Business Case Creation

Taking the time to plan your project is essential. Whether you’re managing a team, analyzing or cleaning a portion of data, or drawing conclusions from your findings, completing any portion of the project requires a great deal of thought and planning. In the following section, we’ll provide a clear, step-by-step guide to the entire planning process, including everything you need to know about creating goals, determining a plan, and getting your data. It is our hope that you leave this section with a detailed and specific plan, and the confidence that you have the tools to carry out a successful project.

Set Clear and Measurable Outcomes

Be sure that you are measuring success and thinking critically about what your success metrics will be. You must have clear and actionable goals that you want to achieve with your data project.

Define Your Own Meaning of Data

Everyone is going to define data differently. Start by understanding what data means for your Department. It also will be important for you to prioritize your data. You must know which data are the highest value to your organization.

Start Small

You’re going to want to be sure to start small. Running a few pilots around data can’t hurt; this will help you get a better understanding of the lay of the land, what you can improve with data, and how you can identify the gaps.

Identify Staff to Manage Data

Every employee will need different kinds of accessibility, so make sure that your data systems maps to these needs and is not providing unauthorized access to information.

Focus on Education and Training

This will help staff clearly see the impact of the project and how data can improve effectiveness and efficiency. Including the Playbook in a new employee orientation could further enable staff and foster a culture of data within a Department.

Explore Shared Services Models

Don’t have access to the IT services you need? Maybe there is a shared service you can use with other Departments, or there are easier ways to get access to contemporary technologies. It’s also possible that you could iteratively re-engineer your existing IT infrastructure to gradually meet emerging needs.