Selling Metadata Mike Crandall PNC ASIS&T Annual Conference May 15, 2004

PNC ASIS&T Annual Conference2 Why Selling? Metadata is mysterious Metadata is easy Metadata is expensive Metadata is not an obvious contributor to the bottom line Metadata is competing with technology solutions that have good sales forces Metadata often doesnt have a natural organizational home

May 15, 2004PNC ASIS&T Annual Conference3 So What to Do? All of these issues need to be addressed for success in a metadata solution As with any initiative, your organizational priorities will shape the best approach Five components: Define your scope Know your competition Use standards and best practices Educate and communicate Start small and show value

May 15, 2004PNC ASIS&T Annual Conference4 Define Your Scope Start with a problem statement- what are you trying to solve? Make sure this is something that the organization thinks is important Quantify what it will take to succeed How much metadata do you really need? What are the short-term and long-term resources youll need to do this? How long will it take to show success? Who needs to buy in to ensure success?

May 15, 2004PNC ASIS&T Annual Conference5 A Short Example

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May 15, 2004PNC ASIS&T Annual Conference10 Know Your Competition Find out what other solutions could do the same thing youre trying to do Look outside and inside your organization Be able to articulate why your approach is better than the others Address cost, speed, resource allocation, quality, flexibility Dont start your project until you know why your solution is best and can justify that Do this all the time!!!!

May 15, 2004PNC ASIS&T Annual Conference11 Use Standards and Best Practices Standards and best practices help in many ways: Establishing credibility Reducing development time and rework Providing a wider support base for your development efforts But dont let them constrict your efforts Often in flux and you cant wait You will have local needs

May 15, 2004PNC ASIS&T Annual Conference12 Educate and Communicate Be able to articulate what youre trying to achieve in terms a non-specialist can understand Dont speak metadata, speak outcomes Make sure you talk to your stakeholders, not yourself Use reporting opportunities to show progress in concrete terms Establish a formal relationship with your sponsors and users

May 15, 2004PNC ASIS&T Annual Conference13 An Example Sponsors Ensure participation Business Owners Drive requirements Knowledge Architecture Board Communicate and Validate Information Services Architect, build and manage service

May 15, 2004PNC ASIS&T Annual Conference14 Start Small and Show Value Dont try to solve all your problems at once If youve scoped properly, you should be able to quickly demonstrate results Use your early successes to build support and tackle larger problems Pick areas that offer high visibility and ease major pain Make sure you let people know what youve done- inside and outside the organization

May 15, 2004PNC ASIS&T Annual Conference15 Evidence of Success

May 15, 2004PNC ASIS&T Annual Conference16 Another Example Microsofts internal portal invested heavily in taxonomies for navigation and search- heres the results (early 2000): A 62% reduction in the number of clicks An average of 16 seconds saved per task An 11% increase in task success rate High employee satisfaction with the site 42% VSAT in a field survey Only 4% DSAT on same survey

May 15, 2004PNC ASIS&T Annual Conference17 Summary Approach metadata like any investment The more your work fits the business needs, the more support youll get Show value as quickly as possible Demystify your work- make it concrete and available to key stakeholders Always focus on the results youre looking for Stay as simple as you can and still deliver