The term “governance” stems from the root word “govern”. Data Governance represents a systematic way of managing data assets through identified processes and policies. Within the context of “data governance”, creating a data democracy – a governing body of employees who determine through best practices, knowledge of their data access needs and their internal data structure how to best manage, protect and ensure data accuracy, is a critical component.
Just as our forefathers did before the colonization of America, decision-makers and influencers came together to form a governing body. These individuals established policies, principles, and standards for the colonies, created means for enforcing said policies with the tools they had at the time, and monitored their progress through recording historical events to see how far they’d come, what hadn’t worked, and where they could improve.
Without policies, standards and enforcement people don’t understand what is lawful, ethical, and compliant. Laws (processes, procedures) and consequences create a balance and a sense of security within the community. Without a governing body, there isn’t place to evaluate, judge, and remove the risk of chaos.
Data Governance is truly no different. Data, as an asset, needs to be managed, access guidelines established, and a governing body formed to ensure its success. Policies, principles, and standards allow employees to understand, follow, and carry-out the vision of their leaders leveraging current tools/technology and architecture; such as in the case of creating an enterprise data warehouse holding clean, accessible, and reliable data for consumption.