Introduction

Data Governance is the exercise of decision-making and authority for data-related matters.^[1]

As we build our data governance capability at UTA, we currently locate three governance functions inside our Data Operations team, each of which contribute to the governance mission of the team.

Governance Goals

1. Enable better decision-making
2. Reduce operational friction
3. Protect the needs of data stakeholders
4. Train management and staff to adopt common approaches to data issues
5. Build standard, repeatable processes
6. Reduce costs and increase effectiveness through coordination of efforts
7. Ensure transparency of processes

Governance Program Principles

Integrity

Data Governance participants will practice integrity with their dealings with each other; they will be truthful and forthcoming when discussing drivers, constraints, options, and impacts for data-related decisions.

Transparency

Data Governance and Stewardship processes will exhibit transparency; it should be clear to all participants and auditors how and when data-related decisions and controls were introduced into the processes.

Auditability

Data-related decisions, processes, and controls subject to Data Governance will be auditable; they will be accompanied by documentation to support compliance-based and operational auditing requirements.

Accountability

Data Governance will define accountabilities for cross-functional data-related decisions, processes, and controls.

Stewardship

Data Governance will define accountabilities for stewardship activities that are the responsibilities of individual contributors, as well as accountabilities for groups of Data Stewards.

Checks-and-Balances

Data Governance will define accountabilities in a manner that introduces checks-and-balances between business and technology teams as well as between those who create/collect information, those who manage it, those who use it, and those who introduce standards and compliance requirements.

Standardization

Data Governance will introduce and support standardization of enterprise data.

Change Management

Data Governance will support proactive and reactive Change Management activities for reference data values and the structure/use of master data and metadata.

The Data Management Office (DMO) are the people, processes, and tools that steward the data entities, as well as ensure and report on data quality.

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1. Data Governance Institute definition ↩︎