If you are charged with stewarding a DataOps team, your role will be crucial in allowing your organization to unlock the potential of the information at its disposal.

Of course, any management role has its challenges to overcome and its unique quirks to take into account, so here are a few tips on how to corral your team members effectively.

Setting shared goals is essential

Because DataOps teams will usually consist of individuals with different skill sets and professional backgrounds, it is sensible to unify them through overarching goals, or else you may risk a degree of fragmentation within the group. You can get an overview here to bring you up to speed

The problem with failing to establish team-wide targets is that workers may feel like any assistance they provide to their colleagues is a burden because it pulls them away from their own duties. Conversely, if the team knows that it has a shared goal to achieve, every action and interaction will seem valuable, no matter who completes it.

Consistent communication is vital

Another of the biggest obstacles you will face when managing a DataOps team is that of enacting efficient communication between members who may come from different departments and have entrenched views on how this should be handled.

Once again the answer is to forge a united front on this matter since consistent communication and reporting which is comprehensible to all team members will be at the core of what your DataOps efforts are ultimately aiming for.

This is not just about encouraging members to communicate with one another in a way that eliminates ambiguity and avoids inscrutability, but also about ensuring that they do so proactively, rather than needing to be prompted.

Wrangling interdisciplinary communication in this way is certainly tricky, but managers should be aware of the benefits that this will bring if guided correctly.

Adequate access to technology is key

It is not enough to simply set your DataOps team a task, tell them to talk to one another as they work, and expect them to fill in the blanks; each member also needs access to the tools that will allow them to fulfil their responsibilities.

Managers need to take the lead in this respect, although this will involve engaging with team members to find out what solutions and platforms they require, especially if you do not have the technical expertise or relevant experience in this area.

In the early stages, this will involve significant and time-consuming managerial orchestration, although, in the long run, it should be capable of minimizing the amount of plate-spinning that you have to do, so it is undeniably worthwhile.

Be aware that the tech tools not only encompass data platforms, but also the infrastructures on which they run, as the effectiveness of each is inextricably intertwined.

You will become more adept at managing a DataOps team over time, but hopefully, you now have an idea of how to iron out any initial creases.