Maturity Framework

Take our data governance maturity assessment below.

Given the challenges, it’s not surprising that most data governance programs are still working to get traction. According to our benchmark assessment, the average maturity of data governance programs is 2.88 out of 6.0, meaning most organizations are still in the initiating phase.

Organizations in the Initiating stage have launched a data governance program and have pockets of good governance, but still need to scale up the program. These organizations are still developing policies and standards, establishing committees, and recruiting data stewards and owners. To succeed, they need to educate businesspeople about the importance of data governance and embed data governance into development processes and the culture of the organization. (See figure 4.)

Our Data Governance Maturity Assessment evaluates your program in six categories: culture, program, roles, data management, processes, and technology.

Figure 4. Eckerson Group’s Data Governance Maturity Model

1

AD HOC

No Coordinated Activity

Some groups have initiated data governance practices, but there is no coordinated strategy, organization, or processes.

2

INITIATING

Early Stages

You’ve kicked off an initiative and are working hard to get traction. Lack of data stewards, owners, and executive buy-in still hamper your efforts.

3

DEPLOYING

Some Progress But More Work To Do

You have and data governance program with full-time employees and trained data owners and stewards, but you still need more alignment and buy-in across the organization.

4

OPTIMIZING

Enterprise Scope and Alignment

You have a robust enterprise, data governance program with established policies, standards, and processes, and trained owners and stewards. But pockets of resistance remain.

5

SUSTAINING

Adapt and Adjust

Data governance permeates the organization and is built into key processes and activities. The goal here is to continuously adapt the program to new business strategies and organizational changes.