Why Most Data Platform Failures Happen Before Build Starts
Hosted by Dheeraj Saxena
Wed, Jul 1, 2026
4:30 PM UTC (1 hour)
Virtual (Zoom)
Free to join
Wed, Jul 1, 2026
4:30 PM UTC (1 hour)
Virtual (Zoom)
Free to join
What you'll learn
Architecture Discovery vs HLD: Understand key differences
Develop a practical understanding of how data platform discovery frames the problem while HLD defines the solution.
Frame Business Requirements as Data Products
Translate vague business requirements into clear, well-defined data products.
Highlight Risks, Validate Assumptions, Requirements Early
Learn techniques to identify issues, and validate assumptions, estimates, constraints using minimal due diligence.
Use principles to make architecture decisions
Learn practical use of data architecture principles to validate requirements, and make high-level architecture decisions
Why this topic matters
Committing $500k+ to a data platform without doing a proper Discovery is how large data initiatives fail. A 2-3 week, $30-40k Discovery can surface show-stoppers before they become expensive — saving hundreds of thousands in rework and sunk spend.
This session gives Lead Architects a proven method for conducting Discovery right — illustrated through a real UK retail case study.
You'll learn from
Dheeraj Saxena
Chief Data Officer, and Enterprise Architect at Datawhistl.com
- Principal Architect & Data Consultant: 25+ years of cross-sector leadership in CRM, Marketing Data, and Complex Systems Integration for Tier-1 organizations
- Former Senior Consulting Lead: Held high-impact advisory and delivery roles at IBM, TCS, Wipro, Digitas, and Serco, managing large-scale global technology transformations
- SME in Salesforce Data 360 & CDP Ecosystems
- Independent Advisor via Datawhistl.com: Partnering with Data & AI-focused marketing departments for building global scale data platforms
IBM, Homebase, Kraft Foods, Unilever
