Building the Chief Data Officer Toolkit

Consumer Financial Protection BureauChief Data Officer Forum, GovernmentLinda Powell, CDO CFPB

This presentation is being made by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau representatives on behalf of the Bureau. It does not constitute legal interpretation, guidance or advice of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Note: This document was used in support of a live discussion. As such, it does not necessarily express the entirety of that discussion nor the relative emphasis of topics therein.

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Overview of the CFPB

We educate, enforce, and study Promote financial education Conduct rulemaking, supervision and

enforcement with respect to the Federal consumer financial laws

Handle consumer complaints and inquiries Research consumer behavior, and Monitor financial markets for risks to

consumers

Data-driven analysisThe CFPB is a data-driven agency. Our aim is to use data purposefully, to analyze and distill data to enable informed decision-making in all internal and external functions.

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The Role of the CDO Office

Business Technology

Data is the link between the organization’s mission and the technology necessary to accomplish the mission. The business strategy and goals drive the data strategy which informs the technology choices for infrastructure and applications.

Data

What infrastructure do you need to do data driven analysis?Maslow’s /Data Hierarchy of Needs

portalBI

Analytics

Tool kits (Stata)

Masterdata

Security & QA (data & analysis)

Governance & Standards

PRA & Privacy

Metadata (dictionaries, catalog)

Data Platform (servers, warehouse)

Food and water

safety

Love/belonging

Esteem

Self actualization

Where most data

users try to start

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Data Governance The exercise of authority, control, and shared decision-

making over the management of data assets. (DAMA Dictionary)

Data Governance Structure at the CFPB: Information Governance Policy

• Defines scope of data and delegation of responsibilities• Empowers the Data Governance Board• Provides guidelines for information intake, centralized

storage, and access rights• Provides an overview of Discusses information disclosure

Data Governance Board Data Intake Group Data Governance Team

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Data Architecture

The business needs should drive the architectureQuestions to ask yourself:• How much data do I expect to have?• How often do I need to update the

data?• Do updates need to be real time or

next day?• How do I want to access data?• How complex are my data?• Is my data structured or

unstructured?• Do I need to see history or do I only

need the current data?• How long do I need to keep data?

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Data Operations

Start with the answers to the architecture questions Develop intake processes Develop quality assurance processes

Ensure data manipulation doesn’t introduce errors Determine the business needs related to quality

• Is precision to $1,000 sufficient or is precision to .0001 necessary?

Evaluate if it is helpful to have a quality rating Document processes Maintain metadata

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Business Intelligence and Analytics

• Start with the business need

• Choose the right tool for the problem

• Partner with the business to continuously refine requirements

• Continuously iterate and improve

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Data Strategy – Where to Start

The organization’s mission Talk to the business lines

What capabilities are they trying to build What information do they have that is helpful What information don’t they have What topics or analysis are they planning in the next

five years How do they work with data today – is that sufficient What would make their lives easier and more effective

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Do a Baseline Assessment on Practices

On the left is the DAMA wheel of data management practices. Assess your organization.

Practices in place• what practices are robust•what practices are in production

Practices being created•what is built but not robust•what are you designing

Practices that need development•what isn't working•what haven't you started•is there something you forgot

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Understand the Business

The Industry Your organization’s role in the industry Management’s goals and objectives

Increase market share Maximize shareholder profit Do good in the world Support an agenda Meet the organization’s mission

What risks are management sensitive to Market changes Economic conditions Internal issues

Speak the same language Translate technical jargon to business jargon

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Talking to the Business

Business lines don’t generally think in terms of data Many business lines think in terms of processes or

applications Help figure out what data are needed to make the process or

application effective Help define what is the goal to determine the data inputs

needed Organize needs into categories

Data assets Processing environment Governance processes

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Put things in context

How much data is a lot?1 terabyte of data is about equal to the Library of Congress’ print collection. How many terabytes of data are you managing?

Why is my system so slow?We are trying to push a watermelon through a garden hose. We need to cut it up, feed it through, and reassemble it at the end.

Why don’t we just ask for whatever data they have?Imagine I asked everyone to give me 1 paragraph on their summer vacation. Then, if I tried to compare where people went, the dates they traveled, and who they traveled with – I didn’t ask for what I need so my analysis will be difficult, inaccurate, or impossible.

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Results from the CFPB Data Strategy

Started with the CFPB’s strategic documents The business lines are very diverse Identified common needs across the Bureau

Data documentation (metadata) Data standards Storage environment Processing environment Master data Governance processes

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Office Specific Needs

Broke down each office’s needs into three categories: Data management and storage

Specific data assets Markets for which we will need data Technical environment needs

Data analytics Analytical tools or projects Dashboards, visualizations, integration

Data policy Governance that would help clarify roles or make

processes more efficient

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Educate

The work doesn’t end when you write the policy or document.