The second in our three part blog series: The Top 10 Tips on Implementing a Successful Data Classification Project, this post looks at tips four to six.
Speak the Language of Your Business
For users to relate to the idea of classifying data, the classification labels you ask them to apply must relate to the business context and processes that are familiar to them. Your classification solution should allow you to tailor every aspect of the text presented to the users and to deliver relevant customisations to each distinct user community. The more relevant your classification labels are to someone’s day-to-day job, the more likely they are to remember to use them.
Tailor Your Scheme – One Size Doesn’t Fit All
Your classification scheme and solution will need to be able to handle diversity within your organisation. Large multinationals must take account of local or regional data-handling requirements and legislation, as well as language considerations. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) inevitably adds to the range of devices and applications that will be used to create and manage data in your organisation.
Make a Plan for Your Legacy Data
Forrester recommends that you classify new data first, and address legacy data later as a separate project, once you’ve established a process for classifying new data. There are a number of approaches that you could take to classifying your legacy data:
• Getting users to classify legacy data immoderately
• Classify legacy data only as it’s modified’
• Bulk classify
Next week brings the third and final installment of our Top 10 Tips, where we will be looking at allowing for partnering, considering phased implementation, planning for change and closing the loop.