Part 1 of this post outlined the use case for Master Data Management (MDM)– a methodology that codifies the standards, policies, business processes and technologies.  MDM allows your organization to know who you interact with across multiple databases and services. It does this by enabling the management of a single source of truth for that person’s key data– like name, address, email and phone number.

The key design element behind Master Data Management is the “master record.” Master records are created for each shared data element across the organization. Master records are strictly controlled and managed, and all similar records throughout the organization are forced to refer to their master records as the source of truth when updating, formatting, adding, deleting or otherwise manipulating the data included on the master record. The result of a Master Data Management plan is that key data is standardized and consolidated, providing organizations visibility into constituent behavior across the organization, and constituents the best possible user experience.

A Master Data Management plan can be roughly broken into two sections:

• Standards and Policies: Master Data Management standards and policies establish the rules for creating and managing master records.
• Business Processes and Technologies: Master Data Management business processes and technologies enforce the rules. This can include reconciling duplicate records, managing changes to key data elements over time, and enforcing security across all the applications and databases within the purview of MDM.

Business Processes and Technologies

The rules of Master Data Management can be enforced in two ways: through an organization’s business processes (the abstract rules users must follow when completing their work), or through an organization’s technology (the concrete limitations that are part of an application’s configuration). An example of a Master Data Management standard being enforced by a business process would be a data entry policy stating that a contact’s primary salutation should always be the contact’s first name. The user entering a new record is accountable for following the policy and for managing any possible exceptions, like contacts with nicknames or double first names. In this scenario, the application would have no way of evaluating the user’s entry, so if the user did not follow the policy, the application would have no way of preventing or correcting the entry. This is enforcement by business process.

In a perfect world, business processes alone might be enough to ensure data standardization. But anyone who has worked in a crowded nonprofit office on December 31^st knows that 1) mistakes happen, and 2) the more work that can be automated, the better. Almost all applications include some methods for enforcing data standardization. An example of a Master Data Management standard being enforced by technology would be an application that included a picklist field limiting the values a user could enter for a contact’s Title (for example, “Mr.,” “Ms.,” “Mrs.,” “Dr.,” and “Rev.”). In this case, the standard is embodied in the application configuration, and the application is responsible for enforcing the standard. The user entering data cannot save a record with an incorrect value, and in fact, does not even need to be aware of the standard prior to beginning work in the application for the standard to be enforced.

Every organization will have different options for using both business processes and technologies to enforce Master Data Management rules. The first step in determining the most effective way to enforce your rule is to trace the path of data through your organization and map the opportunities for business process standardization and technical intervention. Then, plot the steps that will be the most effective in enforcement, have the greatest impact in reducing “downstream” errors, and can be most easily maintained over time. Here are just a few things to think about when deciding how to proceed:

• How many applications will need to be managed, and how diverse is the data in each?
• How often will the data structures in each application change?
• Are you handling sensitive data? Do you have special privacy concerns?
• Are different applications owned by different departments, and if so, how will you manage future request for changes in business processes?
• When using technology to enforce standards, how “buried” will the rules become? If you change a standard in the future, will you remember how?

Master Data Management Software

For some organizations with multiple divergent data sources, robust technologies and complicated integrations, it makes sense to deploy an application specifically designed to provide Master Data Management – a “Master Data Management Solution.” These applications are specially designed to connect to many diverse data sources at once and establish and maintain master records. These applications can make the job of Master Data Management much, much easier, particularly as the organization changes over time. A Forrester research paper published on March 16, 2016 named Reltio (Reltio Cloud), Informatica (Informatica Master Data Management), SAP (SAP Master Data Governance), IBM (InfoSphere Master Data Management) and Pitney Bowes (Spectrum) as leaders in the growing MDM software industry.

Summary & Conclusions

As your organization gets more and more complex, and as the number of distinct sources of supporter data grows, the likelihood of duplicate records and inaccurate data increases. Whatever the right solution is for your organization, the principles of Master Data Management can provide a powerful tool to overcome these challenges. And when duplication is reduced, data is linked and errors are corrected, you will come closer to having that true, “360-degree” view of your constituents that allows your constituents to experience the best of what you have to offer.