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Data governance and catalogue

Ownership, classification, lineage and quality for the data that matters — governance that answers questions rather than blocking them.

Typical timing
10–16 weeks
Engagement
Phased programme
Delivery framework
User researchDiscoveryAlphaBetaLive
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Objective

Establish practical data governance: named owners, a searchable catalogue, classification that drives access and retention, lineage you can trace and quality rules that run automatically. It is the prerequisite for compliance, trusted reporting and safe AI.

You may need this if

  • Nobody can say who owns a dataset or whether it is correct
  • Data protection requests take weeks to answer
  • AI projects are blocked by uncertainty over what data may be used
How it runs

Activities, step by step

The plan follows our delivery framework. Steps that do not apply to this kind of work are left out rather than padded.

  1. 02 · Discovery2–3 weeks

    Assess and design

    • Maturity assessment against DAMA-DMBOK
    • Critical data elements and domains prioritised
    • Operating model, roles and policies designed
  2. 03 · Alpha4–6 weeks

    Pilot domain

    • Catalogue deployed, such as Microsoft Purview or Unity Catalog
    • Owners appointed, data classified and lineage captured
    • Automated quality rules and scorecards
  3. 04 · Beta4–6 weeks

    Scale

    • Further domains onboarded
    • Access, retention and sharing policies enforced
    • Governance forum running
  4. 05 · LiveOngoing

    Embed

    • Quality and compliance metrics reported
    • Data stewards coached
    • Policies reviewed annually

Deliverables

What you keep at the end.

  • Data governance framework, policies and roles
  • Deployed data catalogue with lineage
  • Data classification scheme
  • Data quality rules and scorecards

Outcomes

What it is built to change.

  • Clear accountability for important data
  • Faster compliance and audit responses
  • Data that can be used for AI with confidence

Often combined with

Every engagement starts with a 45-minute working session with the SME who would own the work. No deck.

Discuss Data governance and catalogue