I’ve been researching how to manage projects where the goal is to make large amounts of data open, accessible, and useful.
All in Data Access
10 Basic Suggestions for Planning and Managing Data Intensive Projects
It is also impossible for the project manager to ignore how data management and data governance are handled in the organization as a whole.
Data Program Governance and the Success of Shared Digital Services
If the tip of the data management “spear” is analyzing data in new and interesting ways to help solve important problems, someone still has to manufacture the spear, carry it, and train throwers to hit the target.
USAID’s “Frequently Asked Questions” and the Management of Open Data Programs
By itself, just documenting a process is never enough. Also needed is a sufficiently-resourced governance structure that supports program management in how systems and processes are changed and in how they operate.
Don’t Just Make Data Open, Make Open Data Useful!
In this post we dive a little deeper into the topic of “open data usefulness.”
USAID’s Evolving Open Data Culture
I learned last night at the latest Open Data Leaders Meetup in Washington D.C. that they really are serious about “open data” at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
While it is true that a platform such as GitHub is not really designed to be as user friendly as, say, Facebook, the fact is that the sharing of technical expertise among mid-level IT staff and data administrators in different governmental agencies has probably been at least as important to open data progress as the Administration’s top down support.
Management Needs Data Literacy To Run Open Data Programs
Whether you have useful information stored in documents or in data sets you also need at some point to have the ability and skill to manage or at least understand the processes involved in gathering and analyzing the data.
Don’t Let Tools Drive Enterprise Data Strategy
Isaac Sacolick’s Friend or Foe? How Microsoft Excel 2013 Creates New Data Governance Challenges is a refreshing look at the challenges organizations face as the capabilities of data management tools outstrip the policies and processes for governing how such tools are used.
While a central program management operation can define detailed technical requirements, technical approaches, and management tools, implementation work needs to be occurring locally – while the “train is still running.” How this overall governance process is managed will determine how long DATA Act implementation takes, how much it costs, and whether or not it is successful.
You do need to avoid adopting standards and processes developed by other organizations without first understanding how and why they were developed. That requires research, communication with the other organization, and thoughtful planning.
Government Performance Measurement and DATA Act Implementation Need to be Coordinated
Hopefully a coordinated data management strategy is something that Treasury, OMB, GAO, and the White House are already working on.
Now we’re seeing more attention being paid in the public sector to data management strategy as data assets become a more visible — and public — components of government action. That’s a good thing.
On balance I believe passage of the DATA Act will be a good thing as long as its implementation is effectively planned and managed. Before commenting on its ultimate success or failure, though, I’d like to see a detailed work plan with resources, responsibilities, a timeline, and deliverables. That’s just good project management.
Who Will Pay for Open Data?
Alicia Green’s Open data is the next iteration of public records shows how the definition of “open data” continues to evolve.
Getting Real About "Open Data”
If the “geeks” on your team understand all this that’s great. If not, you need to seek out and involve other areas of expertise, starting with people who understand what enhanced data services can do for your target users and the problems you are trying to solve.
Data Standardization Scores and Changing the DATA Act
The basic ideas behind the DATA Act’s focus on financial data standardization makes such eminently good sense that efforts to weaken such standardization should be carefully and openly assessed. Fundamentally, data standardization if managed well can reduce costs, improve data manageability, reduce errors, and improve communication. Implementing data standards can also improve how date transparency efforts are supported as long as the people who operate the underlying systems want to be more transparent.
Recommendations for Collaborative Management of Government Data Standardization Projects
Standardizing how the U.S. government collects, manages, and publishes budget and expenditure data, as required by the DATA Act currently before the U.S. Congress, is an example of a long-term and complex project. It will be require careful planning, management, and sufficient resources to be successful.
The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA) making its way through the US Congress regarding Federal financial reporting has several implications:
How Important Is ‘Total Cost of Standardization’ to the DATA Act?
Last week I attended a meeting in DC sponsored by the Data Transparency Coalition, PwC, and Intel. Representatives of the Federal agencies likely to manage implementation of the evolving DATA Act presented their thoughts on implementing the Act’s requirements for standardizing and reporting on Federal financial data.