Data governance

Data governance is the set of people, processes, and standards that define how data is collected, stored, used, and secured. It generally consists of a governing body that sets policies and procedures and includes mechanisms for monitoring compliance with company standards and government regulations.

Effective data governance generally consists of:

• Policies and processes for handling sensitive data, such as personally identifiable information (PII), HIPAA data, and intellectual property.
• Documented roles and accountability assignments for legal, regulatory, and security compliance.
• Mechanisms for the enforcement of rules

Principles of data governance

Data governance is based on principles of transparency, accountability, and standardization.

Transparency

In data governance, transparency refers to the availability and understandability of information related to data governance within an organization. Members of an organization must be able to easily find and understand the processes and standards of data governance, as well as understand why the standards are required, to effectively comply.

Effective transparency helps the organization avoid surprises, gain buy in from organization members, and to build trust in how the organization manages data.

Accountability

In data governance, accountability refers to the roles members of an organization must fill regarding data. Each role should be clearly described, easily understood, and agreed upon by all stakeholders. Some roles may be very specific, with one or more people assigned to the role to serve the organization as a whole. However, other roles may be more generalized and apply to anyone that encounters data as part of their duties within the organization.

Effective accountability helps ensure the right people take the right actions to ensure compliance, and provides a clear means for remediation when issues are uncovered.

Standardization

In data governance, standardization refers to how data is consistently organized and described so that data can be kept consistent and compliant.

Effective standardization helps the organization reduce the overhead of data management and compliance.

Deeper Knowledge on Data Governance

Data Clean Room

Secured and closely controlled environments used to analyze sensitive data

Broader Topics Related to Data Governance

Databases

Organized collections of structured data

Information Technology (IT)

The principles, practices, and technologies used to build information systems