Data Governance

In brief: Data governance defines who is responsible for which product data, how it is maintained and how its quality is assured. It provides the organisational foundation for a PIM system to work effectively over the long term.

The building blocks of data governance

• Roles: Data Owners are accountable for specific data domains, while Data Stewards ensure quality in day-to-day operations.
• Rules: Mandatory fields, naming conventions, value lists and approval stages.
• Processes: Who creates new products, who translates and who approves.
• Measurement: Metrics such as completeness and error rates for each channel.

Why governance matters so much

Many PIM projects fail not because of technology, but because responsibilities are unclear. If no one is responsible for an attribute, data quality quickly deteriorates again. Governance therefore needs to be established before system implementation, not afterwards.

See also

• Product data quality
• Workflows
• Access rights
• PIM implementation