Master Data Management: Strategic Unity for Your Information Systems Mark Raabe Shawn Samuel Director of Application Services Chief Architect Faegre & Benson LLP Hubbard One Thomson Reuters
Agenda • The problem: disconnected information systems • How Faegre backed into a solution • Advantages of Master Data Management • Making the case and getting started • Where do we want to take this? • Hubbard One: “Master Data Mapping” • Q&A 2
Faegre & Benson Overview • 460+ lawyers / 1100+ users • 6 offices worldwide: Practice Areas: • Corporate • Finance / Restructuring • Litigation • Employment • Intellectual Property • Real Estate • Healthcare / Nonprofits • Environmental / Regulatory 3
The Problem … … is that this is your legal application portfolio. 4
The Problem: • Why is it so difficult to get my various enterprise applications to share information? • How do I ensure that all systems provide consistent answers? • Why are so many of my business units managing duplicative lists? • How can I deliver new information systems more quickly? • How do we get up and running FAST with new clients, matters, personnel? 5
The Goal: Achieving strategic unity of information systems = Systems that share: Facts Business concepts Rules Objectives = Systems that don’t argue with each other. = Systems that enable each other. … using the systems I already own. 6
Data integration at Faegre In the mid-1990s, we relied on 1. Staged files in vendor-specified formats 2. Email notifications Manual updates 7
Our first data integration challenge 8
Data integration – v1.0 Clients Time & DMS Billing Matters 9
Data integration – v1.0 Clients Time & DMS Billing Matters Column Value mdesc1 Hennepin County Arbitration re: Jacob Smith v. mdesc2 ACA International, Inc., a/k/a Audiovisual mdesc3 Corporation of America mdesc1 CLIENT REF # 1996-40-1112 mdesc2 USTM: STAR TRIBUNE - NEWSPAPER OF THE TWIN mdesc3 CITIES 10
Data integration – v1.0 Clients Time & DMS Billing Matters Some lessons: • Vendors don’t know how to design databases! • Applications don’t care about uses beyond the application • Custodians (e.g., Accounting Departments) don’t care either 11
Data integration – v1.1 Transform clname1 Clients Time & DMS Billing mdesc2 Matters (etc). Column Value MatterName Hennepin County Arbitration re: Jacob Smith v. ACA International, Inc., a/k/a Audiovisual Corporation of America MatterName USTM: Star Tribune – Newspaper of the Twin Cities 12
Data integration – v1.1 Transform Time & DMS Billing Transform CRM Time Entry Docket 13
The problem in real life: 14
Data integration – v1.1 Transform Time & DMS Billing Transform CRM Time Entry Docket 15
Data integration – v2.0 Transform Time & DMS Hub Billing CRM Time Entry Docket 16
Data integration – v2.0 Transform Time & Hub Billing What have we accomplished so far? • Eliminated complexity • Standardized matter representation • Eliminated dependence on Elite’s design • Insulated ourselves from Accounting’s business practices • Reduced load on the Elite server • … and one more thing: 17
Data integration – v2.0 Time & Hub Billing Elite “Matter” = Hub “Matter” = A way to organize all of the Firm’s work: A way to compile and present the bill Documents / Events / Contacts / Financials / etc. What have we accomplished so far? • We have established a master concept of “Matter” that matches its growing significance to the Firm • We have found a way to represent it • We have found a place to put it 18
Data integration – v3.0 2 1a Time & Administrative Hub Billing PPM system 1b 1c 3 How do we improve this concept? Protect the data – Establish rules: (Data Governance) 1. a. Enforce standardized formats (as set by the standard transform) b. Control who (if anyone) gets to edit data in the Hub directly c. Other systems may consult only the Hub (the System of Record ), not Elite directly (the System of Entry ) Identify other sources that can contribute matters Elite doesn’t have 2. 3. Eliminate alternative matter lists in other applications 19
Data integration – v3.0 The industry calls this “Master Data Management” (MDM): “ The technology, tools, and processes required to create and maintain consistent and accurate lists of master data .” 20
What else goes in the Hub? Well, what else (besides Matters) is “Master Data”? Transactions = Sentences • On 8/25/2010, Attorney X opened Matter Y for Client Z . • On 7/7/2010, Paralegal A recorded 3.2 hours to Matter B for this purpose: “… [narrative] …” • On 2/3/2010, we paid Vendor B $10,000. 21
