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Data Governance: How to Design, Deploy and Sustain an Effective Data Governance Program
This book is for any manager or team leader that has the green light to implement a data governance program. The problem of managing data continues to grow with issues surrounding cost of storage, exponential growth, as well as administrative, management and security concerns – the solution to being able to scale all of these issues up is data governance which provides better services to users and saves money. What you will find in this book is an overview of why data governance is needed, how to design, initiate, and execute a program and how to keep the program sustainable. With the provided framework and case studies you will be enabled and educated in launching your very own successful and money saving data governance program.
264 pages, Paperback
First published July 27, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 25, 2018
This is a very detailed book on Data Governance, with a very strong focus on definitions, activities, and how they should relate to the business. As a data officer, I consider it the go-to resource for learning the precise definitions and activities related to implementing a Data Governance program.
I can't emphasize enough how many times the author reminds the reader that Data Governance is not a technology program, but a business one. Its focus is not on selecting a vendor and a technology product, but all about aligning business goals with making sure that information assets are managed properly. On Page 10, there's a very simple and big graph, showing that Data Governance is not Data / Info Management, even though they are of course related and serve towards the business objectives. Data Governance is related to using data to achieve goals, the first is about ensuring that data is managed, and these two should never be confused: "Data Governance is NOT a function performed by those who manage information."
I found the first four chapters particularly useful as a reference for clear definitions and overview of data governance domain, and its position in a company as a business program. The rest of the book goes into the details of actually setting up the process for data governance, defining the scope, assessing the information maturity, change capacity, and collaborative readiness of a company. Following these, there are the details of how to actually align the data governance program with business values, and then start doing the functional design, followed by preparation for roll-out and sustaining the program.
The following part from the book shows the true essence of the book in a a concise manner: "A data governance program really has one clear goal: to disappear. That may seem a bit enigmatic, especially since this book is about making data governance real. Nevertheless, it is true. Remember, you are deploying a new set of principles for treating a valuable asset in a much-improved manner. At the end of the day, the true mark of success is the organization treating its information as it treats its factories, supply chains, vendors, and customers. In the twenty-first century, no manager argues with standards for material handling, depreciation rules, or customer privacy. These are accepted business practices. There is no debate over whether you should have standards or controls. Yet it is easy to spread data all over an organization to the point that (a) it is excessively expensive to manage, and (b) you cannot find it, make sense of it, or agree on its meaning."
Another nice aspect of the book is that author almost always summarizes the pitfalls for various activities. It is good to see what kind of activities to be realized, what kind of deliverables to be created at the end of each activity, and it's also very valuable to know learn about the potential friction and resistance points, and how things can go astray. Having decades of experience, the author doesn't hesitate to give interesting examples from various companies where he implemented data governance programs.
Having said that, I wish the author was less abstract and generic: It'd be good if he took a case study, and maybe at the end of each phase's generic description, gave examples from an actual data governance implementation case. This would certainly enhance the reader's understanding. There are a lot of charts, and diagrams: almost 40 pages of checklists, and activity diagrams in the appendices alone! Seeing what and how they correspond to a real world example would be very nice indeed.
I can recommend this book to people who want to have an encyclopedic resource for data governance topic. The definitions are clear, the overview is great, positioning the program in a business is supported well with logical arguments and backed by extensive real world experience.
I can't emphasize enough how many times the author reminds the reader that Data Governance is not a technology program, but a business one. Its focus is not on selecting a vendor and a technology product, but all about aligning business goals with making sure that information assets are managed properly. On Page 10, there's a very simple and big graph, showing that Data Governance is not Data / Info Management, even though they are of course related and serve towards the business objectives. Data Governance is related to using data to achieve goals, the first is about ensuring that data is managed, and these two should never be confused: "Data Governance is NOT a function performed by those who manage information."
I found the first four chapters particularly useful as a reference for clear definitions and overview of data governance domain, and its position in a company as a business program. The rest of the book goes into the details of actually setting up the process for data governance, defining the scope, assessing the information maturity, change capacity, and collaborative readiness of a company. Following these, there are the details of how to actually align the data governance program with business values, and then start doing the functional design, followed by preparation for roll-out and sustaining the program.
The following part from the book shows the true essence of the book in a a concise manner: "A data governance program really has one clear goal: to disappear. That may seem a bit enigmatic, especially since this book is about making data governance real. Nevertheless, it is true. Remember, you are deploying a new set of principles for treating a valuable asset in a much-improved manner. At the end of the day, the true mark of success is the organization treating its information as it treats its factories, supply chains, vendors, and customers. In the twenty-first century, no manager argues with standards for material handling, depreciation rules, or customer privacy. These are accepted business practices. There is no debate over whether you should have standards or controls. Yet it is easy to spread data all over an organization to the point that (a) it is excessively expensive to manage, and (b) you cannot find it, make sense of it, or agree on its meaning."
