The Value Proposition Assessment tool helps data practitioners articulate the value of good data management practices. We provide an introduction to the tool and a link to more detailed guidance.
The Value Proposition Assessment Tool – a detailed paper
Data management practices aren't often well understood by anyone other than highly capable data practitioners. Unfortunately, these data practitioners can also struggle to explain the value of good data management for business or from a strategic perspective.
As a result, funders and decision-makers could fail to see the importance, and data initiatives could fail to receive adequate support, prioritisation, or resource. However, if linked to important business imperatives, data management initiatives stand a much better chance of delivering value to the organisation.
The Value Proposition Assessment tool (VPAt) was designed to help address this problem.
It does so by helping:
Within the tool, we use the term “Data domain” to refer to five possible data-centric domains:
For instance, as a data practitioner you might want to improve standards for data quality. You understand the value and the need, but you have trouble convincing your senior leadership to prioritise work to achieve this. After running the VPAt, you identify “cost reduction” as an important business imperative and are then able to generate a value statement associated with the data quality domain:
“My senior leadership should support work to improve data quality standards, because it will reduce cost by minimising data maintenance.”
The following paper includes a description of the tool and how it can be put into practice.
It presents the steps for generating value statements for five data domains and provides examples of statements for a selection of common business imperatives. It also describes how the VPAt can improve data maturity assessments and contribute positively to organisational operating models, increasing the chance of successful data outcomes.
The Value Proposition Assessment Tool – a detailed paper
If you’d like more information, have a question, or want to provide feedback, email datalead@stats.govt.nz.
Content last reviewed 16 July 2021.