DataGovernance.ca editorial · 13 October 2026 · Implementation guidance
Separate decision authority from technical access
A database administrator may be able to change a field without being the right person to define what that field means. A commercial leader may own the business definition without having permission to edit the database. Document both roles. Use a business owner for decisions about purpose, definitions, acceptable use and prioritisation within their authority. Use a technical custodian for implementing approved storage, access, integration and operational controls.
Give stewardship a realistic job
A steward helps keep definitions, metadata and issues usable. They may investigate an exception, prepare a decision and coordinate a correction. Do not make the steward responsible for every data problem while giving them neither time nor escalation support. Agree what they can resolve, what the owner must decide and how they involve privacy, security or legal specialists. One person can hold more than one role in a small organisation, but the responsibilities should still be distinct.
Use an actual disagreement to test the model
Choose a question such as whether an inactive customer remains in a monthly report. Who proposes the definition? Who checks the downstream impact? Who approves it? Who updates the calculation? Who tells the report users? Record the result in a decision log with an effective date and a review trigger. If nobody can identify the approver, another meeting is unlikely to solve the underlying authority gap.
Avoid a responsibility matrix nobody maintains
A RACI is a working agreement, not a decoration. Keep it attached to a selected workflow and revisit it when staff, systems or obligations change. The template in our resource library is a starting point. Its example assignments require review; it does not appoint anyone or transfer formal accountability.
Use one disagreement to test the responsibility map.
Write two competing definitions of an “active” record. Have a steward collect the consequences of each definition, identify the authorised business decision-maker and name the custodian who would implement the selected version. Keep the effective date and communication step in the decision log.
The record should identify the scope, owner, evidence, unresolved questions and next review. It is a draft exercise—not evidence that your organisation has implemented or passed the control.