Guess what? Data governance can be considered a bottleneck and a bothersome activity at some organizations. So let’s discuss how NOT TO BE the BOTTLENECK. Defining what the data governance initiative will entail is very important here.

• Data governance is business-driven, not IT-driven. Meaning, while IT may be involved in creating the data governance policies, IT does not own them. The business does!
• Upper management MUST understand that data governance is for the corporation, and must be invested in the success. For example, the data governance program may include the design of customer credit card security. I would recommend that a strategy be created for data governance, and upper management (business and IT) be educated as to the benefits it will provide. I like to create a data governance scope document that highlights what needs to be accomplished, stating a preliminary priority order for review.
• Unlike some organizations, you should not be quick to create a committee (oh no – not more meetings) for data governance review without having designed and socialized the effort. I went to a client's data governance committee with my PowerPoint deck ready to describe exactly how a specific project would meet concerns about security for vendors. Guess what? The data governance committee did NOT have a format for receiving requests. So they used mine from then on.
• Along with design comes deliverables that include templates people can use to present specific projects to the governance committee. And along with this should be examples for people to use. This should alleviate the need for recreating the wheel every time.
• Data governance is an ongoing corporate asset, not a project. Too many companies create a data governance project that is short-lived. What happens is we end up with multiple tools to support business definitions, and then the most important people leave for another job.

Consider the long-term effect of data governance for the corporation, not just the short-term. Consult with a firm to help define and design a data governance program for your organization before you set up meetings.