IData Insights

Brenda Reeb

Brenda Reeb
Brenda is a consultant in data management, data governance, and the information needs of users. She has over 20 years' experience providing services and solutions in higher education. Brenda has designed and implemented data management policies, established workflows, and created metadata. She is an experienced advocate for data management at all levels of an organization.
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Recent Posts

What is in a Name? Looking at Institutional Research!

I often represent IData at conferences focused on data management and institutional research in the higher education (HE) industry. This spring in my conference travels I noted an increasing number...

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Select Solution That Can Handle Any Data Governance Approach You Use

This post outlines different approaches to data governance and data intelligence and demonstrates how the Data Cookbook solution by IData supports these approaches to data governance. The approaches...

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Some Data Governance Lessons from Our Clients

At our recent Data Cookbook user group meeting, clients shared over 25 tips on their use of the Data Cookbook in their data governance program. We think these tips from our clients are spot on and we...

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Adult Learning Methods for Data Intelligence and Data Governance Training

Participants in data governance and data literacy programs require training. Adopting adult learning methods in the delivery of training sessions makes the training effective and enjoyable for the...

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Capabilities Necessary in a Data Governance or Data Intelligence Solution

A data governance (or data intelligence) solution is an important component of a data governance program.  The primary purpose ofa data governance solution is to help people at the organization...

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Stakeholders Necessary for a Data Governance Initiative

A stakeholder is a person who holds a vested interest in the success of an initiative. Without their support, the initiative will not succeed. As a group, stakeholders are found at multiple...

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Ownership of Your Data Governance Solution

What does it mean if you have been designated as the person "in charge" of a metadata management solution such as the Data Cookbook? What responsibilities does this entail? What skills are needed?...

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Sources of Definition Content

What are the best sources of definition content for your glossary? This post discusses several sources including: your most popular reports, pre-existing local glossaries, data dictionaries provided...

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Use a Consistent Approach to Include Valid Values and Reference Data in a Glossary Definition

An earlier blog post summarized a method that listed 6 components to consider when writing a good business glossary definition. Another earlier post discussed the first component which is "uniqueness...

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Get Off to a Good Start When Writing a Glossary Definition

An earlier blog post summarized a method that listed 6 components to consider when writing a good business glossary definition. Now I want to discuss the first of the six components in more detail....

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Providing Meaning - Writing Good Definitions

A business glossary is a major component within a data governance (or data intelligence) initiative. Glossary entries consist of a name and a functional definition. The purpose of a functional...

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What Does the Data Steward Do?

The data steward role is pivotal for the success of data governance and data intelligence. In a previous post we discussed the 3 data governance roles of steward, owner and custodian. The steward...

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Improve Data Quality - Do These Actions Part 2

A data quality program can be any size. Whether large or small, the key thing is to have a plan and to use processes that are predictable and repeatable. A haphazard or unpredictable approach will...

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Improve Data Quality - Do These Actions Part 1

A data quality program can be any size. Whether large or small, the key thing is to have a plan and to use processes that are predictable and repeatable. A haphazard or unpredictable approach will...

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Data Governance Roles: Steward, Owner and Custodian

Data governance (also called data intelligence) consists of processes and tasks that staff perform within their organization. When these activities are executed well, all data users enjoy easier...

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Data Quality Issues

In an earlier post we covered components of a data quality programdata quality rules and data quality assessments. The last post in this Data Quality series recommends a process to address data...

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Assess Data Quality Within Data Systems

In an earlier post we covered components of a data quality program and data quality rules.  Today we want to discuss data quality assessment or measurement.  

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Data Quality Rules

In an earlier post we described the components of a data quality program. Today we will discuss one of those components - data quality rules and a catalog to organize the rules. A data quality rule...

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Data Quality Programs

Data quality is critical at organizations such as universities. This post, one in a series on data quality, introduces data quality programs. Learn about the tasks involved and the benefits of a data...

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Data, Data Everywhere in Higher Education

No one can argue that the amount of data at a higher education institution is increasing - and it is located both on premise and in the cloud. The number of types of systems is increasing. In...

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What to Store in a Data Systems Inventory

It is critical to know where your data resides. Therefore, it is necessary to inventory all of the data systems used at the organization. This post discusses what to include in an inventory. The...

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Different Approaches to Data Governance and Data Intelligence

There are many ways to approach data governance (or as we call it data intelligence) at an organization. This post lists the primary approaches and provides a list of items to consider when selecting...

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8 Steps to Build a Data Systems Inventory

Building a data system inventory is necessary, but not easy.  This post describes the 8 steps we recommend when  building your data system inventory at your organization.

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Remove Barriers to Effective Reporting

Implementing effective reporting at any organization is not easy (including higher education institutions). This post outlines the barriers to effective reporting and provides solutions to eliminate...

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Part IV: Pragmatic Data Governance: Cultural Shifts in an Institution thru Best Practices

In their Top 10 IT Issues, 2017, EDUCAUSE identified “data management and governance” as issue #6 and defined it as the need to “improve…the management of institutional data through data standards,...

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