Governance is Key to DAM Implementations

Digital Asset Management (DAM) implementations rarely fail because of the technology. Sure, there are network bandwidth and integration considerations, but it’s not a technical marvel to stand up a DAM. What is challenging about a DAM implementation is the governance and processes that surround it. Without a governance framework, your DAM can quickly become an unwieldy dumping ground for assets that are difficult to find and manage. This can result in decreased content velocity and an increased likelihood of incorrect asset usage, duplication, or abandonment of tool adoption across the organization. Having clear standards and processes on how to appropriately use your DAM will make sure your organization is getting ROI on the tool rather than using it as a glorified “junk drawer”.

So what is a DAM governance framework? It’s the set of rules, workflows, and guidelines that shape how your organization’s DAM should be used and maintained. At a minimum, it should outline:

• Permissions & Roles – Thoughtfully designing permissions (especially around upload) will go a long way in terms of maintenance. Define which roles in your organization will be using the DAM and what types of permissions each role needs. Common roles may include a DAM Administrator, DAM Librarian, Creative, Marketer, Legal / Compliance, and third-party Guests.
• Information Architecture (IA) – A DAM isn’t very useful if users can’t find the digital asset they are looking for. A logical folder structure and standard file naming convention are a great start, but a solid tagging and metadata strategy that is consistently adhered to is arguably even more critical. Your DAM IA should contain all of these elements.
• Asset Management Workflow – Diagramming the lifecycle of your digital assets from initial creation and approvals through distribution and eventual archival is the third key component. This portion of the framework should contain guidelines for when / how assets are added to the DAM, when metadata / tags are added, approval steps, and retention policies.

Your DAM governance framework should ideally be drafted as part of the initial implementation and iterated upon regularly. Bringing stakeholders into the framework definition process will help ensure that the tool is designed to meet their needs and increase adoption via early buy-in. Depending on the size and structure of your organization, responsibility for maintenance of the framework may live with your PMO, Creative team, or a dedicated DAM Librarian. We highly recommend documenting your DAM governance framework in a central location that users have access to (ex. internal wiki) and complementing it with training materials that can be used when onboarding employees to roles that will be working with the DAM. As your organization grows and changes, so will your governance framework. Plan to revisit the framework with key stakeholders on a recurring basis to ensure documentation is kept up-to-date and that the framework is still serving you. 

In summary, here are 8 best practices to consider for your DAM implementation:

1. Take the effort to establish, document, and socialize a governance framework
2. Clearly define roles and responsibilities, and mirror permissions accordingly within the tool to give users the appropriate access that they need to perform their job functions.
3. Establish a “wide and shallow” folder structure framework that is both logical and takes into consideration user security permissions.
4. Use consistent file naming conventions that include descriptive keywords and avoid special characters / spaces.
5. Avoid making the DAM a dumping ground by having clear guidelines on what should / should not be in the DAM, when assets should be uploaded based on your organization’s digital asset lifecycle and where assets should be stored.
6. Define a tagging taxonomy and use metadata consistently across assets to get the most out of the DAM’s search capabilities.
7. Regularly audit assets for missing metadata, expiration, and archival / deletion candidacy.
8. Learn and iterate on your governance framework by revisiting and updating it on a consistent basis (e.g. quarterly) with DAM users and stakeholders.