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Business MetadataCapturing Enterprise Knowledge

DAMA

Minnesota Chapter

Jan. 16, 2008


Agenda• The need for Business Clarity• What is Business Metadata? • Business Motivation• Business Metadata Harvesting • Business Metadata Delivery to the Warehouse…and

Beyond• Infrastructure• Turning Data into Business Metadata (Straw into Gold)• Promoting Business Metadata: Using Public Relations• Summary: Putting it All Together


We are Not Precise Communicators!• Universal problem: misunderstanding!• Sloppy word usage

– We don’t define our terminology– Everybody thinks they understand same terminology– Nuances are rampant but not explicit– Humans don’t communicate well– Little or no documentation– People think they know what the terms mean, but…


Objective: Clear Understanding


Terminology Confusion• How does it happen?

– Acronyms– Different lines of business have their own “dialect”– Different geographical regions– Merger and Acquisitions– Slang– Different individual people

• Meaning is buried within the application processes


Data MisinterpretationHorror Stories

• Bombing of Chinese Embassy in 1999– CIA picked a target based upon an out-of-date map

• Mars Lander– Misinterpretation of Unit of Measure (meters vs. feet)

• Results of 2000 Presidential Election– Missing Metadata, Data presentation, validation, timeliness

of registration, etc.


Compounding The Problem…

Context

Each application has its own context

BARRIER

Each person has his/her own context

ContextA Customer

is…

X=y+z


Section Two

• What is Business Metadata?


Technical Metadata• Technical metadata has been well known for decades• Technical metadata includes

– Database and table name– Column name– Data type and length– ETL transformations– Computations and aggregations

Business

Technical

The World of MD


Technical Metadata Does Not…• Add business meaning or context• Supply business specifics• Explain how or why the data is useful to the

business• In Short, business Metadata adds business

context to the data• Business metadata is an untapped resource• So what is new?


Business Metadata

• Business Metadata refers to facts about the business that are important but often not stored formally in Information Systems, suitable for consumption by business people

Business Metadata is…• Contextual information that business users access

directly • Is expressed in a language business people can

understand


Business Metadata Examples• Policies• Organization Hierarchy• Business Rules• Goals• Strategies• Tactics• Mission Statement• Rationale for Rules• Validation/Authority• Metrics and Analytics• Business documentation/reference


Example: Definition of Customer

“A Customer is someonewho has had theircredit approved.”

“A Customer is a qualifiedbuyer of products that we

sell.”

“A Customer is someonewho has the potential to

buy from us.”

“A Customer is a companyor individual who hasdone business with usin the last 10 years.”


Section Three

• Business Motivation


What are Some Motivators?• Business Performance Management and KPIs• Legal pressures and compliance• Governance issues• Merger and Acquisitions• Graying of the workforce• Means for IT and Business to be engaged• Data quality ”issues” caused by various business

painful events– Law suit– Business goal that cannot be met (like data

sharing)– Data warehouse, data migration, CDI/MDM– SOA/ Web services implementation


“Graying of the Workforce”• Employee Turnover• Retirees Leaving

• What happens to the Corporate Knowledge Base when people leave?


Section Four

• Business Metadata Harvesting; or,• Principles of Knowledge Extraction

– How to Extract Content and Meaning from People


Knowledge Capture Principles• Knowledge capture must be easy• Knowledge capture must fit into the daily routine of

workers• Workers must be able to catch the vision/ motivation

behind the knowledge capture work– It’s helpful if they perceive they will benefit themselves

directly


Knowledge Capture• Some tacit knowledge can be captured by socialization

– This is where Knowledge Management has focused its efforts– Usually tacit knowledge capture involves people working

together face-to-face

• Today, many technology advancements have provided new ways to socialize knowledge– The Internet– Collaboration mechanisms– Wikis – Social Networking: MySpace or Linked-in


Knowledge Capture vs. Traditional Collaboration

• Collaboration (Collab) has been around for a while– Portals– Project and Team Collabs– Threaded discussions– Email archives

• Collab offers knowledge capture• Threaded discussions

– Each individual’s contribution is stored separately– No sense of multiple people updating a single

entity


Ideas for You to Try• Find the social networking tool that fits your culture best• Things to consider:

– Open Source– Portal– Packaged software

• Options– Blogs– Wikis– Collaboration suite– Portal


Socialization of Knowledge• What is the role of experts?

