CHAPTER 4

THE DATA RESOURCE

The fourth information technology component that is just as critical as those
three is the data that are processed by the hardware and software and sent
thorough the network both before and after processing. In fact, without the right
data captured, stored, and disseminated, the other three components have no
value. The data resource consists of the facts and information an organization
gathers while conducting business and in order to conduct business at all levels of
the organization. The data resources components include numeric, text, audio,
video, and graphical data collected both within the organization and from sources
external to it, as well as the metadata, which describe the business and technical
characteristics of the data resources.
Why Manage Data ?
One way to view the importance of managing the data resources is to consider the
following questions :
1. How much would it cost your company to not comply with Sarbanes-oxley or
other financial reporting laws because you failed to adequately control data
integrity or document the source (lineage) of data in your financial
statement?
2. What would your company do if its critical business data, such as customer
orders, product prices, account balances, or patient histories, were
destroyed? Could the organization function? For how long?
3. How much time does your organization spend reconciling inconsistent data?
4. How difficult is it to determine what data are stored about the part of the
business you manage?
5. Do you know all the contacts a customer has with your organization?
TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF MANAGING THE DATA RESOURCE
The Data Model and Metadata
A key element in the effective management of data is an overall map for
business data- a data model. A manufacturing company would never think about
building a new product without developing a detailed design and using common
components and parts from existing product. Data modeling involves both a
methodology and a notation. The methodology includes the steps that are followed
to identify and describe organizational data entities, and the nation is way to show
these findings, usually graphically.
An ERD is only part of metadata, or data about data, needed to
unambiguously describe data for the enterprise. Metadata documents the meaning
and all the business rules that govern data. For example, some metadata about an

attribute of customer name would define this term, state its properties such as
maximum length and the type of data (alphanumeric characters) that a value of this
attribute might have, whether every customer has to have a name to be stored in
database, whether the name can change in value over time, whether there can be
multiple instance of the name, and who has rights to enter and change the name.
Data Modeling
The role of data modeling as part of IS planning is essential. In practice, two
rather different approaches are followed-one top-down, called enterprise modeling,
and one bottom-up, called view integration. Many organization choose to use both
approaches because they are complementary methods that emphasize different
aspects of data and, hence, check and balance each other.
Data modeling methods are neither simple nor inexpensive to conduct. They
require considerable time,organizational commitment, and the assignment of very
knowledgeable managers and data specialist. In order to deal with these concerns,
certain guidelines have been developed :
a.
b.
c.
d.

Objective
Scope
Outcome
Timing

Database Programming
Data processing activity with a database can be specified in either procedural
programs written in a 3 GL or via special-purpose languages developed for database
processing. In the case of a 3 GL program, additional and more powerful instructions
are added to the vocabulary of the programming language. For example, in a
customer and order database the storage of a new order record not only
necessitates storing the order data themselves but also updating various linkages
that tie together a customer record with its associated order records.
MANAGERIAL ISSUES IN MANAGING DATA
Having considered key technical issues involved in managing data, let us
know turn to managerial issues. How to plan for data, to control data integrity, to
secure access to and use data, and to make data accessible are important to the
business manager. As with any business resource, quality sources for data must be
identified and the acquired; enough space must be available for data storage;
obsolete data must be identified, disposed of, or achieved; and usage of data must
be accounted for, and, if appropriate, usages fees should be charged to those
utilizing the data.
Principles in Managing Data

Successful management of the data resource depends on understanding certain key

guidelines :
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

The need to manage data is permanent

Data can exist at several levels
Application software should be separate from the database
Application software can be classified by how they treat data
Application software should be considered disposable
Data should be captured once
There should be strict data standards
Master data must confirm

