Nobody should be a Data Steward!

Kind of an ironic statement from a data management site with a particular focus on data governance.

Almost everybody working with data performs data stewardship tasks – mostly without even realising it.

Hidden data stewardship tasks

A salesperson captures new leads, creates quotes, updates contact information and so on. If they do their job properly, the data is captured correctly and the organisation has an accurate record of the customer. They are acting as stewards of the customer information.

A Database Administrator is asked to develop a routine SQL script to extract data from source A and copy it to source B. Before they agree, they ask for an Issue to be logged and approved through the company Data Helpdesk. Without realizing it they are performing a stewardship function.

A Business Analyst works with the Marketing Manager to define the reporting specification for the new campaign that will be running next quarter. Another stewardship function!

What is data stewardship?

Data stewardship is a fundamental capability of data governance.

It is not a job title.

In the post Data governance must disappear, I spoke about the need for data stewardship tasks to be recognized for the day-to-day routine activities that they are.

As described on the T-shirt above (from spreadshirt.com ) is a role that is too big for any one person.