– “Whatever Joe (or my Mom or the Pope or CNN or Fox News) says, I believe”

• Is Wikipedia more accurate than Encyclopedia Britannica?– However, notice how many articles appearing in Wikipedia

quote experts, often as the originator of the technology or term

• Example: Michael Polanyi created the term Tacit Knowledge

• ‘The ‘Wisdom of Crowds” by Surowiecki seems to suggest that a crowd (or group) is usually more accurate than an expert alone


Section Five

• Business Metadata Delivery


Avoid the Roach Motel!

• Don’t want to go to all the trouble getting data in if you can’t report on it easily!

• Is it “open”? Can any reporting tool get data out of it?


The Trouble with Wikis• Many wikis are roach motels

– Data goes in really nicely– Can’t repurpose it well

• Repurpose means being able to take the data out of its current format and reuse it somewhere else

• Example:– Create a dictionary using a wiki, then take that

same data and load it into a Business Intelligence (BI) tool’s metadata repository to be displayed when analyzing BI data


Business Metadata Delivery• You want to have business metadata available

ubiquitously– Many different places– Portal– Within applications– As hover text– As help– Right mouse click

• Centrally located– But can be delivered to other repositories if

needed


Within BI• Some BI tools enable definitions or other descriptive

text to be shown as hover text in navigation list of data elements– But in order to do so, this text must be loaded into

the tool’s own proprietary metadata repository– This requires ETL– You must move the definition text to the tool’s

repository– But you must make sure the data element

matches up properly with the term being defined– Otherwise, the definition is not properly defining

the data element!


EM R

Businessm etadata

D ate

H ea t

Yield

P rod uc t

1 - an analyst is looking at a screen or a report

D ate

H ea t

Yield

P rod uc t

2 - the analyst has a question about som e item found on the screen. The analyst h igh lights the item

D ate

H ea t

Yield

P rod uc t

Inm on D ata S ys tem s

Pus h bu ttonto en te r

1 - aka2 - descrip tion3 - defin ition4 - form ula5 - ownership6 - where else used7 - data model8 - report9 - technology env10 - re la tionship

3 - IDS then asks the analyst w hat in form ation is desired

D ate

H ea t

Yield

P rod uc t

Inm on D ata S ys tem s

Pus h bu ttonto en te r

4 - IDS then returns the in form ation about the item

D ate

H ea t

Yield

P rod uc t

5 - IDS returns the analyst to the orig ina l screen

Indirect usage of busniessm etadata

F ig 31

BI Usage


Mashup


Mashups with Maps and Images


Section Six

• Infrastructure on a Shoestring Principles


Shoestring Principle # 1• Bonnie’s Law:

– “Use Whatever is Lying Around”• You can obviously save money if you don’t have to

buy anything special• Lowell’s 10th Law:

– “Start Simple, Start Small”• You will be surprised at what you find when you look

for “whatever is lying around”– Already purchased software– Software/hardware scrapped from a failed project– Under-utilized systems


Case Study

• Plumtree Portal– Studio: No custom development– Enabled dev and testing to be easier, quicker– Didn’t have to have separate groups do this

• However, it didn’t do everything we wanted– No programming required– BUT because of this, not very flexible


Shoestring Principle #2

• Implementation– Compromise


Trade-offs

• Functionality vs. Budget!– You get what you pay for

• Compromise– Know in advance that you won’t get everything

you want because you are doing it on limited funds


Case Study• Desired Functionality:

