Establishing an Organization's Master Data Management Function: A Stepwise Approach

Abstract

Master data management (MDM) provides an access to the consistent views of an organization's master data. Yet the establishment of MDM function, i.e. a department that attempts to ensure master data consistency is not an easy task as several stakeholders have different interests and expectations, among many other reasons. This paper is based on a year-long MDM project, from which we identify the process for establishing MDM functions in an organization, and what are the different steps and interdependencies that should be taken into account. These steps and their dependencies, and other incidental issues help organizations when establishing MDM function, and complement the scarce MDM literature.