There is a movement afoot. I’m seeing it all around me. Let me outline some of the early outposts.
Data-Centric Manifesto
We put out the manifesto on datacentricmanifesto.org over two years ago now. I continue to be impressed with the depth of thought that the signers have put into their comments. When you read the signatory page (and I encourage you to do so now) I think you’ll be struck. A few just randomly selected give you the flavor:
This is the single most critical change that enterprise architects can advocate – it will dwarf the level of transformation seen from the creation of the Internet. – Susan Bright, Johnson & Johnson
Back in “the day” when I started my career we weren’t called IT, we were called Data Processing. The harsh reality is that the application isn’t the asset and never has been. What good is the application that your organization just spent north of 300K to license without the data? Time to get real, time to get back to basics. Time for a reboot! – Kevin Chandos
This seems a mundane item to most leaders, but if they knew its significance, they would ask why we are already not using a data-centric approach. I would perhaps even broaden the name to a knowledge-centric approach and leverage the modern knowledge management and representation technologies that we have and are currently emerging. But the principles stand either way. – David Chasteen, Enterprise Ecologist
Because I’ve encountered the decades of inertia and want to be an instrument of change and evolution. – Vince Marinelli, Medidata Solutions Worldwide
And I love this one for it’s simple frustration:
In my life I try to fight with silos – Enn Õunapuu, Tallinn University of Technology
The Data Doctrine
Peter Aikin of Data Blueprints put up the Data Doctrine, perhaps a year ago (very much in the Agile Manifesto style). A few excerpts:
Data-Centric Thinking Values:
What are the principles of Data-Centric Thinking?
Leaders can increase organizational effectiveness by focusing on data as a central, shared resource (or better still) as your sole, non-depletable, non-degrading, durable strategic asset.
Data-centric thinking means practicing four data doctrine precepts.
That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.
Stable Data Structures Preceding Stable Code
Shared Data Preceding Completed Software
Reusable Data Preceding Reusable Code
Data Programs Preceding Software Projects
We are uncovering better ways of developing systems by doing it and helping others do it.
I encourage you to add you name to the list of forward thinkers who are endorsing this at TheDataDoctrine.com
The Data Leaders Manifesto
This spring, four luminaries in the data industry (John Ladley, Danette McGilvray, Kelle O’Neal, and Tom Redman) unveiled the Leaders Data Manifesto at DataLeaders.org . This is an important step in getting to leadership, where the change can be, dare I say, manifested.
Some excerpts from their manifesto:
Our organization’s best opportunities for organic growth lie in data. But most organizations are far from being data driven. We find no examples of fundamental company-wide change, without committed leadership and the involvement of everyone at all levels of the organization. Thousands of success stories back up this claim.
ORGANIZATIONS ARE FAR FROM BEING DATA-DRIVEN. MOST COMPANIES:
- DON’T FULLY KNOW WHAT DATA THEY HAVE OR EVEN WHAT DATA IS MOST IMPORTANT
- CONFUSE “DATA” WITH “INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY” OR DIGITALIZATION, LEADING THEM TO MISMANAGE BOTH
- LACK ANY SORT OF DATA VISION OR STRATEGY DEFINING HOW DATA CONTRIBUTES TO THEIR BUSINESS
- UNDERESTIMATE THE EFFORT REQUIRED TO MANAGE DATA AND LACK THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE TO DO SO
I encourage you all to sign this as well, at sign the leaders data manifesto.
IBM and Data Centric Design
IBM has jumped onto the bandwagon: see data centric design . While the emphasis is on big data and IBM’s platforms, the thrust is clear. A few excerpts from this article:
To start moving toward data centric design means diving into the world of dark data, third party data, and your own data that you capture, but don’t capitalize on.
Consider this: Less than 1% of the data generated every day is mined for valuable insights.
Traditional data capture and analysis models are slowing progress.
Data centric design is a new vision for computing that places the processing where the data is stored
Early adopters of this vision are in research laboratories and universities, but increasingly, businesses are tapping into their mountains of unstructured data to help them make business decisions.
Mary Meeker
No less a force than Mary Meeker is on this now. In her 2016 report on the Internet Trends 2016 Code Conference, she proclaimed Data as a Platform to be one of the big emerging trends.
Next Big Wave = Leveraging this unlimited connectivity & storage to collect / aggregate / correlate / interpret all of this data to improve peoples lives and enable enterprises to operate more efficiently.
Data is moving from something you use outside the workstream to becoming a part of the business app itself. It’s how the new knowledge working is actually performing it’s job.
The Data Centric Revolution Planning Retreat
June 8-10 in the remote Rocky Mountain National Park, a small group of co-conspirators will be huddling for a long weekend. What we intend is to turn the good intentions expressed in these manifestos and some of these predictions, into tangible action plans. We are going to contemplate and debate the areas of highest leverage. Everything is on the table including: standards, reference architectures, open source initiatives, conferences, white papers, and books.
I’ll be reporting back on our findings in the next installment of this series.