What else goes in the Hub? … then your master data are the shared nouns in your transactional sentences: Vendors ? Hub Matters Invoices Clients ? Departments & Office Practice Documents Attorneys Groups Locations ? Authors Timekeepers People 22
What goes in the Hub? For each master data entity, store the attributes (columns) that are likely to be shared: Matters Hub Time & Matter Name Billing Client Billing Attorney Matter Status Matters Open Date Fee arrangement … Bill format Billing address Currency … 23
Data integration – v3.0 The “Master Data Hub”: The central repository holding the “official” version of all of this key information … … cleaned, de - duped, available for all systems to use … … and s tored in a data structure that describes your business. 24
What else can you do? Aggregate entities that no one source application contains: Attorneys Summer HR Recruiting Hub and Staff Associates System People Contractors Contracting 25
What else can you do? Minimize the pain when an application changes: Time & Hub DMS Billing CRM Time Entry Docket
What else can you do? Find the right source of truth for a master entity: Staff HR Hub System Timekeepers Time & Billing 27
What else can you do? Provision master entities more quickly : New Matters Time & Matter DMS, Hub Billing etc. Intake New Matters Matter Hub DMS, Approval etc. Time & Billing Add Billing Details 28
What else can you do? Identify new master data entities : Attorney adds to “My Matters” Favorite Favorite Matters Matters DMS Hub CRM 29
What else can you do? Identify new master data entities : Attorney adds to “Frequent Matters” Favorite Favorite Matters Matters DMS Hub CRM 30
The Business Case for MDM MDM and a Master Data Hub allow you to: • Provide master data to all of your applications that is – Consistent / Standardized / Accurate – Protected – Properly normalized – Aggregated from all relevant sources – Early! • Eliminate dependencies on particular applications and vendor data designs Avoid pain, lock-in, and delays! • Simplify upgrades, replacements, mergers • Understand your own data architecture – it’s simpler! 31
Perform a maturity assessment Level 0 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 No (or Point-to-point A Hub containing A strategic Hub haphazard)integrat integration some master data that is the basis of the firm’s data ion between entities Many paths systems architecture Their meaning is Whatever each not defined by any A comprehensive vendor supplies single system set of master data entities Transform Transform Time & Time & Governance: DMS Hub DMS Billing Billing • Data formats and CRM Transform data quality CRM Time • System of record – Time Entry Entry Docket Docket a true “master” • Rights to edit
How to start • Proceed incrementally (but have a larger design in mind). • Pick a target entity. (Clients / Matters / People) • Find your existing data flows. How many can be replaced? • Define roles. (System of Entry, System of Record, Data Steward, etc.) • Design a table for the entity in the Hub. What columns do your consuming systems need? • Develop the new data flows. 33
What you need • SQL skills / Data modeling skills • Data integration tools – ETL tools like DTS, SSIS – EAI tools like IntApp, BizTalk • An eye for patterns and process improvement • Political & change management skills • Time & patience 34
Some obvious questions: • Is there an easier way? • Why do I have to build this myself? • Won’t we all end up with similar designs?
Where should we take this? • We need to define standards. • The legal industry needs a unified, standard master data model and an API to interface with it. • At a minimum, vendors need to recognize and design for MDM: – Simplify data interfaces to and from their applications – Provide web services where possible – Interface with a Master Data Hub, if present – Ensure that we always have access to our data • The Legal Master Data Hub should be a product. 36
Master Data Mapping and Integration
Master Data Mapping and Integration
Master Data Mapping and Integration
Q & A Keep us posted on your projects! mraabe@faegre.com shawn.samuel@thomsonreuters.com
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