In simplest terms, data workflow management enables organizations to automate the creation, retrieval, integration, and enrichment of data using processes and workflows that can be iteratively optimized for efficiency.
These workflows can be created by an organization’s data steward or a system of record. They also can be accessed by data analysts, business users, and other interested parties.
So if you’re not doing it, this is probably something you should be.
Learn how to build a data workflow management strategy
If you’re not already doing data workflow management, I encourage you to do so. It will likely save you both time and money, and it will help you build a well-functioning data pipeline and ensure you’re able to bring in new data, analyze it and make better decisions.
Here are a few quick tips on how to do so:
Create a team to take on data workflow management
As you create the team, make sure it includes members from both inside and outside your organization. You don’t want to leave any stone unturned. This will help ensure that you’re able to draw on all aspects of your business to bring a team together that will be able to manage this project.
You should also make sure you include members who are responsible for business analytics. These members should have an understanding of the business and be able to use your tools to help the business gain insight from its data.
Start with small tasks
Once you have a team in place, tackle smaller projects first. You’ll be able to build a foundation for your larger strategy and gain a better understanding of what tasks will need to be automated and what steps in the pipeline need to be automated.
The tasks to be automated might be fairly complex at first, but with time and practice, they can be made much simpler. For example, you might have the data look up a telephone number, then filter that to find a phone number for a particular area, then find a certain zip code for that area, then then find the home of that person.
This could easily be done by a user, but you can automate the entire process so that it doesn’t need to be done manually. You’ll have some examples below:
Time and cost savings
Another great benefit of doing data workflow management is that you’ll be able to see how much time and money you’re saving. If you have a system in place, you’ll know exactly how much your team is spending.
This can be a great tool to help justify your investment in the project.
Other benefits
As a data steward, you might be able to build a revenue stream by providing data and analytics solutions to your clients. Think of your data as a valuable asset that can be sold and monetized to your clients.
You’ll also be able to help optimize your sales process by giving your sales team access to your data.
You might be able to provide your sales team with specific data to help them close deals faster. You could provide your sales team with data about the customers they’re targeting. You could give them information about when your customers are most likely to be open to talking to a sales rep.
These types of data analyses will help increase your revenue and hopefully, you’ll be able to justify the amount of time and money you’ve spent on the project.
