Exploring why we need to manage data as a product
To escape the quagmire we find ourselves in, it is necessary to radically change the mental model we use to approach data management and, consequently, the organizational structures and associated operational practices. It’s a systemic change – a paradigm shift in data management practice.
As we’ve seen in the previous sections, attempts to address these problems have been predominantly cosmetic, not radical. We’ve tried to modify the system tactically, reacting to surface-level problems as they arise.
In system thinking, a system can be changed from the outside by acting on parts of it where small changes can lead to significant and lasting changes over time; these parts are called leverage points. Donella Meadows, a renowned researcher in this field, has classified possible leverage points into 12 categories, ranking them by effectiveness. It’s not necessary to delve into the details of each...
