Optimizing your Data Operating Model

Are data requests drowning your team day in day out?

1. Are you being bombarded from all sides with urgent data needs.
2. Do you have a never-ending to-do list, constant pressure to catch up.
3. Prioritisation becomes a guessing game, leading to anxiety.
4. Valuable data work gets buried under less impactful requests.
5. Time spent on unimportant tasks, hindering strategic impact.

I’m currently working with a data team in a global organization that is feeling all of the above.

The backlog grows, stress builds, valuable insights get lost, and someone gets the blame!

Sound familiar?

This is where I find many teams lack a proper Operating Model and within that a Demand Management Process.

If you are experiencing this, then here are some strategies for you:

👉Ditch the email black hole, IT service desk volley or the Slack firehose.

Do this: create a central hub for clear, concise requests. With a set of questions, the requester has to complete. Make it as business-motivated as possible.

👉Not all requests are created equal. Categorise requests by impact.

Do this: Is it a quick win “XS” or a strategic game-changer “XL”? I normally create a scoring template that supports this which is very easy to use. Come up with whatever makes sense for your business.

👉Focus on impact, not urgency.

Do this: Prioritise requests based on their potential to drive real business value, not just the squeakiest wheel.

👉Every request should tie back to a specific business goal.

Do this: What problem are we solving? What’s the potential return on investment (ROI)? Which requests will yield the most significant financial or strategic benefits?

👉Not everything needs to be perfect! Sometimes, “good enough” data is good enough for a decision.

Do this: Explore alternatives: Can we answer the question with existing data? Can we self-serve users with dashboards or reports?

Take a deep breath. The sky isn’t falling down on your head!

I help data teams implement these strategies and build an operating model that gets results.