Method · Data governance
INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT · DATA GOVERNANCE, DATA QUALITY & MDM
The link between business and IT teams · Coaching, training and knowledge transfer
I start by listening: in two to four weeks I map what exists, the documents, tools, roles, legal frame and the way projects are decided. Then we agree where to go together: priority domains, concrete use cases and a roadmap. The roadmap becomes a programme with a project review board, and the projects run in short sprints followed in Jira and Confluence. Training and coaching run all along, and I write governance documents only where a gap calls for one.
Reuse the documents, tools and roles already in place; fix the missing links.
Each action answers a business question carried by a use case and a data owner.
Two-week sprints with a report at each sprint; the PRB decides at each step.
Write a policy, standard or procedure when a gap calls for it, not by default.
Train and coach so that the teams keep the governance running after the mission.
Durations are indicative and adapt to each situation. When I join a team where governance is already in place and well structured, the first steps are shorter, sometimes much shorter.
Understand how data is governed today, before changing anything.
Build a shared, documented picture of the current governance: documents, applications, legal frame, actors, sources, consumers and the way projects are decided. The checklist of reference documents shows the missing links.
The sponsor validates the as-is report and the list of priority documents.
| Activity | Consultant | Sponsor | DG Lead | Council / PRB | Data Owners | Data Stewards | IT & Security | DPO / Legal | PMO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kick-off: scope, contacts, calendar | R | A | C | – | – | – | – | – | I |
| Collect existing documents and applications | A/R | – | C | – | – | C | C | C | C |
| Interview the governance actors | A/R | C | C | C | C | C | C | C | C |
| Map sources, consumers, request and ticketing channels | R | – | A | – | – | C | C | – | C |
| Fill in the reference document checklist | A/R | – | C | – | – | C | – | – | – |
| Present findings and initial recommendation | R | A | C | I | I | I | I | I | I |
R = Responsible · A = Accountable (one per activity) · C = Consulted · I = Informed
Assess eight dimensions, select priority domains and use cases, build the roadmap.
Measure the gaps against a target governance framework on eight dimensions, choose the priority domains, describe concrete use cases and agree a data governance roadmap with the sponsor and the council.
The sponsor and the council approve the roadmap and the priority use cases.
→ Gaps; target framework and operating model
→ Gaps; priority domains; catalogue use case
→ Gaps; priority domains; quality use case
→ Project structure for phase 3
→ Gaps and risks; priority use case
→ Gaps and risks; priority use case
→ Gaps; lineage and mapping needs
→ Training and coaching plan
| Activity | Consultant | Sponsor | DG Lead | Council / PRB | Data Owners | Data Stewards | IT & Security | DPO / Legal | PMO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assess framework and organisation | R | – | A | C | C | – | – | – | – |
| Assess catalogue, quality and architecture | R | – | A | – | C | C | C | – | – |
| Assess legal, ethics and security; build the risk register | R | – | A | I | – | – | C | C | – |
| Assess projects and people | R | – | A | – | C | C | – | – | C |
| Select priority domains and write the use cases | R | – | R | A | C | C | – | – | – |
| Build the roadmap and target framework | R | C | A | C | – | – | – | – | C |
| Approve the roadmap | C | A | R | R | – | – | – | – | I |
R = Responsible · A = Accountable (one per activity) · C = Consulted · I = Informed
Create the project review board, score and select the projects, start them.
Turn the roadmap into a managed programme: a project review board that decides, a scored portfolio, resources, and the first projects started with a clear operating mode in Jira and Confluence.
The PRB has selected the first projects; each one has a charter, an owner and a backlog.
| Activity | Consultant | Sponsor | DG Lead | Council / PRB | Data Owners | Data Stewards | IT & Security | DPO / Legal | PMO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Create the PRB: charter, members, cadence | R | A | – | C | – | – | – | – | C |
| Identify projects with cost and benefit | R | – | A | – | C | – | C | – | R |
| Score and prioritise the projects | R | – | – | A | C | – | – | – | C |
| Identify resources | – | A | – | – | C | – | C | – | R |
| Select the projects to start | C | I | C | A/R | – | – | – | – | C |
| Set up Jira / Confluence and kick off the projects | R | – | C | – | – | – | C | – | A |
R = Responsible · A = Accountable (one per activity) · C = Consulted · I = Informed
Run the projects in sprints, report at each sprint, adjust with the PRB.
