Innovative law firms have big goals for improving the client experience through data innovation. The problem is that many law firms struggle with a lack of data maturity and alignment between their strategic goals and the siloed reality of their data. The solution to this problem is data governance.
But if your law firm’s data governance initiative has been running for a few years; or you’ve had a lot of changes to the data governance sponsors and leaders, you are probably asking yourself a few questions.
- Is our data governance initiative still meeting the firm’s needs?
- Do we have the right people having the right data conversations?
- How do we know we’re doing the right things to move data governance forward?
Where we can help
Through our extensive law firm background, we have developed a unique data governance road-mapping approach to help law firm leaders launch the right foundation for data governance.
We’ve also successfully used our road mapping process to quickly help law firms review existing data governance capabilities and create an improved, streamlined plan for assuring the governance and quality of their data, so that their strategic goals can be realised.
Using Iron Carrot’s experience of creating and supporting data governance frameworks in law firms, we can support you by using our 8 step evaluation process to review your current capabilities and suggest a way forward.
How does the process work?
A data governance review follows a similar process to creating an initial law firm data governance roadmap. But some of the steps happen in a different order.
Step 1: Capturing feedback
We interview all of your Data Governance Framework Group members to capture feedback on what’s working well, could be improved, or is missing.
We then interview key stakeholders in other functions (like Data Protection, Enterprise Architecture, IT Security) to find out if Data Governance is helping them, or could be helping them, be more effective.
Step 2: Data management maturity assessment
Data owners and data stewards are asked to complete the Iron Carrot Data Management Maturity Questionnaire collectively. This 30-question multiple choice spreadsheet allows each function to get an instant view of its own maturity. The collation of everyone’s results set out a clear picture of the firm’s maturity overall.
Step 3: Data governance vision
We engage your Data Governance Steering Committee to review your firm’s data vision, and update it if necessary. We work with your data governance lead to devise a communication plan.
Step 4: Data governance goals
A series of data owner workshops to realign your firm’s data governance goals to the new Vision.
These goals included things which the firm needed it’s people to:
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do differently (processes) |
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learn about (changes) |
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use differently (technologies) |
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share better (communications) |
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understand better (data & metadata) |
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get to know (other data stakeholders) |
Step 5: Data governance maturity assessment
The Iron Carrot Team undertake a gap analysis of core data governance documentation and activities. In addition to giving a clear picture of the firm’s current data governance maturity, these gaps help inform the data owners workshops to review the firm’s data governance goals.
Step 6: SWOT analysis
We build a picture of your firm’s key Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats relating to the Data Governance Framework and its activities. Working with your Data Governance Lead, we’ll build a plan to address weaknesses and threats as well as building on strengths and opportunities.
Step 7: Issues Log Analysis
Depending on what comes out of the feedback and SWOT analysis, it may be beneficial to review your data issues log and suggest how to move things forward.
If your firm’s data issues log is going well, we can skip this step.
Step 8: Recommended activities
Using the outputs of steps 1 to 7, we’ll work with you to create a new Data Governance Roadmap which sets out short, medium, and long term objectives and activities.
This is delivered as a simple 1 page diagram which can be used in communications, along with a detailed document setting out the steps which enable the data governance lead to deliver the roadmap.
What does the roadmap execution process give you?
- Confidence that your firm’s data governance activities are aligned with the firm’s needs
- Enthused Data Owners and Data Stewards
- A clear picture of the firm’s data management and data governance maturity
- A restated Data Governance Vision with updated Data Governance Goals
- A new Data Governance Roadmap, including issue resolution next steps
How is our roadmap execution process different?
It’s completely bespoke; designed to your needs. We do not deliver an ‘off-the-shelf’ set of data governance review activities.
We recognise that your support needs change and evolve, so we’ll rarely agree to more than three months of activities on each scope of work.
Our fees are based on the nature of the work you want us to do for you, the amount of time required to perform the task, and the expected outputs you want us to deliver.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our five-step road mapping process quickly helps law firms to deliver a complete data governance framework and plan for assuring the governance and quality of their data, so that strategic goals can be realised.
Don’t just look internally, you may have to hire externally for a Data Governance lead, and that’s ok. For more information, see our article: Does your Data Governance Lead Have the Correct Skills?
A well publicised DG programme will attract Senior Stakeholders automatically, as they will have vested interest in the firms data.
Iron Carrot can help with the Data Governance Lead Role Profile, you can book a a call with us to find out more.
This is the operational layer of the data governance framework, made up of subject matter experts responsible for supporting the data owners.
If you are not sure where to start, why read our article on creating a data governance communications plan.
Want to know more?
Read how we helped a large international law firm understand the maturity of their data governance and what they needed to do to maintain momentum in this case study.
Book a call to talk to us about your challenges with data governance.