Enhancing data quality is never a solo endeavour. In large organizations, many individuals need to actively contribute to maintaining data quality. For instance, in an environment with 1,000 business applications, there might easily be over 100 application owners.
These Data Providers are responsible for maintaining data for their respective applications within the Configuration Management Database (CMDB).
However, a common challenge arises when these application owners aren't fully aware of their responsibility to update the CMDB. Some might not even know what the CMDB is, or they may not use ServiceNow regularly. Thus, even willing contributors might not know what they need to do or how to do it.
So, how can you effectively engage these individuals?
Based on our customer experience, three combined strategies yield the best results:
- Clearly define roles and responsibilities using the Consumer-Owner-Provider model to identify stakeholders accurately.
- Make the process personal. Individuals should focus solely on the data they're directly responsible for, rather than an abstract quality score for the whole CMDB.
- Provide them with a simple, user-friendly tool to address data gaps: The DCM Data Quality Workspace.
Why Make It Personal?
Personalizing data quality clearly identifies an individual’s specific data quality responsibilities and the gaps in the data they are responsible for. When individuals resolve their data issues, they immediately see meaningful improvements reflected in their personal data quality Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
In contrast, general KPIs for the entire CMDB might hardly change, no matter how much individual effort is applied, especially in larger environments.
Personalized data quality measurements open avenues for motivational strategies, such as gamification or competitive approaches. Some companies have even incorporated personal data quality KPIs from Data Content Manager into employee performance reviews, influencing their bonuses.
How Do You Make It Personal?
Personalizing data quality requires the right tools. Data Content Manager (DCM) provides these capabilities out of the box.
When you create a data model – a Blueprint in DCM - you'll also define a Data Provider Configuration. This configuration enables you to connect data with your data providers and communicate effectively. It provides the basis for delivering personalized data quality metrics and remediation capabilities.
Read more about Blueprints: Blueprints are the Foundation for Data Quality.
Now, let’s explore how this process can be accomplished using the Data Content Manager.
Data Provider Configuration
You can set up the Data Provider Configuration when publishing a Blueprint in the DCM Blueprint Designer. It specifies data management responsibilities at the record level and indicates clearly where to find individuals accountable for maintaining data in line with the Blueprint.
During audits against the Blueprint, DCM automatically associates audit results and messages with the appropriate individuals based on this configuration.
For example, the configuration might specify that the individual responsible for a Technical Service Offering is listed under the 'Managed By' field or 'Managed By Group'. If data is missing in these fields, responsibility defaults to the Data Domain Manager.
In the given configuration example, you would anticipate locating the individual responsible for a specific Technical Service Offering either in the ‘Managed By’ field or the ‘Managed By Group’. If the audit is unable to find any data from these fields, it will default to the Data Domain Manager.
Audits & Dashboards
When you’ve set up Data Content Manager with a Blueprint, you can use it to run audits against your real data. The Data Provider Configuration then connects the very specific audit results to the individuals who are expected to fix gaps related to that Blueprint.
In the case of a Business Application, the Business Application Owner would likely be the person receiving tasks about data gaps found in their Business Applications. They would then be able to fix the gaps in their personal Data Quality Workspace
Learn more about DCM Audits: How to Audit ServiceNow Data Quality
The DCM Data Quality Workspace
The DCM Data Quality Workspace provides each Data Provider with a personalized workspace, allowing them to concentrate solely on their own data quality issues without distraction.
When a Data Provider resolves a data quality issue, their personal data quality score will improve. This individualized score clearly reflects their progress, helps set achievable targets, and can even boost engagement through gamification.
Resolving data gaps is simple: point and click. Whether you're adding a Business Unit or creating a CI relationship, there's no need to understand complex data models or navigate complicated forms. All data issues can be addressed using the same intuitive method, regardless of type.
With the Blueprints guiding all activities in the background and an intuitive user interface guiding the user, mistakes are virtually impossible to make.
Our customers who use the Data Quality Workspace report that they have had great success with it. They’ve engaged data providers who previously weren't sure how to contribute effectively. The individuals’ data quality scores have improved, resulting in a significant overall enhancement in data quality.
Watch the quick video below to see how it works:
Data Quality Dashboards
Data Content Manager comes with Data Quality Dashboards for all levels of stakeholders. They enable Data Owners and Data Domain owners to effectively monitor the overall status of their data quality, facilitating more informed decision-making and steering efforts.
The dashboards are fully interactive, allowing for detailed drilling down to the individual level. This capability makes it easy to see how different data providers are contributing, but it also makes it easy to see possible problem areas.
Management decisions are easier to make when facts are readily available. Discussions are easier had with the correct teams and individuals when the quality of data under their responsibility is clearly visible.
How to get started?
The capability to do all of the above is included in Data Content Manager and requires absolutely zero coding or report customization. When you set up the Data Provider Configuration for a Blueprint, these are results that you get automatically when running audits.
To get started, you need Data Content Manager. Book a session with us from our online calendar below, and we will show you how DCM works and we will guide you on how to get started.
Get a Free Guided Trial
To see how Data Content Manager works in your environment, please request a Guided Trial from us. A Guided Trial allows you to experience the power of Data Content Manager in your ServiceNow instance with your own data. We will guide you through the installation process, creating Blueprints, running Audits, and interpreting the results.
The results are yours to keep.
There’s no cost or commitment since we know this is the easiest way for you to experience the power of Data Content Manager.
