Countdown: Book Excerpt Chapter 4

Here is an excerpt from my forthcoming book, ‘Driving Data Projects: A Comprehensive Guide, set to release on February 26th, 2024.

👉 The U.S., CAN, and UK pre-order links are available here or on Amazon

People who work in data management are particularly dedicated problem solvers. They are committed to the mission in a way that makes them want to make the initiative successful. Most examples featured in the book reflect what happens in a specific type of data project -- a team-based project with stakeholders recruited from across the organization, including outside partnerships.

🎯So what?
In the first half of 2020, Big Tech companies have complied with 85 percent of the government's requests for user information.[1] Companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft received over 112,000 data requests from local, state, and federal officials, with Facebook accounting for the largest number of disclosures [of consumer data].[2] When consumers get vocal about data privacy and safety issues, companies sidestep their ire by developing new features, as was the case with Facebook declaring new platform encryption to protect users from future broad requests for data.

🎯Why should we care?
The “can we vv. should we” debate is complicated. There is no obvious answer that companies and consumers can live with—because these are complex problems. Therefore, we must find the most ethical path to manage paradoxes and dilemmas. How should data be managed, stored, and shared? Who has ultimate ownership of identity data?

🎯Why does this matter now?
These examples and questions illustrate how the demand for third-party data directly drives the debate and data standards for data trust, data privacy, and data security governing companies across every sector worldwide. These incidents reflect the reality of data operations projects, where the primary goal is to keep multiple people from different teams across different functions and backgrounds aligned and working toward a single outcome.

🌟Chapter 4 | Manage the Work