Taming Complexity In Your Data Driven Organization With DataOps

Apr 28, 2020

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Summary

Data is a critical element to every role in an organization, which is also what makes managing it so challenging. With so many different opinions about which pieces of information are most important, how it needs to be accessed, and what to do with it, many data projects are doomed to failure. In this episode Chris Bergh explains how taking an agile approach to delivering value can drive down the complexity that grows out of the varied needs of the business. Building a DataOps workflow that incorporates fast delivery of well defined projects, continuous testing, and open lines of communication is a proven path to success.

Announcements

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Your host is Tobias Macey and today I’m welcoming back Chris Bergh to talk about ways that DataOps principles can help to reduce organizational complexity

Interview

Introduction
How did you get involved in the area of data management?
How are typical data and analytic teams organized? What are their roles and structure?
Can you start by giving an outline of the ways that complexity can manifest in a data organization?
- What are some of the contributing factors that generate this complexity?
- How does the size or scale of an organization and their data needs impact the segmentation of responsibilities and roles?
How does this organizational complexity play out within a single team? For example between data engineers, data scientists, and production/operations?
How do you approach the definition of useful interfaces between different roles or groups within an organization?
- What are your thoughts on the relationship between the multivariate complexities of data and analytics workflows and the software trend toward microservices as a means of addressing the challenges of organizational communication patterns in the software lifecycle?
How does this organizational complexity play out between multiple teams?
For example between centralized data team and line of business self service teams?
Isn’t organizational complexity just ‘the way it is’? Is there any how in getting out of meetings and inter team conflict?
What are some of the technical elements that are most impactful in reducing the time to delivery for different roles?
What are some strategies that you have found to be useful for maintaining a connection to the business need throughout the different stages of the data lifecycle?
What are some of the signs or symptoms of problematic complexity that individuals and organizations should keep an eye out for?
What role can automated testing play in improving this process?
How do the current set of tools contribute to the fragmentation of data workflows?
- Which set of technologies are most valuable in reducing complexity and fragmentation?
What advice do you have for data engineers to help with addressing complexity in the data organization and the problems that it contributes to?

Contact Info

LinkedIn
@ChrisBergh on Twitter

Parting Question

From your perspective, what is the biggest gap in the tooling or technology for data management today?

Closing Announcements

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The intro and outro music is from The Hug by The Freak Fandango Orchestra / CC BY-SA

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