(EMEA) VIDEO | Organizations Must Have Data L&D Teams — Booking.com Senior Data Manager

Mahmoud Yassin, Senior Data Manager at Booking.com, speaks with Derek Strauss, Chairman at Gavroshe, and CDO Magazine Editorial Board Member, in a video interview about the top three business value goals, strategy, importance of culture for strategy adoption, and the value of metadata.

Yassin begins by laying down the top three business value goals:

1.     Enhancing customer experience

2.     Have informed decision making

3.     Operational efficiency and cost reduction

Elaborating on the goals, he says that the organization exists because it wants to serve customers. Measuring customer experience is critical, says Yassin, and recommends personalization as the ideal approach.

The goal, for instance, is to have relevant information for customers in search results. He adds that while it is hard for people to realize the effect of data governance or management, they are intrinsic to enhancing customer experience.

Adding on, Yassin says that enhancing data storage, using encryption techniques, and automating data quality contribute to a better experience and build customer trust as there is no data leakage.

About informed decision-making, he states that reporting on poor quality or ungoverned data is jeopardizing businesses. Yassin mentions the term ‘dark data’ and cautions organizations to think of the consequences of making decisions based on dark data.

Highlighting operational efficiency and cost reduction, he asserts that because data is costly, it is imperative to be used efficiently, whether on the operational or data management sides.

Focusing on the use of metadata, Yassin advises organizations to choose the best solution that fits the use case. He maintains that if the data collected for enhancing customer experience is inaccurate, all the processes are being wasted. Therefore, he recommends analyzing the data carefully, defining KPIs, and measuring them periodically.

When asked about the scope of strategy and its adaptation, Yassin believes that it is the hardest part. Using a car analogy, he says that having a new car with an irresponsible driver can be a challenge.

Emphasizing the phrase “Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” he asserts that it is not about thrusting responsibilities and buzzwords on people but strategizing on how to take them through the journey.

In continuation, he says that a software engineer does not normally pay heed to data governance. To address this, there must be continuous learning that will portray the effects. Sharing another example, he mentions showing a developer the effects of not following the data governance rules in the form of bad customer experience or an incorrect report.

The learning must become a part of the DNA, and eventually it could be refreshed as data cafes, marketplaces, or academies, says Yassin. Nevertheless, organizations must have data learning and development (L&D) teams to keep the ball rolling. Additionally, he says that culture is the key challenge and a great opportunity.

According to Yassin, the key takeaway from the conversation must be to never compromise on the metadata. It is key to organizational success and its architecture. As defined by Gartner, there are four types of metadata including business, technical, operational, and social, he says.

From platform decisioning in cloud migration to analyzing data lineage, they bring tons of opportunities. He recalls utilizing the operational metadata of a BI tool to know who is using what, where, and why. This led to the realization that 50% of what was deployed was unused and helped in deciding to wipe it.

Furthermore, Yassin shares that if a CISO develops a report that is being used by the business side, organizations can assess and focus on the top 10 dashboards used widely and optimize them by analyzing metadata. Concluding, he says, metadata is key to those hidden insights.

CDO Magazine appreciates Mahmoud Yassin for sharing his insights and data success stories with our global community.