This handbook introduces the principles, structures, and practices that define a data-driven company. It is organized into fourteen self-contained modules across four chapters — each one focused on a single idea and complete enough to consult on its own, whether you’re reading straight through or looking up one specific topic before a meeting. As a rough guide, plan on about 10 minutes per module if you’re reading closely rather than skimming.

The chapters follow a logical progression: we begin by defining what it means to be data-driven and why it matters, move into how organizations set their strategic direction and translate it into prioritized, measurable action, examine the organizational structures, governance, and people that make data work in practice, and close with the cultural and maturity dimensions that determine whether data-driven ambitions are actually realized.

Each lesson ends with a key takeaway — one sentence summarizing the single most important idea. All fourteen are also collected on a single page near the end for quick review, followed by a glossary of core terms.

To keep the frameworks grounded, most lessons include a short Solvia Motors in Practice box — a running example following one fictional automotive manufacturer as it applies each idea, from its first Data Product through its full data governance structure.

About the Author

Joël Doat works at the intersection of teaching and practice — moving between academic instruction and hands-on consulting and implementation work in data and analytics. This dual vantage point shapes how this ebook is written: concepts are grounded in research and established frameworks, but always tested against the question of whether they hold up in a real organization, with real constraints, real politics, and real deadlines.

This ebook is part of Code Croissant, an ongoing e-learning project on data, analytics, and IT — built for people who want their understanding of these topics to actually hold up in practice, not just on paper.

Who This Ebook Is For

This ebook is designed to work on two levels at once. For decision-makers, it is a reference work: a structured, well-organized map of the concepts, frameworks, and vocabulary needed to ask the right questions, sponsor the right initiatives, and evaluate progress with a critical eye — without requiring a technical background.

For beginners and advanced practitioners within a company — data analysts, engineers, product owners, or anyone newly responsible for a data initiative — it works as an introduction and refresher: each lesson can be read on its own when a specific topic becomes relevant, or the book can be read start to finish to build a complete picture before diving into a particular initiative.

How to Use This Ebook

As a reference work: use the table of contents and glossary to jump directly to the concept you need — before a strategy meeting, while drafting a business case, or when a specific term (RACI, VUCA, CMMI) comes up and you want the grounded version rather than the buzzword.

As an introduction: read the four chapters in order. Chapters 1 and 2 build the conceptual and strategic foundation; Chapter 3 turns that foundation into organizational structure, governance, and people; Chapter 4 addresses the cultural and maturity dimensions that ultimately determine whether all of the above translates into results. Each lesson’s What You’ll Learn box at the top tells you in one or two sentences whether that lesson is relevant to what you’re working on right now — feel free to skip ahead.

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