Deliver the use cases in short iterations, with written specifications, visible progress and regular decisions by the PRB, until the client teams run the governance on their own.
The use cases are delivered and the client team runs the sprints and the PRB without the consultant.
| Activity | Consultant | Sponsor | DG Lead | Council / PRB | Data Owners | Data Stewards | IT & Security | DPO / Legal | PMO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Write backlog and specifications | R | – | – | – | A | C | C | – | – |
| Plan and run the sprints | R | – | – | – | – | R | R | – | A |
| Sprint review and report | R | – | I | – | C | – | – | – | A |
| Monthly report to the PRB | R | I | C | I | – | – | – | – | A |
| Change requests and re-prioritisation | C | – | – | A | C | – | – | – | R |
| Lessons learned and handover | R | – | A | I | I | I | – | – | I |
R = Responsible · A = Accountable (one per activity) · C = Consulted · I = Informed
Make the roles work: train, coach, and pass on the know-how.
From phase 2, all along the mission
Write only the documents the gaps call for, with a clear approval flow.
When phases 1 and 2 show a missing document
Kick-off with the sponsor and the governance lead: scope, contacts, calendar, access to documents.
Collect documents and applications; first interviews (governance lead, DPO, IT, PMO).
Interviews of data owners, stewards and main consumers; fill in the reference checklist.
First feedback to the sponsor: what exists, what is missing, what to tackle first.
23 documents a well-run governance usually needs, grouped by theme
| Theme | Document | Type | Content | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Framework | Data Governance Policy | Policy | Principles, scope, accountability | High |
| Framework | Governance charter / operating model | Policy | Bodies, roles, decision rights, council terms of reference | High |
| Framework | Data governance roadmap | Plan | Priorities by quarter | High |
| Organisation | Roles and responsibilities (RACI) | Standard | Owner, steward, lead, council, IT, DPO | High |
| Organisation | Job descriptions: Data Owner, Data Steward | Guideline | Tasks, time, skills | Medium |
| Organisation | Domain ownership register | Register | One owner per domain | High |
| Catalogue | Data dictionary / business glossary standard | Standard | e.g. DG-STD-001 | High |
| Catalogue | Metadata and naming standard | Standard | Naming, definitions, modelling conventions | Medium |
| Catalogue | Reference and master data standard | Standard | Code lists, golden records | Medium |
| Quality | Data quality standard | Standard | Dimensions, thresholds, measurement | High |
| Quality | Data quality issue procedure | Procedure | Report, triage, fix, close | High |
| Quality | Data quality rule library and dashboard | Register | Rules, results, trends | Medium |
| Legal & ethics | Records of processing activities (GDPR art. 30) | Register | Kept by the DPO | High |
| Legal & ethics | DPIA procedure | Procedure | When and how to assess high-risk processing | Medium |
| Legal & ethics | Data ethics and AI use guideline | Guideline | AI Act, acceptable use | Medium |
| Legal & ethics | External data contracts register | Register | Sources, licences, DPAs, expiry | Medium |
| Security | Data classification standard | Standard | Confidentiality levels, personal data | High |
| Security | Access request and review procedure | Procedure | Request, approve, review, revoke | High |
| Security | Retention and deletion standard | Standard | Retention periods, deletion proof | Medium |
| Documents | Document management standard | Standard | e.g. DG-STD-002 | High |
| Projects | PRB charter and decision log | Charter | Members, criteria, decisions | High |
| Projects | Project charter and sprint report templates | Template | One per project / sprint | Medium |
| Projects | Change request and exception procedure | Procedure | Who decides, how it is recorded | Medium |
Every mission comes with a generic project structure that I import into the client's Jira and Confluence on day one of phase 3: one epic per phase and stream, one story per deliverable, and a Confluence space with a page per phase and ready-made templates (use case card, sprint report, PRB minutes, decision log).
See how I run a project in Jira and Confluence
| Ceremony | When | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Sprint planning | Start of sprint, 1–2 h | Sprint goal and scope |
| Daily stand-up | 15 min (Scrum) or board review (Kanban) | Blockers |
| Sprint review | End of sprint, 1 h | Demo and acceptance |
| Retrospective | End of sprint, 45 min | Improvement actions |
| PRB | Monthly, 1 h | Progress, KPIs, decisions |
The full reference document (phases, RACI, deliverables, checklists and templates) is available as a PDF.