SchemaLogic Copyright 2004 All rights reserved.
Metadata Manifesto:Integration, Reconciliation and Change
of Enterprise Metadata
"The effectiveness of a system for accessing information is a direct function of the Intelligence put into organising it."
Elaine Svenious, The Intellectual Foundation of Information Organisations (MIT Press, 2001.)
Peter [email protected]
206-280-7475
The American Society for Information Science and Technology, NW Chapter
"The Impact of Ubiquitous Information"May 15, 2004
University of Washington
Copyright ©2004 SchemaLogic
Collective Vision: Enterprise Metadata Management
TYPICAL SITUATION Heterogeneous systems; accidental architectures Interoperability/integration projects are costly & slow Federated Search complicated by different terms &
taxonomies (semantics and structures) No governance or re-use process over metadata
PAIN (BUSINESS IMPACT) Finding distributed info is hard (unsatisfactory Search or
Navigation) Combining data is hard; diff versions of truth (bad reporting/BI) IT is slow to respond (delays innovation & time-to-market) Data quality/risk exposure (errors, failed audit)
Copyright ©2004 SchemaLogic
The META Group contributes to the Manifesto
"Firms should seek one version of the truth by ensuring that common data and metadata are shared across applications to guarantee consistency." John Van Decker, META Group
"Development of a consistent set of metadata schema and quality control of the same remain the most critical elements associated with content creation and capture."
Andrew Warzecka, META Group
"Companies are beginning to experience taxonomy creep, as they deploy multiple content management systems across the enterprise and the frequency of taxonomy updates required by these distributed systems accelerates."
Tim Hickernell, META Group
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Integration is expensive and slow
People can't find their stuff Colloquialisms impede
exchange Duplic. & variance hurt data
quality Change is slow and costly Poor coordination, process
control & governance
Metadata
Metadata
Metadata
Metadata
Metadata
Metadata
Pain Caused by "Accidental Architecture"
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Vision: Coordination, Visibility, Re-use and Evolution via Active Repository & Meta-Model
Technical Outcome Catalog of syntax & semantics across IT A visible, rationalized and unified meta-model Enterprise-standard Taxonomy; re-use across
apps Vocabularies/Thesauri available to Search
systems Collaboration & dependency analysis Rules-driven change mgt and auto-
synchronization
Business Outcome Easier to find information (“findability”) Faster, more accurate reporting (intelligence) Greater responsiveness (business agility) Control & transparency (governance)
Metadata
Metadata
Metadata
Metadata
Metadata
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BabeBabe
Root Problem: Metadata "families"- Reconcilable Differences in Semantics & Structures
Cust_IDCustomer#Client_noCUST1
Severity = 1Sev_Code = A
PRICE:COST:
• Contributor• Author
One Concept: different expressions
One Expression:
different concepts
Duration = 1Duration = 1
Ambiguity
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Unified Informatio
n Model
Unified, Coordinated, Cross-system approach is Necessary (spans data, content & XML systems)
Metadata
Metadata
Metadata
Metadata
Metadata
Content ManagementSystems
DatabaseSystems
Portals
Enterprise Search
Technical Requirements:• Cross-system Repository• Reconciliation of views• Re-use of standards• Dependencies visible• Stewardship/Governance• Change management• SynchronizationApplications
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Establish a Shared Source of Metadata, Schema, Taxonomies, Vocabs (high value 1st)
SEARCH
DATABASE
CUSTSERVAPPS
ERP
FINANCE XML
SYSTEMS
PORTAL
CONTENTMGT
REPORTSBI
Shared Source of
METADATA, SCHEMA &
TAXONOMIES
Functionality:
Pockets of disparate metadata are managed as one: consistency, re-use, variation is coordinated
Benefits: • Change easier, faster & cheaper• Less variance boosts data quality• Transparency and governance• Improved cross-system retrieval• Cost-reduction • Agility; IT responsiveness
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Collaboration, Reconciliation and Change Mgt are key in a Managed Metadata Environment
SchemaServer
Database
Web Service
Modeling Tools
Spreadsheets, doc's and Enterprise Content
Management
EAI, Web Services, XML
Applications, CRM, ERP, data warehouse, BI &
Analytics
E-Commerce, Web Sites, Portals
Third Parties – customer, vendor, government agencies
Metadata Sourcing
MetadataIntegration
Metadata Management
Metadata Delivery
Admin Web Client
Business UserOther Clients
Modeling Tools
Spreadsheets, doc's and Enterprise Content
Management
EAI, Web Services, XML
Applications, CRM, ERP, data warehouses, BI &
Analytics
E-Commerce, Web Sites, Portals
Third Parties – customer, vendor, government agencies
Metadata Marts
• Catalog• Reuse• Reconcile• Change• Synchronize
Active MetadataRepository
with concepts here from David Marco
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Tools help reveal Dependencies and Impacts, with Stakeholders the loop; auto Synchronize
Workflow-Driven Change Mgt; rules-driven, e.g. "consent"
Email Notification and Web form for approval; audit trail
Impact Analysis shows dependency, who/what is affected and approves potential change before a change is made
Role-based permission management provides data stewardship process with ownership and accountability:
Owner Stakeholder Subscriber
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Reference Story$31B Consumer Products Manufacturer
SchemaLogic Results…
Managing and synchronizing metadata provides up to 80%-90% cost reduction for updates
Fewer defects and less variation drives higher quality of information across the Enterprise
Better metadata and taxonomies improves information access; "findability" and navigation
Governance and control, with chosen amount of departmental/local autonomy
Bottom Line: Greater ROI on Divisional Content Management System, Dramatic Cost Reduction
SchemaLogic Solution… Enterprise-wide solution to coordinate, reconcile
and synchronize metadata (taxonomy) standards. Shared, actively managed metadata repository,
with defined and visible workflow for metadata sourcing, management and delivery
SituationStellent implementation – currently at 40
instances and scaling to 100
Mandate for standard corporate taxonomy
Organizational PainCannot manage metadata across multiple
lines of business/instances
No change control process or governance to manage and deliver metadata changes
Cumbersome process to re-tag content to reflect business changes in metadata
Pain Drivers300 brands sold in 140 countries –
multiple names, vocabs & languages
Growing sites without no added staff
Ability to launch products constrained by IT
Hard for end-users to "find their stuff"
Example: Shared Taxonomy/Vocabularies Product List and Geographies for a Fortune-50 Manufacturer
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Metadata Manifesto: Activism & Technology for information architecture and superior ROI
Goal: manage, coordinate, maintain shared metadata & taxonomy Workflow: Import>Integrate>Manage>Synchronize Benefits: findability, interoperability, agility, cost reduction… Challenge: How to drive the metadata manifesto internally?
"Enterprise Information Architecture" project Managed Metadata Environment Shared Metadata Services Enterprise Taxonomy Initiative
Ride the coattails of a funded project Portal Project Content Management System roll-out Business Intelligence initiative, ala "360O View of Customer" Federated Search project
Utopian ideal? No, the CFO needs metrics (how make money, save money?)