The modern businesses today know that making the data-driven decisions can be critical for them to improve their bottom line. Having a strong data governance strategy can save them a lot of time as well as the money by improving the quality of data and also making it easy for them to get the information which they need.
What is Data Governance?
Data Governance is an administrative process that makes sure that the data meets the business standards and the rules as it is being entered into the system. The data governance lets the business to control the management of the data assets as well. There are three important aspects of the data governance which makes the data more usable, accessible and timeless as well. These aspects of data governance are as follows –
- People
- Technology
- Process
The plan for the data governance in a business or company is important. It is also important to have regulatory compliance of the business such as the finance and the insurance. But to meet these compliance regulations, the business must have the formal data management processes in place for the data steward to govern the data throughout its lifecycle.
Best Practices of Data Governance:
Data governance is a key focus for many businesses and organizations but not all the strategies return with the anticipated results as well. Your business or organization will get the most out of the data governance strategy by following the best practices of the data governance.
Below mentioned are four best practices of data governance:
1. Start small and then move further
As mentioned before, that the data governance is all about people, processes and technology. Businesses should keep these three aspects in mind while planning a strategy. Start small at the beginning, then you can slowly build up your business or organization to the full picture which had in mind. First start with the people, second follow the people with the process of data governance and end it with the technology.
2.Define the team roles for data governance
The data governance practices the roles, responsibilities and the ownership structure of the business. Defining the team roles for data governance will create a framework for the data governance plan. The department of data governance is divided into four teams: (1) Data governance council or board, (2) Tactical team members, (3) Owners, and (4) Data users.
All of the above-mentioned team has their own roles and responsibilities in the data governance of a business.
3. Encourage communication
Whether you are starting data governance or practicing it for years, communication is must in both of them and is essential for the business or enterprise. There should consistent and effective communication between the teams of data governance which shows the impact of the strategy. Having frequent communication between the teams can highlight the successes to reorganize after a setback.
4. It is a practice – not a project
Creation of the data governance program can often feel like you are tackling a new project. Sometimes people assign a team for the project while the rest of the enterprise waits for it to be done. But you should not treat the data governance as a project but rather as a practice where all the employees of the enterprise are engaged in it together.
