Deliver value incrementally

Many data projects require investment over the long run.

It might be a transformation project, like moving towards a data mesh.

It might be building out platform capabilities to support the next stage of maturity.

Whatever it is, you can’t wait until that project is complete before you deliver some demonstrable value for your organisation.

Otherwise you’ll be getting (very reasonable) questions asking what the business is actually getting from that investment.

So you need to deliver value incrementally.

For example, while the goal might be a data mesh, rather than model all domains in all parts of the business, start with a clear use case that can be improved through the adoption of some data mesh ideas.

That could be addressing some data that is currently not meeting the needs of consumers, leading to too many incidents (the problem), and to address it you need to support the data producers so they can take more responsibility for the data (the solution). If successful, that will improve a key business process, reducing risk and improving productivity (the value).

Now you are still moving towards your goal, while delivering value incrementally.