Foundation: Governance Framework Design

Design the governance operating model, organizational structure, roles, and initial policies. This is the architectural blueprint for the entire program.

🎯 Objectives

✓ Select the governance operating model (Centralized, Decentralized, or Federated)
✓ Design the governance organizational structure
✓ Define all governance roles and responsibilities
✓ Establish the governance charter and initial policies
✓ Identify and prioritize data domains for governance

Select the Operating Model

Choose between three models based on organizational structure, culture, and size: **Centralized Model** — A single central authority (DGO) makes all governance decisions. Best for: small-medium organizations (<1000 employees), highly regulated industries, organizations needing rapid standardization. **Decentralized Model** — Each business unit governs its own data independently. Best for: conglomerates, highly autonomous business units, organizations where speed is more important than consistency. **Federated Model (Recommended for most)** — Central team sets enterprise standards and policies; domain-level stewards implement within their areas. Best for: large enterprises, multi-division companies, organizations that need both consistency and flexibility.

💡 Consultant Tips

● 95% of the time, Federated is the right answer for enterprise organizations
● For startups or small companies (<200 people), start Centralized — you can federate later
● Never go fully Decentralized unless the business units truly have no shared data
● The operating model should match the company's management culture — don't impose Centralized on a highly autonomous culture

Design the Organizational Structure

Build the governance organization with these layers: **Layer 1: Executive Sponsorship** — CDO or Senior VP who champions the program, secures funding, and removes blockers. Reports to CEO/COO. **Layer 2: Data Governance Council (DGC)** — 8-12 senior business and IT leaders who approve policies, resolve cross-domain issues, set priorities, and allocate resources. Meets monthly. **Layer 3: Data Governance Office (DGO)** — The operational team (3-7 people) that runs the day-to-day program: facilitates stewardship, manages the business glossary, tracks metrics, and coordinates activities. **Layer 4: Data Domain Stewardship Teams** — Business-side teams (3-5 per domain) responsible for data quality rules, issue resolution, and metadata within their domain. Led by a Data Domain Owner. **Layer 5: Communities of Interest** — Informal, cross-domain groups that tackle specific topics (e.g., data quality, metadata, privacy).

💡 Consultant Tips

● The DGC should include business leaders, not just IT — governance is a business function
● Keep the DGC small (8-12 max) or meetings become unproductive
● The DGO needs at least one dedicated FTE — governance as a 'part-time job' always fails
● Start with 2-3 data domains, not all of them — prove value before expanding

Define Governance Roles (RACI Matrix)

Clearly define every governance role with specific responsibilities. Use a RACI matrix (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) to eliminate ambiguity.

💡 Consultant Tips

● The most critical distinction: Data Owner = Business executive (accountable), Data Steward = Business SME (responsible day-to-day), Data Custodian = IT (implements technical controls)
● Never assign ownership to IT — data owners MUST be business leaders who understand the data's business meaning
● Each data domain needs exactly ONE owner — shared ownership means no ownership
● Create a 1-page 'Role Card' for each role that people can pin to their wall

Draft the Governance Charter

The charter is the founding document that gives the governance program authority. It should include: mission/vision, scope, guiding principles, organizational structure, decision rights, escalation process, and success metrics. It must be signed by the executive sponsor and approved by the DGC.

💡 Consultant Tips

● Keep the charter to 3-5 pages — nobody reads a 50-page charter
● Include explicit decision rights: who can approve a new data standard, who can grant data access, who resolves conflicts between domains
● The charter must be a 'living document' with a defined review cycle (annual)
● Socialize the charter broadly — governance only works when people know it exists

Identify and Prioritize Data Domains

Map the organization's data into domains (logical groupings of related data). Common domains: - **Customer/Party** — customers, prospects, contacts, organizations, relationships - **Product/Service** — products, services, SKUs, catalogs, pricing - **Financial** — accounts, transactions, GL, billing, revenue - **Employee/HR** — employees, contractors, org structure, compensation - **Location/Geography** — addresses, regions, facilities, territories - **Supplier/Vendor** — vendors, contracts, procurement - **Reference Data** — code sets, classifications, lookups Prioritize domains by: business impact, regulatory risk, known quality issues, and number of systems involved.

💡 Consultant Tips

● Start with the domain that has the most visible pain — usually Customer or Product
● Don't try to govern all domains at once — pick 2-3 for the first year
● Each domain should have clear boundaries — document what's IN and OUT of scope
● Reference Data is often a quick win because it's well-defined and impacts everything

📦 Phase Deliverables

☐ Data Governance Charter (3-5 pages, signed by sponsor)

☐ Operating Model Selection Document (with rationale)

☐ Governance Organizational Structure (org chart)

☐ RACI Matrix for all governance roles

☐ Role Cards (1-page per role: Owner, Steward, Custodian, etc.)

☐ Data Domain Inventory with Priority Ranking

☐ Initial Policy Framework (policy categories identified)

☐ Governance Communication Plan

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