– We wanted wiki-like functionality• Everyone can edit anyone else’s entry

– But we wanted to enable Governance Lite• Allow only the Terms Team to update the Status Field

– Wanted to preserve history so the Terms Team can:

• See both pre-edited content as well as the edit made• See who updated the entry • See what the original entry was• Compare original with the update


Business Term Lifecycle

Search for Term

ReviewTerm MD

Retire Term or MD

Maintain Term

MD

Publish Term MD

Approve New Term

MD

Governance

Procedures

Capture

New TermMD

Identify New Term

Point of Origin


Biggest Challenge: Tracking History

• No history meant we could not establish our governance policy as desired

• It could be done using the full Plumtree Portal Product, But:– Added cost of development (Studio, development

virtually free)– Added time for development, testing and

deployment


Compromise• When someone wants to edit an existing term, they

have to create a new dictionary entry– This allowed both the terms team and users to

track the evolution of a term• Different than wiki because it will then have multiple

entries for the same term– Wiki only has one entry for the same term but can

be edited multiple times


Section Seven• Turning Data into Business Metadata (Straw into

Gold)– Why don’t business people understand us?– When does data become metadata?


Why is Technical Metadata “Greek”

• The context of Technical MD is difficult to understand for the Business person.

• Don’t expect the business person to understand – Data Type – VChar– Protocol – TCP-IP

– Indexing – Bitmap • Technical terminology is intended to be “technical”• Some business metadata can be “Greek” to the

technical staff as well• Recognize that metadata only have value when the

audience understands the context (the language)


When does Data become Business Metadata

• When the Business considers data in the context of a business program or initiative

• Metrics, KPIs, and Analytics can be Business Metadata

• Consider the Business initiative to improve Customer Address quality– The metric for “Percentage of CASS Certified Addresses” is

Business metadata – The metric provides context as to the progress and success

of the business program


Example

Business locations for mapping and proximity search (geocodes)

43% as of 43% as of 5/15/1

60% as 60% as of 6/1of 6/1

Plan for 83% Plan for 83% by 8/1 based by 8/1 based on test resultson test results

Final goal ofFinal goal of95% with sales 95% with sales Input by EOY Input by EOY 05’05’

Goal 100% advertisersGoal 100% advertisersAt least ZipAt least Zip

63% as of 63% as of 7/1 7/1

at Rooftop at Zip

Proximity Search and Map AccuracyProximity Search and Map Accuracy

No Map and Proximity SearchNo Map and Proximity Search

55% as of 55% as of 7/1:7/1:

8% as of 8% as of 7/1:7/1:

Geocoded AddressesGeocoded Addresses


Increasing Usefulness• Hook it to

– Company Home Page or on the “tool bar”– The Data Warehouse– Enterprise Applications

• “Change the Culture”– Increase awareness– Delivery into Business Practices is key– Get people to use it in their everyday life– Example: The Team Room software

• Make it pervasive– “Look it up in the Dictionary”


Section Eight

• Promoting Business Metadata: Public Relations


PR

• Business Metadata is supposed to be helpful to Businesspeople directly

• You will have to let the people know that business metadata is out there so they can use it

• You will also need to figure out a way to get people to add to the knowledge base

• Two-fold Approach:– Advertising, Awareness– Incentives!


Include the Publicity• Our client had a PR group; we engaged them to help

us• We had a contest:

– Entering a term gave you a chance to win one of two $100 gift certificates of brand merchandise

• We put posters up in each site• “In the Know” online webzine had a front page article• The article appeared on our portal the first time we

launched• Put the “Terms Dictionary” portlet on the internal

Home Page


Summary

• Putting it all together


The need for Business Clarity• People are by nature lousy at documenting things

– Metadata efforts need to be aimed at encouraging people to document their work

• We need to create an easy way that people can document a discovery made when it happens

• Need to consider how the knowledge will be used throughout the organization– “Change the Culture”

