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A professional-level summary covering key definitions, frameworks, and exam-relevant points.
Data Stewardship: Definition and Organisational Role
Data stewardship is the formal accountability for the business and technical management of data assets within a defined scope. The DAMA DMBOK v2 defines data stewards as individuals who are "responsible for ensuring that data management practices are followed within a specific domain." Stewardship is the operational arm of data governance — it translates governance policies into day-to-day data management activities.
Data Stewardship Roles
| Role | Focus | Typical Background |
|---|---|---|
| Business Data Steward | Data definitions, business rules, data quality standards | Business analyst, subject matter expert |
| Technical Data Steward | Technical implementation of standards, data models, ETL rules | Data engineer, database administrator |
| Operational Data Steward | Day-to-day data quality monitoring and issue resolution | Data analyst, operations staff |
| Executive Data Steward | Strategic oversight of a data domain; bridges business and governance | Senior manager, director |
Core Stewardship Responsibilities
- Define and maintain data definitions and business glossary entries for their domain
- Monitor data quality metrics and investigate threshold breaches
- Resolve data quality issues in collaboration with IT and business teams
- Maintain data lineage documentation for their domain
- Participate in data governance council meetings and working groups
- Approve data access requests for sensitive data in their domain
- Ensure compliance with data policies and regulatory requirements
Building a Data Stewardship Programme
A successful stewardship programme requires: clear definition of data domains and stewardship scope, formal appointment of stewards with defined responsibilities, training and support for stewards (including CDMP certification), integration of stewardship activities into existing business processes, and recognition and reward for stewardship contributions. Stewardship that is added to existing roles without time allocation, training, or recognition consistently fails.
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