MIT Sloan Management Review Article on To Succeed With Data Science, First Build the ‘Bridge'

To better align data teams with business operations, a new organizational structure is needed.

Much has been written about the high failure rate of data science projects. Data science teams often have difficulty moving their insights and algorithms into business processes. At the same time, business teams often can’t articulate the problems they need solved. And they ignore their cultural resistance to data science.

There is a designed-in structural tension between business and data science teams that needs to be recognized and addressed. Structural problems demand structural solutions, and we see a way forward through a data science bridge: an organizational structure and leadership commitment to develop better communication, processes, and trust among all stakeholders.