One of the growing trends I’m witnessing when talking to Data Quality Pro’s guest interviewees is the use of federated data quality tactics.

The idea is a simple but compelling one. Rather than having a large team that manages data quality across the organisation, you create satellite teams that adopt common frameworks, tools and techniques. These satellite teams coordinate their own initiatives locally.

One of our members was quizzing me on this approach recently and I likened it to the concept of a "data quality franchise."

Franchises are one of the most popular methods of creating a successful business, so I think this metaphor works well for federated data quality. It delivers:

• An established operating model - Someone has already figured out the mechanism of running the business and all the intricate processes involved.

• Startup support - Creating pockets of data quality capability around the organisation requires specialist knowledge to get off the ground. So, as with any franchise, this expertise can be drawn from a central team or centre of excellence.

• Ongoing support - Once the initial foundations are in place you may find that regular support is forthcoming from a central resource. The central team can also look at what has worked well for other teams and then feed those innovations across each team.

• Pre-designed materials and assets - Starting a data quality initiative for the first time can be overwhelming, and one of the biggest challenges is understanding which dimensions, rules and various forms to complete. Having a central resource where these are created and shared out amongst the various satellite teams removes a lot of the guesswork.

When you’re building out your first data quality initiative, take some time to think about how you could replicate your success in another part of the organisation.

• What processes did you follow?
• What skills were required?
• What forms and documentation did you keep?
• What software or technologies were essential or just ‘nice to have’?

Think about how you can grow your data quality franchise system and begin to federate your data quality capability across the organisation. A little bit of effort at this early stage can reap rewards later when you look to grow a broader capability.