In the 21st century, data really matters. Some even claim it’s the most important asset organizations possess today. Reviewing the evidence, I think they might be right.

Although all organizations use and manage data, far too many don’t do it well. As a consequence, they are missing out on opportunities to grow their businesses, increase revenue, and leverage valuable insights. In addition, they’re putting their organization at greater risk in a world of complex regulatory requirements and punishing cyberattacks.

Today, an increasing number of leaders recognize that managing data well and increasing its quality can deliver remarkable results for their organizations. They’re discovering the value behind data governance.

Unfortunately, implementing data governance is no walk in the park. Research from Gartner suggests that up to 90 percent of organizations fail at their first attempt. This book can help fix that. Proven, high-quality guidance is required and that’s what this book is all about.

I wrote this book to help you succeed at managing and optimizing your data in better ways than you do today. Understanding data governance will empower you to increase the value and quality of your organization’s data and manage the risks and obligations associated with it.

About This Book

Despite the title, this isn’t a book for dummies. It’s for those smart people who recognize that managing data well is the right thing to do. But you already knew that.

Data governance may not be the most exciting topic of our times, but in terms of importance and positive organizational impact, it’s certainly hard to beat. The increasing demand for data governance is a direct result of the rise in the value and volume of data and the attendant opportunities and risks this presents.

Since you’re reading this book, my assumption is that you generally get this. Ahead of many, you recognize the value of data governance and that attaining the skills and methods to implement a successful program will benefit you and your organization.

That said, I wrote this book for those with no data governance knowledge and for those with existing skills but with a desire for more insight and detail. In other words, whether you know a little or a lot on the topic, this book is designed to help you. In practical terms, like all Dummies books, you can read it from cover to cover, or you can just jump to a certain section.

Data governance is often a confusing and complex topic. It also has a lot of unfamiliar terminology associated with it, particularly if you don’t have a technical or data background. As an educator, I like to explain things simply. In fact, I like to explain things the way I would like them explained to me. This means I’ve gone to great efforts to eliminate the confusion and complexity of the topic while also providing easy-to-understand explanations. You may also find some repetition in chapters, and this is deliberate. Repeating some concepts, in a variety of contexts, reinforces the core ideas.

If you decide to read the book from cover to cover, you’ll notice it has five parts that are designed to take you from concepts to planning and right through to implementation and support:

• Part 1, Data Everywhere: The chapters in this part provide a detailed background of data governance and explain why it’s important in a world of increasing volume, variety, and velocity of data.
• Part 2, Discovering Data Governance: The chapters in this part explain how to build the business case and get approval for your data governance program. It also explains the value data governance can bring to different functions in your organization.
• Part 3, Developing Data Governance: The chapters in this part detail the steps to planning, designing, and developing your data governance program.
• Part 4, Democratizing Data: The chapters in this part cover how to support and maintain your data governance program once it is implemented, including monitoring it and measuring results.
• Part 5, The Part of Tens: The chapters in this part provide two lists — one that identifies best practices and the other that covers the essential stakeholders involved in data governance.

Foolish Assumptions

I made the following assumptions about you, dear reader, when writing this book. You:

• Have little patience for unnecessary jargon and deeper explanations and just want what’s necessary to get the work done and be successful.
• Want a comprehensive guide to data governance that can be read cover to cover or used to provide the answers you seek.
• Know that this book doesn’t provide information and details about specific technology vendors.
• Understand that data governance is focused on people and their behaviors. You won’t be learning how to write a database query.
• Recognize that data governance is not the same as data management.
• Appreciate that data governance can appear easier to implement than in reality. The tips and best practices in the book will help.
• Acknowledge that some repetition is deliberate in order to reinforce important concepts and to describe them in different contexts.
• Understand that data governance is evolving, so you’re best to supplement these topics by exploring current best practices and research online.
• Understand that you cannot implement data governance alone. It requires collaboration across the enterprise. Your colleagues may need to read the book too!

Icons Used in This Book

You’ll see a few icons scattered around the book. These icons highlight bits of information that are of particular importance to you.

The Tip icon shares an insight or lesson that I’ve learned the hard way — so you don’t need to — or it’s been gleaned from extensive research and suggests a good way to approach an issue.

The Remember icon highlights information that’s especially important to know. This is key information that you’ll want to reference later.

The Warning icon tells you to watch out! It highlights information that may save you headaches. Don’t skip over these.

Beyond the Book

You can complement everything in this book with additional research online, including some excellent written and video content. You might also enjoy watching my “Learning Data Governance” video series on LinkedIn Learning. It’s an hour and a half and is a light summary of some of the key areas in this book. You can also check out this book’s online cheat sheet by searching for Data Governance for Dummies Cheat Sheet at dummies.com.

Where to Go from Here

You don’t need to read this book from cover to cover. You can, if that strategy appeals to you, but it’s set up as a reference guide, so you can jump in wherever you need to. Looking for something in particular? Take a peek at the table of contents or index, find the section you need, and then flip to the page to get your answer.