Organizational Aspects of Data Management

Chapter Objectives In this chapter, you will learn to: • identify the basic concepts of data management; • understand the role and importance of catalogs, metadata, data quality, and data governance; • identify key roles in database modeling and management; • understand the differences between an information architect, database designer, data owner, data steward, database administrator, and data scientist. Opening Scenario Sober realizes that the success of its entire business model depends on data, and it wants to make sure the data are managed in an optimal way. The company is looking at how to organize proper data management and wondering about the corresponding job profiles to hire. The challenge is twofold. On the one hand, Sober wants to have the right data management team to ensure optimal data quality. On the other hand, Sober only has a limited budget to build that team. In this chapter, we zoom into the organizational aspects of data management. We begin by elaborating on data management and review the essential role of catalogs and metadata, both of which were introduced in Chapter 1. We then discuss metadata modeling, which essentially follows a similar database design process to that which we described in Chapter 3. Data quality is also extensively covered in terms of both its importance and its underlying dimensions. Next, we introduce data governance as a corporate culture to safeguard data quality. We conclude by reviewing various roles in data modeling and management, such as information architect, database designer, data owner, data steward, database administrator, and data scientist. Data Management Data management entails the proper management of data and the corresponding data definitions or metadata. It aims at ensuring that (meta-)data are of good quality and thus a key resource for effective and efficient managerial decision-making. In the following subsections we first review catalogs, the role of metadata, and the modeling thereof. This is followed by a discussion on data quality and data governance. Catalogs and the Role of Metadata The importance of good metadata management cannot be understated. In the past this was often neglected, resulting in significant problems when applications needed to be updated or maintained. In the file-based approach to data management, the metadata were stored in each application separately, creating the issues discussed in Chapter 1.