datastewarding

Datastewarding is the practice of managing data assets to ensure they are accurate, accessible, secure, and usable across an organization. It is a core component of data governance, formalizing accountability for data quality, metadata, and policy compliance through designated individuals or teams known as data stewards.

A data steward is typically responsible for a defined domain or dataset, working with data owners, data custodians, and information technology staff. Responsibilities include defining data meanings and rules in a business glossary, maintaining data dictionaries, monitoring quality metrics, documenting data lineage, and enforcing access, retention, and privacy policies.

Key activities include metadata management and data cataloging, data quality management (validation, cleansing, enrichment), and lifecycle governance (creation, modification, retention, archiving). Datastewarding also supports data security and privacy, ensuring appropriate controls, consent tracking, and compliance with regulatory regimes such as GDPR or HIPAA.

Effective datastewarding improves data consistency, trust, and analytics reliability, while reducing risk from data quality issues or regulatory breaches. Benefits include better decision-making and operational efficiency; challenges include organizational silos, unclear ownership, limited resources, and the need for clear roles and processes. Common references include DAMA-DMBOK and governance platforms.