Without ownership, data quality is nobody’s problem
Every data set needs someone accountable for it being right. Where nobody is, errors persist through several reports and are corrected in each one separately.
Data Core · Object
Data Governance
Who owns which data, what each term means, who may see what, and how long any of it is kept — the unglamorous rules that make everything else in this core possible.
The term
What it is
Governance is what stops the organisation having three different answers to the same question. Its absence is felt as an argument about whose number is right, repeated every reporting cycle.
The core artefact is a definition set: what each term means, where it comes from, and who decides when it changes. It is unglamorous, cheap and rarely maintained.
Retention is the part that is always deferred. Data accumulates because keeping it requires no decision and deleting it does, and the accumulated set is a liability that grows quietly.
Why it earns a place
What goes wrong without it
Two definitions of the same term is a permanent argument
It surfaces every period as a discrepancy, consumes a meeting, and is resolved locally rather than settled once.
Retained data is an obligation, not an asset
It must be secured, may have to be produced, and carries risk in proportion to how long it has been kept and how little anyone remembers about it.
One level in
The modules within data governance
Four working areas. The first assigns responsibility, the second settles meaning, the third controls access, and the fourth decides what stops existing.
Definitions and lineage
What each term means, where the figure comes from, and what happens to it on the way. The record that makes two reports reconcilable.
LearnRetention and deletion
How long each kind of data is kept and what causes it to be removed. The decision that is always deferred and always accumulates.
Learn
Across the framework
What it touches
- Data CollectionWhat may be collected and how long it may be kept are governance questions applied at the point of capture.
- Business CoreData-protection obligations are compliance obligations and belong in the same register.
- Business AssetsAccumulated data is an intangible asset and belongs on the schedule with a replacement cost.
- ReportingShared definitions are what make self-service reporting produce consistent answers.
Beyond the framework
Models worth knowing here
The Omnigoal says where this belongs and what it touches. It does not tell you how to think about it — other people have done that, and done it well. These are theirs.
The data management body of knowledge
DAMA International · 2009A complete map of the disciplines data management consists of, and how governance sits at the centre of them.
Eleven knowledge areas — architecture, modelling, storage, security, integration, quality and the rest — arranged around governance. Its use to an organisation starting out is mostly as a map of what exists: it prevents the common error of building a governance policy that addresses two of the eleven and calls the job done.
- Reach for it when
- When establishing governance, and as a checklist of what has not yet been considered.
- Where it stops
- It is a reference work of considerable weight, written for large organisations. Adopted wholesale by a small one it produces a great deal of ceremony.
DAMA International, DAMA-DMBOK: Data Management Body of Knowledge, Technics Publications, 2009; second edition 2017.
Data mesh
Zhamak Dehghani · 2019Treat data as a product owned by the domain that produces it, with governance agreed centrally and applied locally.
A reaction to the central data team that becomes a queue. Ownership moves to the domains that understand the data, each publishing it as a product with defined quality and an interface, while standards are set once and enforced everywhere. Governance becomes federated rather than either centralised or absent.
- Reach for it when
- When a central data function is the bottleneck, and when nobody can say who is responsible for a given dataset being right.
- Where it stops
- It presupposes domains mature enough to own a product, and it is routinely adopted as a technology purchase rather than the organisational change it actually is.
Zhamak Dehghani, “How to Move Beyond a Monolithic Data Lake to a Distributed Data Mesh”, martinfowler.com, 2019.
These are other people’s models, named here so you can go to the source and use them properly. The Omnigoal is not affiliated with their authors and is not endorsed by them; nothing of theirs is reproduced here — no canvas, no diagram, no wording. Each is described in our own words, with the originator credited, because the framework is a place to put thinking, not a replacement for the people who did it. Model names and trademarks belong to their respective owners and are used here only to refer to the work itself.
Every model in the framework, and where each one belongsData accumulates because keeping it requires no decision and deleting it does. That asymmetry is the whole retention problem.
The other objects in the Data Core
KPI management
Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for different business areas. This helps track progress towards strategic objectives and ensures alignment with overall goals. By setting clear KPIs, businesses can measure performance accurately, identify areas needing improvement, and make informed decisions. This process involves selecting relevant KPIs, regularly reviewing them, and adjusting strategies based on performance data to drive continuous improvement and achieve desired outcomes.
LearnData Collection
Ensure accurate and consistent data collection across all business operations. Systematically gathering data from various sources provides comprehensive insights that inform decision-making and strategic planning.
LearnPerformance Analysis
Analyse data to assess the performance of different business areas against set KPIs. Using analytical tools to interpret data helps identify trends and insights that drive continuous improvement and strategic adjustments.
LearnReporting
Generate detailed reports to communicate performance metrics to stakeholders. These reports should provide a clear overview of business performance, facilitating informed decision-making and ensuring transparency.
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