Data Governance · Definitions and lineage · Component
The change process
How a definition is altered, and who decides — because an unmanaged definition change breaks every trend that uses it.
The deliverable
What it is
Definitions change for good reasons. The failure is changing one without telling the people whose reports use it, who then explain the resulting step as a business event.
The process is short: a decision, a notification, and a decision about history. Its absence is what makes definition change feel dangerous.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
The history
What happens to data reported under the old definition.
3 attributes: Treatment · Restated back to · Break at
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A definition change made by whoever is editing a report is not a change. It is a divergence.
The other components in definitions and lineage
The definition set
What each term means, held in one place — because local definitions are how the recurring argument starts.
LearnThe lineage
The path from source to report, including transformations — because most discrepancies originate here rather than in the definition.
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