Understanding key data governance players: Roles and responsibilities

Successful data governance requires more than just rules and policies. It requires a dedicated team of professionals with clear roles and responsibilities to effectively manage and protect the data.

We recently published “Data Governance: An Executive’s Survival Guide”, an ebook that you can download right now. In it you’ll find information on data governance and other important factors in the address data game.

The following is an excerpt on the section about the different roles and responsibilities involved in data governance. From Chief Data Officer to Data Stewards, each role is crucial in ensuring data is managed effectively and efficiently.

Most common data governance roles

Effective data governance requires a dedicated team of professionals with clear roles and responsibilities. Here are some of the key roles involved in data governance:

The Chief Data Officer (CDO) is a senior executive overseeing the entire data governance program. Their duties typically include securing approval and funding for the program, hiring key staff members, and leading the program.

The Data Governance Manager leads the data governance team. This role may also be the CDO. Or, if there’s no CDO, organizations may decide to hire someone to serve as the lead.

The Data Governance Committee is a team of business executives and relevant parties. The committee is responsible for making policies and standards—which are then enforced by the data governance manager and team—along with resolving disputes and amending policies as needed.

Data stewards are team members specializing in specific domains and data assets—the Data Stewardship Council. A data steward can have experience with IT or business. Their responsibilities include overseeing data sets, ensuring policies are adequately implemented, and achieving compliance.

Data quality analysts and engineers, data architects, and data modelers work with the governance committee and data stewards to fix data errors and track data quality metrics.

Business users and analytics teams must be trained on the organization's data governance policies and standards to ensure they use data correctly and avoid using data improperly or erroneously.

By understanding the roles and responsibilities of these critical data governance professionals, organizations can establish effective data management practices and use their data to drive meaningful insights and decisions.

Make it work for you

It's important to remember that data governance roles and responsibilities may vary depending on the organization's size, structure, and goals. While larger organizations may have dedicated teams and multiple roles, smaller organizations may need employees to wear multiple governance hats.

Tailoring data governance roles and teams to fit your organization's needs is crucial to ensure the success of your data management efforts. This may involve customizing roles, combining roles, or hiring additional staff members where required.

Regardless of the organization's size, it's essential to have clear roles and responsibilities to ensure data is managed effectively and efficiently.

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