Solid talk: From ‘having data’ to ‘using data’ with Schiphol’s Chief of Data

Why many data strategies stall

Big ambitions die in execution when teams ship impressive prototypes that users don’t adopt, or when priorities drift away from business goals. Maarten shares the tell-tale signals:

• Teams can’t name the user, the decision, or the measurable outcome.
• Success looks like “we built it,” not “it’s used and it improved X.”
• Initiatives run in silos, costs climb, benefits aren’t captured.

Bottom line: strategy only matters if it’s executed—and used.

What actually works in practice

From rail and construction to aviation, the patterns repeat. The wins come when you:

• Anchor to business outcomes – tie every data product to a concrete operational or commercial goal.
• Design for adoption, not just accuracy – remove friction in the real context of work (sometimes that means paper, not a tablet on a vibrating machine).
• Keep the human in the loop – automate the boring, elevate expert judgment where it adds value.
• Focus on rate of adoption, not rate of change – pace your roadmap to what the organization can truly absorb.

Example discussed: repurposing advanced computer vision from a long-horizon R&D track into a maintenance use case that delivered immediate, visible value for front-line teams.

How to align teams and reduce waste

Great data teams can build almost anything; great strategies help them build the right things:

• Translate corporate strategy into a clear portfolio of data products.
• Set explicit user, decision, and metric for each product.
• Cut duplication across teams; standardize where it saves time; differentiate where it drives impact.

Keeping it alive after the first quarter

Momentum fades unless you make progress visible and leaders accountable:

• Publish a simple “highlight report” every half-year mapping business objectives → data products → realized outcomes.
• Practice radical transparency with sponsors – what’s used, what’s not, and what stops.
• Codify ownership in the business – adoption, feedback, and action live there, not just in the data team.

When you should watch this

If you lead data, analytics, or IT and want your investments to show up in operational KPIs—not only in demos—this conversation gives you the playbook and the pitfalls to avoid.

What you’ll take away in 20 minutes

• How to link data products to real business goals and user decisions.
• How to diagnose adoption gaps fast—and fix them.
• How to pace your roadmap to organizational absorption.
• How to make value visible so sponsorship and momentum stick.