• Bad decisions will be made because the context of the data is not understood

• Compliance efforts are driving the need


What is Business Metadata• Metadata is all about context and meaning

– Technical metadata adds context– Business metadata adds the meaning

• Business metadata can include– Business Policies and Procedures– Business Rules– Business Strategy, Goals, Mission statements– Metrics and Analytics– Knowledge and Tacit Management


Business Motivation

• Drivers are often– Compliance and Regulations – CDI/MDM– Graying of the workforce– Downsizing and turnover– Merger and Acquisitions– Data Quality New IT systems or enterprise

integration– Metrics and Analytics


Business Metadata Harvesting• Knowledge capture principles

– Must be easy and fit into the daily routine– People must gain individual value from their efforts

• Some tacit knowledge can be captured by socialization

• Social networking technologies support the capture principles

• Collaboration technologies also support knowledge capture

• Find the collaboration/networking tools that best fits the culture of your organization


Business Metadata Delivery• Business metadata delivery is equally as important as

knowledge capture… No Roach Motels• Effective Search capabilities and training are critical • Consider putting the Business MD Search on the

company home page and may other places • Careful consideration must be given to how Business

MD will be integrated into the reporting capabilities • A combination of technologies (mashup) may be an

effective delivery mechanism in your culture


Business Metadata Infrastructure

• Don’t ignore the need for a data model• Use the technology that is available if it can work• Use the technology that requires less technical

resources, they are generally less complex for business usage

• Be prepared to compromise “wants vs. needs”• Governance must be driven by the Business

individuals• Enable Business “ownership” for the Business MD

application


Turning Data into Business MD

• Data that provides the context for the status or success of a Business initiative

• Data must be put in the context of the initiative• Identify important business initiatives• Identify the metrics, KPIs, and analytics that will

provide the context of the initiative• Deliver in the Business metadata application


Promoting Business Metadata

• People have to be aware of the tools available to them, Business MD is one

• Promote an internal “contest” to have people use and add to the knowledge base

• Advertise for awareness and provide incentives• Engage your PR staff for the promotional efforts• Engage the Training staff to add the Business MD

application to the New Employee Orientation


High Level Data Model

Term Authority

Authority Type

Business Term

Governance Status

Business Term Type

Business Term Definition

Related Business Term

Related Term Type


Steps to Success

• What are the implementation steps– Phase 1: Define Vision, Roadmap and Funding– Phase 2: Establish Governance Organization– Phase 3: Implementation of the Terms Dictionary


Phase 1: Vision, Roadmap, FundingDocument current capabilities, challenges, infrastructure, dictionaries,

processes, and company culture– Define the Vision for the future – Develop the Business Case– Define the life-cycle and use cases– Define technology infrastructure– Identify Governance options– Develop an implementation plan– Develop executive presentations to gain consensus and funding


Phase 2: Establish Terms GovernanceEstablish the Governance organization, processes,

practices, and technology– Establish the Terms Governance organization– Establish the life-cycle processes and usage– Establish the Governance standards and best

practices– Establish the Dictionary technology – Conduct a proof-of-concept– Develop the promotion and roll-out strategy– Refine the implementation plan


Phase 3: Implement

• Implement the Terms Dictionary governance and application– Design and develop of the application– Integrate existing terms dictionaries– Test the Governance processes and application– Roll-out the application


Summary• Metadata is all about context and meaning

– Technical metadata adds technical context– Business metadata adds the meaning

• Business metadata can include– Business Policies and Procedures– Business Rules– Business Strategy, Goals, Mission statements– Metrics and Analytics– Business and technical terms


Summary

• The Business Terms Dictionary provides a solid foundation as a first project– Phase 1: Define Vision, Roadmap and Funding– Phase 2: Establish Governance Organization– Phase 3: Implementation of the Terms Dictionary


Q & A• For additional information please contact us at

– [email protected]– www.vipconsulting.com

• Contact Us– [email protected]

• Business Metadata: Capturing Enterprise Knowledge• Metadata channel -

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