A data steward is a professional who plays a crucial role in managing a company's data assets and quality. They are responsible for overseeing all data collection processes, organizing and preparing data according to corporate standards, and ensuring that data is accurate, consistent, and accessible. Data stewards play a key role in protecting data privacy, educating employees about data management practices, and helping organizations make informed decisions based on data insights.
The duties of a data steward are varied and multifaceted. One of the primary responsibilities of a data steward is to implement data security measures to keep firm data current, error-free, and protected from unauthorized access. Data managers work to investigate and rectify any database errors, develop and enforce data retention, preservation, and disposal requirements, and apply data curation procedures to meet business data lifecycle needs. They also work to balance transparency and privacy while safeguarding the company's data assets.
Another key duty of a data steward is data process design. Data stewards are responsible for supervising data gathering and processing activities within the organization, planning how employees use data, and devising methods for collecting, inputting, and transferring data between databases. By establishing clear data interaction standards and enforcing data entry and sharing protocols, data stewards help ensure that data is entered into the corporate database accurately, reducing the risk of duplicate or corrupted data.
Data stewards also play a critical role in overseeing traditional data operations. They are responsible for managing the entire data lifecycle, creating and implementing operational and executive data management policies, and gathering, storing, processing, and transmitting data to internal and external systems. Data stewards also define and document key terminology in an institutional data glossary, ensuring that all important data is accurately maintained and described.
In addition, data stewards are responsible for monitoring data lineage, which involves identifying the origin of a piece of data and documenting its corporate usage. By tracing data lineage, data stewards can identify errors, determine the department responsible for entering the data, and address any issues related to data entry, formatting, or accuracy.
Data stewards also play a crucial role in maintaining data quality within the organization. They establish data quality rules, processes, and internal control systems to ensure that data values, ranges, and parameters meet predefined standards, and regularly monitor data quality to identify any irregularities or inconsistencies. Data stewards take corrective action to address data quality issues and ensure that data remains accurate, consistent, and reliable.
In conclusion, data stewards play a critical role in managing a company's data assets and quality. Their duties encompass a wide range of responsibilities, including implementing data security measures, designing data processes, overseeing traditional data operations, monitoring data lineage, and maintaining data quality. Data stewards have a unique set of skills and talents that enable them to effectively manage and protect a company's data assets, and their work is essential in supporting informed decision-making, promoting data-driven strategies, and ensuring compliance with data privacy regulations.