Data Governance · Ownership · Component
The owner
Who is accountable for the data set being right — a named person in the business, since a technical function cannot judge whether a value is correct.
The deliverable
What it is
Ownership placed in a technical function makes correctness nobody’s job, because the technical function can tell you whether the pipeline ran and not whether the number is right.
The owner needs authority to change how the data is collected, or the accountability is nominal.
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 unowned data sets are the ones that cross functions, which is why everybody uses them and nobody claims them.
The other components in ownership
The custodian
Who operates the system it lives in — a distinct role from the owner, and conflating them means nobody judges correctness.
LearnThe handover
What happens to ownership when someone changes role — because it lapses silently and nobody notices for a year.
Learn