The Management Data Process

An important point to note is that, as with other resources, every business
manager should be involved, in some way, in every one of these function for data.
1. Plan
Data resources planning develops a blueprint for data and the relationships
among data across business units and functions. As with most plans, there
will be a mcaro-level data plan, typically called an enterprise data model, to
identify data entities and relationships among the entities and more detailed
plans to define schedules for the implementation of databases for different
parts of this blueprint.
2. Source
Decisions must be made about the timeliest and highest-quality source for
each data element required. When selecting an external data source, the
original source, the reliability of the data, the timing of when data are needed
and when they were collected, the precision and detail collected, and other
factors should be checked.
3. Acquire and Maintain
Once the best source for data are identified and selected, data capture
systems must be built to acquire and maintain these data. A systems is
needed to confirm that all files were sent and received, that all customers on
the list were called and that a status is received on each.
4. Define/describe and Inventory
A basic step in managing any resource is defining what is being managed.For
a real estate manager, each property must be described, standards and
scales must be set to define the size and shape of each building or land
parcel, and terminology must be defined to refer to different pieces of each
building.
5. Organize and Make Accessible
Database need to be designed so that data can be retrieved and reported
efficiently and in the format that business managers require. Data shoulde be
arranged and stored so that information can be produced easily. Although
most of the work here is rather technical, this physical arrangement of data

cannot be done unless potential uses of the data are well defined, and this
task is best done by business managers.
6. Control Quality and Integrity
As with employee certification, audits of financial records, and tests for
hazardous materials or structural defects in buildings, quality and integrity
controls must be placed on the data resource.
7. Protect and Secure
The rights each manager has to each type of data must be defined. Privileges
for use of data might include definition, retrieval, insertion, deletion, update,
and retrieval of the datum by itself or in combination with other values.
8. Account for Use
Because there is considerable cost to capture, maintain, and report data,
these costs must be identified and an accounting system developed to report
them. Further, an organization might choose to distribute the costs to
appropriate responsibility centers. Two conditions make accounting for the
use of data especially difficult as compared to other information resources.
9. Recover/Restore and Upgrade
When an asset becomes old or damaged, it is often renovated and put back
into operation. When an employees skills become obsolete because of new
technology or methods, the employee is trained for the new environtment.
The same process is true with organizational data.
10.Determine Retention and Upgrade
Business managers must decide, on legal and other grounds, how much data
history needs to be kept. Some data need to be kept in active databases,
while other data may be achieved to be used only when needed. Eventually,
data should be summarized, eliminated, and/or moved to the data
warehouse.
11.Train and Consult for Effective Use
Just because data exist, they will not necessarily be effectively used. What
data are stored in databases, what they mean, what presentation systems
report these data, and how they can be accessed in ad hoc ways all have to
be explained to business managers who might want to use the data.
Data Management Policies
The implementation of these concepts and process for data management
occurs differently in each organization. However, policies should be developed
regarding data ownership and data administration. These policies are typically
developed from a process called data governance. Data governance is an
organizational process for establishing strategy, objectives, and politics for
organizational data-that is, to oversee data stewardship, even overseeing local data
stewards responsible for similar activities for specific data subject areas or business
units.
DATA OWNERSHIP

Business managers can become very possessive about data, for both
business and personal reasons such as the following :
-

The need to protect personal privacy

The need to protect trade secrets
The requirement to allow only those with a need to know to see sensitive
business or product plans
The desire to promote internal competition and justify the use of scarce
resources
The desire to show commitment to ones job and ownership of the data
needed to carry out ones job
To desire to use information as power for political gain.

DATA ADMINISTRATION
To better manage data, many organizations have created a unit to lead the
efforts in data management. Typically, this grup is called data administration,
although other terms may be used. This grup often report as a staff unit to the IS
director, although other structures are possible. In any case, the company should
have a data governance policy that outlines the role of the data administration
group and the role of business managers in data administration. Key functions of
the data administration group should include the following :
a. Promote and control data sharing.
b. Analyze the impact of changes to application systems when data definitions
change.
c. Maintin metadata.
d. Reduce redundant data and processing.
e. Reduce system maintenance costs and improve systems development
productivity.
f. Improve quality and security of data.
g. Insure data integrity.