new, it will be up to them to submit their architectural drawings and plans to the Architecture team, for them to add it to their knowledgebase, which will then help better inform designs and plans for future developments. Involving the Architects in the design phase of projects will also help with this, but they may not have capacity to work on every project so the responsibility will be with delivery teams to submit the content to the Architects, and the Architects will then maintain them.
  • The third responsibility that you give the team is to start drafting and formalising a set of building regulations. You offer to provide them with contacts in Architecture teams in other cities to help fast-track this exercise with some tried-and-tested requirements and design patterns. Many building regulations are based on the same core principles around data structure design and upholding the safety of data people when they’re using the structures, but you’re keen for the Architects to utilise their expertise to develop standards and rules that help everyone working in the town to deliver better and safer buildings.
  • Finally, you still want the team to continue to invest some of their time in researching and experimenting with new technologies. The passion for innovation and the art of the possible is really important for the future of the town. It’s exciting and could open up opportunities that currently seem beyond reach, so it’s something you’re keen to maintain. However, the other tasks must take priority, so you suggest that they forward-book time to spend on this, to make sure other priorities don’t get in the way.

You can tell from the reactions around the room that not everyone is convinced by your proposals, so you re-iterate the point you’ve already made about how important it will be for everyone to be open and share their concerns, and that it will be through collaborating as a team and learning that everyone will succeed. If something isn’t working, that’s fine, we’ll work out why it isn’t and adjust. 

______________________________


I hope you’ve enjoyed this excerpt. 

If you are interested in reading more, please do check the book out on Amazon:

  • The Data Garden on Amazon.CO.UK
  • The Data Garden on Amazon.COM

    • Thanks for reading!


    #data #datamanagement #datagovernance #dataquality #dataarchitecture #metadata #dataliteracy #allegories #metaphors #analogies #stories #storytelling 


    More info:


    Comments

    Post a Comment

    Popular posts from this blog

    Why does maintaining legacy technology cost so much?

    Why does maintaining legacy technology cost so much? Let’s compare it to a building. Imagine you have an old converted barn, which has a thatched roof. In the past, thatching was one of the most advanced techniques for roofing, providing outstanding insulation and protection from the elements. Thatching was also a common skill, so maintaining a roof built using this technique was relatively cheap. Nowadays, a thatched roof is no longer cutting edge. More modern methods last longer with less need for maintenance. The skills needed to maintain a thatched roof are scarce, so expert craftsmen can charge more. Also, if you ever wanted to extend your house, to add more space or use it for other purposes, connecting it to modern roofing structures will be hard and expensive, and will make it even harder and more costly to maintain in the future. Unlike a thatched roof, your legacy technology doesn’t ‘look nice’, so other than the fact that it ‘still works’, the benefits of continuing to inves...
    Read more

    "The reluctant student" - Section 1 of 7: THE DATA LITERACY DRIVING SCHOOL (free excerpts)

    Image
      This is the first part of the chapter titled “The Data Literacy Driving School”, from the book “ The Data Garden And Other Data Allegories ”. ______________________________ The reluctant student You look over at your driving instructor and sigh. Why do I have to do this again? you think. Taking data taxis had always been fine before. This seems like it’s going to be a lot of effort, and for what? Your company’s enrolled you on a mandatory data literacy driving course. For years, data employees have been paying to use other people’s data cars to get places, but after a series of wasted journeys and large-scale data car crashes, there has been a decision to educate everyone on how to drive. Someone realised that if people didn’t know how to drive a data car, they wouldn’t be able to effectively direct a data taxi driver to get the best out of their journey. At this point, you’re pretty sure you’re never going to need to use these new skills that you’re learning. Taxis have always ...
    Read more

    “Hope for the future" - Section 14 of 14: THE DATA ARCHITECTURE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT (free excerpts)

    Image
    This is the fourteenth part of the chapter titled “The Data Architecture Construction Project”, from the book “ The Data Garden And Other Data Allegories ”. ______________________________ Hope for the future After the meeting has finished, your Head Builder finds you back in the meeting room, leaning back in your chair and gazing out of one of the windows at the Data Insights Town skyline. The sun is setting behind one of the tall buildings in the distance and the sky is awash with hues of red, yellow and orange. His presence stirs you from your reverie and you look at him with a smile. “How do you think my first day went?” “Could’ve been worse,” comes the response, with a chuckle.  You laugh in return. “That sounded enthusiastic!” Your new deputy comes and sits next to you. He speaks slowly and with meaning. “I’ll be honest, Boss. Things haven’t been great around here for a long time. I think you can see that from what you’ve heard today. But you can also see how much everyone her...
    Read more