One of the key elements of effective data governance is defining roles and assigning responsibilities. While this encompasses various positions, the Data Owner role is foundational. Data Owners are senior individuals within your organization accountable for the quality and integrity of specific data sets. You might have a different name for this role in your company, and that’s perfectly fine. What’s crucial is understanding How To Identify the right individuals to take on this vital responsibility.
A common challenge in implementing data governance is figuring out how to identify the appropriate Data Owners. Choosing the wrong people can hinder your data governance efforts, while selecting the right ones can significantly contribute to data quality and reliability. Here’s a straightforward approach to help you pinpoint the best Data Owners within your organization.
Start with Departments and Pain Points
Begin your search for a Data Owner by examining different departments and their connection to a particular dataset. For example, if you’re seeking a Data Owner for customer data, start by determining which business area experiences the most significant negative impact when customer data is inaccurate. Ask questions like:
- Who is most affected when customer data is wrong?
- Which team is most likely to discover data quality problems with customer data first?
These questions help reveal which departments are most reliant on the data’s accuracy and therefore have a vested interest in its quality.
Some believe that the Data Owner should always come from the department that initially captures or inputs the data. While this might sometimes be the case, it’s important to consider that the Data Owner could be located elsewhere in the organization.
Consider Data Producers and Consumers
Regardless of their department, potential Data Owners must have a genuine stake in the data. This interest can stem from being either a data producer or a data consumer. If an individual or department neither produces nor consumes the data, they are unlikely to have sufficient motivation to prioritize data quality and effectively fulfill the Data Owner role.
The key is to find someone who understands the value of the data and is impacted by its quality, whether they are creating the data or using it for business operations, analysis, or decision-making.
Look for Authority and Resources
Once you’ve identified the department with the strongest interest in the data, you can then focus on selecting the individual best suited to become the Data Owner. It’s critical to remember that to genuinely improve data quality, the chosen Data Owner needs to be in a position of influence and have access to necessary resources. Therefore, look for someone within that department who possesses:
- Authority to enact changes: The ability to modify business processes and IT systems to enhance data quality.
- Budget and resources: Access to financial and human resources to address and resolve data quality issues.
- Ability to initiate data cleansing: The capacity to launch data cleansing projects and activities.
If you can identify an individual who meets these criteria, they are highly likely to be the right Data Owner for your data. This method, while effective, can sometimes lead to unexpected discoveries, as illustrated in the following example.
Case Study: Identifying Data Owners in an Insurance Company
Consider the case of a Personal Lines Insurance Company trying to identify the Data Owner for Customer Data. The initial assumption might be that Underwriters, who decide on insurance policies and data requirements, would be the ideal candidates.
However, when approached, the Underwriters explained that due to the high-volume nature of personal lines insurance, they weren’t involved with individual policies and had little concern for specific customer data details.
Next, the Service Department, responsible for customer communication and data entry, was considered. Yet, they too lacked a strong interest in data quality. They didn’t determine data capture requirements, nor did they directly utilize the data in a way that made them feel the impact of inaccuracies.
After further investigation into who actively used Customer data and was concerned about its accuracy, the Marketing Directors were identified. Initially, marketing might seem an unlikely Data Owner for core customer data. However, in this company, the Marketing Department was responsible for sending out policy renewal letters. Incorrect customer data directly impacted their ability to reach customers, potentially leading to lost business due to missed renewals. Upon understanding the need for a Customer Data Owner, the Marketing Directors immediately recognized their responsibility due to their direct reliance on data quality for successful customer renewals.
Conclusion: Your Next Steps
This approach provides a practical way to how to identify suitable Data Owners within your organization. By focusing on departments with a vested interest in data quality, considering data producers and consumers, and seeking individuals with authority and resources, you can effectively pinpoint the right people for these crucial roles.
Remember, identifying the ideal Data Owner is just the first step. Once you’ve determined who should be the Data Owner, you’ll need to use your persuasion and communication skills to secure their agreement and commitment. This identification process is a vital component of establishing robust data governance, and you can explore further steps by using a comprehensive Data Governance Checklist to ensure successful implementation.
