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Data Assets
Development
Sample Engagements
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Client:
Description: |
Electric and Gas Energy Distribution Company. Data Administration function
assessment & recommendations Data Warehouse project
management The newly hired CIO was concerned that the company’s data assets were not being adequately managed. He requested a formal assessment of the existing policies, practices and capabilities. They were found wanting when compared with an analysis of corporate goals and priorities and compared with the CIO’s strategic vision. Recommendations to establish a data management function (including mission statement, objectives, standards and job descriptions) were developed to eliminate the gap. Upon acceptance of the recommendations, the engagement was extended to include development of staffing plans, organization charts and formal job descriptions followed by coordination of the search for the new Data Management Director and his subsequent acclimatization to his new corporate environment. Subsequent engagements with the same client involved the data analysis aspects of business re-engineering efforts that were the focus of considerable senior management attention. Enhancements to methodologies for analyzing data quality and documenting business data needs through logical data modeling were introduced. At various times other assignments were accepted to support three different IS Directors (Research & Planning, Applications Development, and Data Management). These involved (1) redirecting the company’s first data warehousing effort by assuming data-to-day responsibility as project manager. A new project plan was developed; management was lead to a consensus on objectives; and project staff were mentored in necessary skills. (2) overseeing the data analysis aspects of business re-engineering efforts that were the focus of considerable senior management attention. (3) recommending a corporate data architecture and corresponding business case for undertaking a coordinated corporate reference file strategy. |
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Client: Deliverables: Description: |
Mobile communications subsidiary of Bell Operating Company. Facilitate business process analysis This client was experiencing substantial growth to the point that its existing methods could not cope with demand. My initial role was to guide client staff in the daily application of a business process evaluation and re-engineering methodology. As a result they were able to identify and prioritize of a set of systems development initiatives. A follow-on engagement focused on establishing a sound infrastructure to manage critical operational data. This began with the development and presentation of an Enterprise Data Model and moved on to the development of a comprehensive handbook of formal policies and procedures covering the gamut of data administration topics from data management principles and policies to data modeling techniques and standards. |
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Client:
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Major mid-west Health Maintenance Organization. Guide efforts to correct data integrity breakdown The introduction of quality standards into the administration of HMO's has occasioned an explosion of data collection and verification activity within insurance organizations. The existing systems within this department level client were collapsing under the increased workload. A major contributor to the crisis was the loss of data integrity within the production data base. The engagement's charter was to identify practical corrections and enhancements to extend the useful life of the application by one or two years while a suite of replacement applications are developed at the corporate level. A second engagement involved a full assessment of the company's existing Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) operations with respect to current organizational effectiveness and long term business planning and technical staffing requirements. |
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Client: Description: |
Non-profit religious organization. Design and implement constituent data base This organization has a diverse and unusually volatile congregation with many special interest groups. Each had maintained its own membership rosters but with considerable overlap in the group memberships. The organization needed a means for centrally maintaining participant name and address information as well as individual group rosters. It was also necessary to recognize the distinction between households and the individuals within them without creating duplicate entries. During the time of this assignment, the organization observed its 150th anniversary and undertook many special events and fundraising efforts. The data base and its software were instrumental in supporting the mailing of announcements and solicitations; as well as the tracking of sesquicentennial donations. |
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Client:
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Leading High Tech Manufacturer (computer peripherals). Develop methodology for start-up consulting practice An established vendor of computer hardware and software data storage products made a strategic business decision to expand into providing consulting services in configuration planning and management. I was invited to join an existing team of external advisors who had been engaged to prepare formal methodologies and analysis tools to be marketed as part of the client's new business line. We delivered detailed step-by-step guides to ensure consistent worldwide delivery of the new services. The effort also involved defining the various positions in the new "Support Services Consultant" job family and specifying required skill sets. Lastly, I developed a high-level subject classification scheme to guide the organization of data to be maintained in a collection of online systems for use by sales, marketing, and implementation personnel. |
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Client: Description: |
International Publisher of Special Interest Technical Periodicals. Analyze impact of database publishing tools on staff skill sets The development and publication of technical buyers guides comprises a "specialty" within this specialty publishing company. Software specifically designed to support the unique demands of directory development had been obtained and successfully implemented. The operational impact, however, of staff adjustments to automated techniques remained after the software was fully functional. Organizational restructuring was required in order to keep pace with significant year on year volume growth without corresponding increases in headcount. |
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Client: Description: |
International Operations Improvement Consulting Firm. Assess the overall quality of existing operational data bases A consulting firm which specializes in process re-engineering and operational cost reduction was concerned about the effect of daily procedures on the integrity of critical client data. Data Assets Development was called in to provide an assessment of the quality of the client's data and to recommend specific steps to include in the operations improvement project plan. The engagement involved the introduction of a formal methodology for conducting data integrity assessments. |
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Client: Deliverables: Description: |
National Provider of Health Care Risk Management Services. Identify root causes of procedural inefficiencies and service failures Historically persistent problems in the underwriting and enrollment processes were recognized as an impediment to continued success (and even survival) in the increasingly competitive health insurance industry. As a response the client had established a formal, multi-year effort to analyze and correct the problems. External support was needed to help organize the multiple cross-departmental activities and to provide "best practices" input. While many specific inefficiencies were identified for immediate correction, the principle benefit of the analysis was the agreement to re-evaluate the many independent departmental systems development projects in the light of a new coordinated and mutually supportive cross-functional strategy. |
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Client: Deliverables: Description: |
Office Products Retailer. Develop foundation for strategic data planning A rapidly growing company needed a formal approach for gaining control over its critical data assets. This engagement began with an exploratory off-site session attended by IS senior management which was designed to articulate common understandings concerning data-related issues facing the company and to position the Data Resource Management department at the center of communications channels on such topics. It proceeded to developing a framework for data architecture drawing on and adapting generally understood best practices. The resulting structure is consistent with proposed frameworks for technology and process. Work is currently underway to fill-in the framework with such strategically critical items as the Enterprise Data Model, formal modeling standards, business terms glossary, etc. |
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Client: Deliverables: Description: |
Certified Medical Services Provider Networks Administrator. Identify root causes of procedural inefficiencies and service failures Rapid growth in transaction volume had resulted in a spiral of out-of-control backlogs and excessive crisis management operations which often worked at cross purposes. The existing workflow was documented graphically which readily highlighted bottlenecks and non-productive delays. Immediate changes in physical work station layouts and manual filing procedures were followed by revamped policies, staff re-training, new organizational structures and a more-effective prioritization strategy. The engagement concluded with a formal justification for automated workflow management and a framework for its implementation by the client. |
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Client: Deliverables: Description: |
Community social services provider. Assessment of data management processes and procedures Technical
consultation in the selection of donation management software Project Management
for software implementation and data conversion The Development Committee for a non-for-profit organization was dissatisfied with its ability to manage and analyze its donor base. They requested help in assessing the exiting system; in identifying suitable replacement software; and in developing effective and practical procedures to ensure both data accuracy and meaningful reporting. Services included software installation and historical data conversion. |
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