Man in the Middle: The Evolving Role of the Data Steward

Man in the Middle: The Evolving Role of the Data Steward

In his February 2005 DM Review article, William Laurent writes:

Under a stewardship program, everybody shares responsibility and accountability for data excellence; information belongs to everybody, and like other (more empirical) corporate resources, it must be scrupulously managed and cared for. The stewards do not own the data; they define and bestow ownership and accountability accordingly, as they train, guide and mentor others in data quality best practices, rewarding compliance and adherence to quality specifications. Everybody that touches data throughout the organization must understand their role in data quality and be able to provide a feedback loop that will help stop bad data habits from propagating throughout the business.