Enterprise Data Governance Office at Caterpillar

Given this recent buzz and hyper inundation of everything you can think of about AI or Generate AI, I hope to distill it down succinctly while associating its connection with Data to Outcome to practical and pragmatic approaches.

Data helps put clarity and sharpness in all of our activities, problems we solve, decisions we make, teams we manage and targets to deliver since all of these need data as our foundation to support it. From data, we squeeze information out and harness the insight and can make informed decisions every day - at the operational, tactical, or strategic level. The higher the quality of your data and the more granular it is, the richer the insights and better-informed decisions can be made. Without accurate, reliable, and trusted data content, our decisions can be flawed and sometimes consequential.  

Fundamentally data being the common denominator in many of our business or organization endeavor needs, we can only remain competitive and not lag behind despite all the technological advances if we manage these five basics Data To Outcome “KYs” (“Know Your”). 

Additionally, by upholding these 5 “KYs,” you can positively be assured your Data To Outcome direction will create value and impact your efforts and ultimately towards a data-driven Organization. 

Your next actions should not fall short on any of these.

KYB – Know Your Business

The golden rule is that not a single department or function within an organization is exempted from it. Whatever function you may be in, if you don’t know what your company does and can’t figure out how your department/function supports it, we have a fundamental quagmire. All activities or functions, miniature or majestic, must understand why your business exists and how it operates. Are all of your internal functions (IT, Finance, Legal, Security, Compliance, Production, HR, VMO) strategically aligned with your core Business?

KYD – Know Your Data

If you fly by the seat of your pants daily by making decisions without reliable and accurate data, you are among many other companions who need to go back to the basics. Without getting your data to be verified, certified, and credentialed by your internal data governing process, you’re as good as one simply believing you will be a doctor one day because you were just born in a hospital. Do you have SSOT (Single Source of Truths) or SVOT (Single Version of Truth) and are constantly plagued with MVOT (Multiple Versions of Truths)? Can you identify your various Master Data Domains to bring forth your unique Customer, Product, or Location? Do you trust your data today or have some consistent level of pristine data to support your current endeavors, or do you simply close your eyes at every critical decision-making moment and just hope everything goes as planned?

"Without accurate, reliable, and trusted data content, our decisions can be flawed and sometimes consequential"

In the same token as AI, GenAi’s underlying core operating principle is also that of an RSI - Recursive Self-Improvement. As business entities, we have to keep applying to learn “RSI moments” to react, adapt, and improve on external markets, along with being innovative, creative, and adaptive so as to compete, survive, and grow. You can only do that if you have reliable factual data to operate on.

KYP – Know Your Process

Know your privacy, compliance, security, legal & legislative requirements flowing through the veins of your data to ensure that you have the appropriate policies, processes, and procedures, including risk mitigants, in place to substantiate your data movement internally and externally. 

This includes process maps, workflow approval, data lineage, and overall end-to-end traceability. Knowing your process must also include how you interact with your customers (internal or external) and their experiences so that you optimize and maximize automation, whereby you spend less time wrangling with data and its intricacies but focus more on analyzing and harnessing the insight from it. Given the constant threats of data breaches, is your compliance and security well understood? Do you know your risks or potential exposures? What keeps you awake every night on this front?

KYPi – Know Your Prompt Input

Prompt input or engineering is the key to ensuring your generative AI tools will produce the optimal outputs. It is like having a solid, experienced Business Analyst who, during the requirements Q&A sessions, asks the appropriate, simulating, leading questions to get the appropriate responses, optimizing your requirements. Prompt engineering is the practice of designing inputs for generative AI tools that will produce optimal outputs. So, having a good prompt engineering approach can certainly get appropriate desired outputs.

The “Last Mile”

Not too long ago, a key concept during my Blockchain implementation was that of the “last mile.” 

It entails all of the challenges related to the final stage in a process that wraps up the completion of the entire chain. For example, in online customers buying goods, one major problem is the physical delivery to the customer’s residence. That “last mile” still entails a human action/interface in order to complete the blockchain automation when used in the context of supply chain, manufacturing, and retail, where it describes the challenge related to the delivery of its products as the last leg of its transportation. This “last mile” part of the delivery process of its product – from the closest distribution center to the end customer tends to be the most difficult because it can be complicated and expensive or entail a significant amount of planning that can be timely and efficient. At the same time, you are faced with the need to be transparent except for efficiency and improved processes.

Conclusion

Shiny objects come and go. Hype appears and fades off. Prediction promises but disappoints. In-things become fizzle memories. However, AI will become a norm. Start with a problem that needs to be solved, not with a solution looking for a problem. Be data-driven. Regardless of these various emerging technologies manifested through new concepts, architecture, framework, applications, or tools, if you have these 5 KYB, KYP, KYC, KYD, and KYPi fundamentals established in your organization, you will be in good stead to begin and arrive with your Data To Outcome journey. It will also solidly poise you to tackle and sieve through anything that appears on the horizon and not be constantly distracted by any latest emerging technology buzz. With the onslaught of AI/GenAi technologies, we are beginning to see another paradigm shift – moving from executors to focusing more on managing and pivotal decision-making.

As leaders, we need to ensure that the organization understands the impacts of what AI/GenAi is causing on our existing talents, skill sets, literacy, capabilities, and overall futuristic lens.

Finally, what is your “last mile?” Or are you still heads-down working on getting these 5 “KPs” in your Data To Outcome journey for that value and/or impact realization?