The Benefits Of Doing A Data Maturity Assessment

Anmut
Data Maturity

Data is becoming an increasingly important driver of business success, and organisations are recognising the need to manage and leverage their data effectively. However, achieving a high level of data maturity can be a challenging journey.

That’s where data maturity assessments come in – they help businesses understand their current data maturity, and equip them with the tools and resources necessary to climb the data maturity curve.

Click the links below to navigate to different sections

1. What is a Data Maturity Assessment?

2. What are the Benefits of Doing a Data Maturity Assessment?

3. How do you do a Data Maturity Assessment?

4. What does a Data Maturity Assessment Measure?

5. Unlock the benefits of a Data Maturity Assessment

What is a Data Maturity Assessment?

A data maturity assessment is a measurement of the reliability, effectiveness, and efficiency of an organisation’s data management.

You can think of a data maturity assessment as a health check-up for your organisation’s data practices. Just like how a doctor evaluates your physical health by checking your vitals and running tests, a data maturity assessment evaluates your organisation’s data management.

While a doctor’s advice can help you live a healthier and longer life, a data maturity assessment can future proof your business by identifying areas where your organisation can improve its data management practices and align them with your business goals. By regularly conducting data maturity assessments, you can catch potential issues early and make proactive changes to supercharge your business’s success.

Data maturity assessments typically involve analysing the organisation’s data management processes, data governance policies, data quality, data architecture, and data’s value.

By conducting a data maturity assessment, companies can gain insights into their data management practices, identify areas for improvement, and prioritise investments in data-related initiatives.

What are the Benefits of Doing a Data Maturity Assessment?

Data maturity assessments can help organisations adopt a more data-driven culture, leading to improved decision-making, and increased competitiveness as businesses begin treating data as an asset.

They can be a valuable tool for organisations looking to improve their data practices and make more informed business decisions. Here are some of the benefits of doing a data maturity assessment:

1. Understanding your data landscape

Data maturity assessments help organisations understand the strengths and weaknesses of their data, across different business areas and geographies.

2. Better decision-making and improving data ROI

By understanding their data landscape, organisations can identify and fix their least mature data, as decision-makers become more informed about which data should be fixed first, and how.

3. Cost savings

By identifying areas where data management processes can be optimised, organisations can reduce costs associated with data management and analysis.

4. Enhanced data governance

A data maturity assessment can identify gaps in the organisation’s data governance framework and help establish clear policies, procedures, and standards to ensure the security, privacy, and quality of data.

5. Improved data quality

By assessing the organisation’s data quality management practices, the assessment can identify areas where data quality can be improved. This can lead to better decision-making and more accurate insights.

Just as planting a garden requires assessing the quality of the soil and choosing the right plants for the environment, a data maturity assessment can help you understand the quality of your data and where your data improvement efforts will bear the most fruit.

How do you do a Data Maturity Assessment?

Often, a data maturity assessment follows 5 simple steps.

First, you must define the data assets you want the data maturity assessment to assess.

Second, you should understand the different roles surrounding those data assets. Who analyses that data? Who views reports or outputs from that data? Who owns it? If anyone! This will give you a clear understanding of the individuals who manage the data you care about.

Then, you need to ask these people about their data capabilities and how effectively they are managing this data, through a well-structured survey.

After surveying the right people about the right data, there’s often a lot of analysis to do. Take time to explore the themes across the assessment. Which data assets have better results than others? For very immature data assets, what’s causing that immaturity, such as governance or architecture? How do people’s perspectives of data change across roles, business units and seniorities?

Finally, turn those results into action. Use the data maturity assessment output to decide which data assets look like they need urgent attention and resource to amend, this will inform your data strategy. The results will help you build consensus around that strategy, as you can use the assessment evidence to get people onboard and turn them into advocates.

What does a Data Maturity Assessment Measure?

1. Value

The assessment identifies if the organisation places a value on its data assets. This includes the extent to which the organisation views data as a strategic asset that can drive business value and competitive advantage.

2. Governance

Assessing if there are clear policies, procedures, and standards in place to ensure the security, privacy, and quality of data assets.

3. Data Architecture

Evaluating if an organisation uses rigorous data models, data storage systems, and data processing workflows that are used to manage data assets.

4. Data management

Understanding the processes and procedures that are in place to manage data throughout its lifecycle, from creation to disposal.

5. Data quality management

Checking the processes and procedures that are in place to ensure the accuracy, completeness, and consistency of data.

6. Technology architecture

Evaluating how an organisation manages its hardware, software, and network infrastructure to support data management and analysis.

7. Data usage

Finally, the assessment analyses the organisation’s data usage capabilities, which includes the ability to extract insights from data to support decision-making and drive business value.

Ready to unlock the benefits of a Data Maturity Assessment?

We believe the most valuable data maturity assessments prioritise relevance to the business, enable leaders to prioritise actions, and provide detailed insights into specific areas of data management.

Struggling to prioritise your time? Need robust evidence to inform your data strategy? Want to understand where risks and costs lie in your organisation’s data?

Schedule a consultation with our team to discuss if a data maturity assessment is right for you.

For The Latest In Data Asset Management Thinking