Getting started with master data management
The version of this that works is simpler than the version most people imagine. A short on-ramp to master data management for teams who have not touched it before.
Most data problems are ownership problems that turned into technical ones. The version that survives contact with a real deadline is the simple one.
Why this earns attention
Two systems with different customer records will disagree at the worst moment. It is worth being explicit about, because assumptions differ quietly. The failure mode is not doing it wrong, it is doing it once and assuming it stays done.
Your first week
- Find out what is already in place
- Decide which system is authoritative for each entity
- Change one thing and measure it
Reconciliation is cheaper than arbitration later. There is a version of this that is over-engineered, and it is worth avoiding. If two people in the business would answer this differently, that gap is the actual problem.
The short version
Data outlives the applications built on top of it, which is why the model deserves more thought than the screens. Three things worth confirming about master data management before you move on:
- Someone can say what the current setup is without going to look
- Decide which system is authoritative for each entity — and you know whether that is true here
- There is a way to tell whether the last change to this helped
None of this needs a rewrite. Most of it is a morning's work once someone decides to do it.