What Is Data Governance?
What is Data Governance? Sometimes it is easier to describe what something is by describing what it is not. This is the approach we will take when describing Data Governance.
Data Governance is not:
- BI Governance because BI Governance deals with an organizations BI Architecture, standards and prioritization requirements.
- Internet Governance because Internet Governance involves the principles, policies and procedures related to the use of the Internet throughout the organization.
- Financial Governance because Financial Governance involves the strategic management of core business processes to achieve its financial goals.
- I/T Governance because I/T Governance involves establishing the leadership and organizational structures and processes that ensure the organization’s I/T strategies and objectives are in-line with the company’ s business strategies and objectives.
Data Governance is also not:
- A Help Desk for generic data questions.
- A group for helping to implement process or technology.
- Project Governance – yet a topic for another blog.
- Involved in developing processes to address data policy decisions.
- Involved in addressing immediate data production issues.
So then what exactly is Data Governance? In summary Data Governance is:
- A strategic program where data policies are identified, evaluated and data solutions are prioritized.
- Where key decisions about Information Management are communicated
- A vehicle to ensure compliance and establish accountability around defined data policies and standards.
- Involvement of data owners and data stewards with broad understanding of the data required for a set of business processes.
- Development, institutionalization and socialization of policy, data standards, and information management processes.
