Unleashing Strategic Business Value

In the enterprise world, managing product data is like nurturing a garden with two distinct types of plants:producers and consumers. Each has a unique role, and it's as if we're cultivating a rich ecosystem of information.

The producers of product data are like diligent gardeners, carefully planting the seeds of knowledge. They sow information, nurture it, and help it grow into a robust harvest. These producers may include various departments, software systems, and stakeholders within the enterprise, all contributing their valuable insights.The various departments own disparate applications to create different product data attributes during its lifecycle. 

On the other side, the consumers of product data are like eager wildlife searching for sustenance in this data garden. They seek information to support decision-making, operations, and innovation. These consumers come from different parts of the enterprise, from marketing to finance, each with their unique appetite for data. In this case, the various departments would consume the product data differently and maintain records in their own applications to give a different life to the product. 

In the real world, producers and consumers play dual roles in the business context. As defined, the purpose of Product Data Mesh is to drive tangible and measurable business outcomes. Hence, in the context of Product Data Mesh, the consumer is the executive-level business user who has the signatory authority and budget to make decisions at an enterprise level. The business user may be an end user however, it is not mandatory. The illustrations given below clearly outlines the scope of Product Data Mesh to drive outcomes. 

Illustration 1 - Product Data Mesh Scope

To see Product Data Mesh in action, we have to look at our business questions to understand how the Product Data Mesh approach would help achieve the business outcomes. Consider illustrative 2, as shown below: - 

Illustration 2 – Product Data Mesh Approach in Action

The following are the key steps in the approach: -

• Comprehensive Sentiment and Inquiry Gathering: Begin by collecting and analyzing all business sentiments and inquiries from various stakeholders.
• Strategic Business Scenario Formulation: Business questions serve as the foundation for constructing distinct business scenarios, acting as organizational frameworks to categorize inquiries from multiple sources.
• KPI and CSF Translation: Translate these business scenarios into well-defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Critical Success Factors (CSFs) to provide precise performance metrics and success criteria.

Value Product has some guiding principles attached to it: -

• Scope-Driven Content: The composition of a Value Product's package is intricately tied to the specific business scenario it's meant to address. It's a direct reflection of how Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Critical Success Factors (CSFs) are framed to deliver tangible business value.
• Versatility Across Scenarios: A Value Product is engineered to be versatile, capable of serving one or multiple business scenarios. Its adaptability is determined during its creation, driven by well-informed decisions.
• Adherence to Trustable, Shareability, and Reusability: The cardinal principles of trustability,shareability, and reusability are fundamental, although they are subject to governance by enterprise policies. This ensures that knowledge and assets are leveraged efficiently. These cardinal principles embrace concepts of data products from data mesh architecture. [4]
• Democratic Ownership: While ownership adheres to applicable IT policies, it's strongly recommended that Value Products follow a democratic approach. Accessibility should be open to anyone with the right permissions, promoting inclusivity.
• Non-Intrusive Integration: Creating a Value Product is designed to seamlessly coexist within the enterprise's existing data and technology architecture. It should not disrupt or necessitate changes to the existing infrastructure.
• Always Fresh - Once created, the contents of the Value Product should possess real-time data refresh capabilities, ensuring that the associated business scenario is continuously presented with up-to-date information.
• Governance for Uniqueness: A robust governance mechanism is imperative to prevent the duplication or replication of Value Products. This safeguards against redundancy in addressing similar business scenario needs.

These refined principles emphasize the tailored nature of Value Products, their adaptability,adherence to core principles, inclusivity in access, non-disruptive integration, and the necessity of vigilant governance.