Data governance often becomes a bureaucratic nightmare. Design policies that enable teams while maintaining control and compliance.

Minimal Viable Policies

Start with the absolute minimum policies needed for compliance and risk management. Add complexity only when it solves real problems. Each policy should have clear purpose and owner.

Stewardship

Assign data stewards who understand both the data and the business context. Empower them to make decisions and represent their domain in governance forums.

Evidence

Document everything. Metadata should be auto-discovered where possible. Maintain audit trails of data lineage, quality checks, and access controls for regulatory compliance.

Audits

Regular audits shouldn't be surprises. Build audit capabilities into your data platform. Enable self-serve audit reporting for teams to track their own compliance.

Automation

Automate policy enforcement wherever possible. Use technology to scan for sensitive data, enforce retention policies, and detect unauthorized access.