Another nice aspect of the book is that author almost always summarizes the pitfalls for various activities. It is good to see what kind of activities to be realized, what kind of deliverables to be created at the end of each activity, and it's also very valuable to know learn about the potential friction and resistance points, and how things can go astray. Having decades of experience, the author doesn't hesitate to give interesting examples from various companies where he implemented data governance programs.
Having said that, I wish the author was less abstract and generic: It'd be good if he took a case study, and maybe at the end of each phase's generic description, gave examples from an actual data governance implementation case. This would certainly enhance the reader's understanding. There are a lot of charts, and diagrams: almost 40 pages of checklists, and activity diagrams in the appendices alone! Seeing what and how they correspond to a real world example would be very nice indeed.
I can recommend this book to people who want to have an encyclopedic resource for data governance topic. The definitions are clear, the overview is great, positioning the program in a business is supported well with logical arguments and backed by extensive real world experience.
January 21, 2019
Excellent overview of the subject
Data governance isn’t something that excites many people but analytics results are only as trustworthy as the underlying data. Governance of that data is necessary to ensure the quality. The author understands the subject and addresses it from the perspective of getting you organization to understand and accept the necessity of data governance as well.
Data governance isn’t something that excites many people but analytics results are only as trustworthy as the underlying data. Governance of that data is necessary to ensure the quality. The author understands the subject and addresses it from the perspective of getting you organization to understand and accept the necessity of data governance as well.
May 7, 2018
Superb!
November 17, 2025
I currently have a role in charge of master data management and business intelligence. I read this book after a member of my team left for a new job in data governance. Data governance is a relatively new field, and this book came on top of my read list if I wanted to be introduced to data governance.
This book primarily explains theoretical concepts and serves as a broad implementation guideline for data governance. If you are looking for hands-on advice on how you improve data quality of what are the responsibilities of data steward are, this book might not be for you. It’s only gets practical in the side notes or in the numerous diagrams, assessments and tables mentioned in the appendix. The text itself is highly top-level, which also helps ensure its relevance over time.
Key takeaway for me is that data governance and data management are not the same. Data governance prescribes the rules data has to attain, and data management is about action. You can’t prescribe rules while also having to implement all of them (which, in my current role, I have to do). In ideal circumstances, data management and data governance are different functions. Data management is about execution, and data governance is about policies and oversight.
Overall, this book offers a solid theoretical foundation for those new to data governance, though readers seeking hands-on practical advice may need to look elsewhere.
This book primarily explains theoretical concepts and serves as a broad implementation guideline for data governance. If you are looking for hands-on advice on how you improve data quality of what are the responsibilities of data steward are, this book might not be for you. It’s only gets practical in the side notes or in the numerous diagrams, assessments and tables mentioned in the appendix. The text itself is highly top-level, which also helps ensure its relevance over time.
Key takeaway for me is that data governance and data management are not the same. Data governance prescribes the rules data has to attain, and data management is about action. You can’t prescribe rules while also having to implement all of them (which, in my current role, I have to do). In ideal circumstances, data management and data governance are different functions. Data management is about execution, and data governance is about policies and oversight.
Overall, this book offers a solid theoretical foundation for those new to data governance, though readers seeking hands-on practical advice may need to look elsewhere.
April 5, 2020
Practical and actionable insights on rolling out a Data Governance program
Not many books focus on making data governance efforts tangible and practical. This book does exactly that. Highly recommended for businesses that are looking to embark on a Data Governance program
Not many books focus on making data governance efforts tangible and practical. This book does exactly that. Highly recommended for businesses that are looking to embark on a Data Governance program
July 1, 2025
This is an essential book on Data Governance that I have thoroughly enjoyed reading over a long span in preparation of my Data Governance Specialist Exam after completing the Certified Data Management Professional Certification from DAMA.
September 18, 2019
I like Ladley's anthropological approach to change management and the lack of a "silver bullet" solution to Data Governance. If it were easy we would not need a DG discipline.
September 19, 2020
Better and more practical book on Data Governance, it has the biggest coverage compare to other books.
July 8, 2014
This book is a complete reference guide that relates to the real issues that are encountered during the mobilization of a data governance program. John relates stories and scenarios that make it easier for a manager to anticipate and prepare for resistance.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews