Questions Your Data Governance Consultant Should Be Asking

Data governance is more than policy, it’s how your organization ensures the quality, security, accessibility and accountability of its data. It’s vital to ensure you have a skilled data governance consultant on your side; especially one who doesn’t try to fit you into a one-sits-fits-all strategy. Your data governance consultant should take the time to better understand your environment, uncover risks and tailor your data strategy. 

Keep reading to learn about important questions for your team and why they matter. 

Understanding the “Why” Behind Data Governance

Before your data governance consultant can recommend improvements, they need to understand the “why” behind creating these policies. 

• Are you concerned about regulations or compliance? This identifies whether legal or reporting obligations are a core priority; and which specific ones need to be met. 
• Are you facing security risks or threats of a breach? This helps determine governance around access, recovery and risk mitigation and what solutions should be implemented.
• What business goals are you hoping to support with data governance? Whether it’s efficiency, innovation or customer trust, your goals should guide the governance framework.

By clarifying what’s at stake, we can focus on building a governance model that’s aligned with your real-world needs.

Assessing the Current State

After digging into the “why,” your data consultant should then evaluate how your data is currently being managed across your people, processes and technology. 

• What are your primary data sources, and how is data accessed and shared? This reveals potential silos or inefficiencies and gives us ideas on how we might address them.
• How do you measure data quality, accuracy and completeness? Ensuring you have quality standards is essential for decision-making and compliance.
• Who are your key data owners and users, and what are their roles? Answers to these questions help create policies and procedures within the roles at your organization and adjust responsibilities as needed.  
• What policies, standards and tools are currently in use? This question leads to a snapshot of your tools and how they are or aren’t working for you.  

This assessment gives us a grounded view of your data environment and its current limitations.

Defining the Future State

Once the current landscape is clear, your data governance consultant should guide you in defining where you want to go.

• What are your current or upcoming data initiatives? This gives us insight into your future plans, challenges and opportunities for improvement. 
• What benefits or outcomes are you expecting from improved governance? Whether it’s better insights, operational efficiency or reduced risk, your expected outcomes will drive our strategy.

A clear vision helps ensure the governance framework will evolve with your business, rather than becoming outdated as your priorities shift. 

Identifying Gaps and Opportunities

With the present and future in view, your data governance consultant should explore what’s missing.

• What are your biggest data challenges and risks? This helps us determine where we need to start; whether it’s inconsistent definition due to poor data lineage or something else. 
• Where do you see potential for data-driven opportunities or efficiencies? By identifying these areas, we can turn policies and processes into a strategic advantage, not just a compliance exercise.

This set of questions helps us uncover where targeted improvements can deliver measurable value.

Creating a Roadmap for Implementation

The last step is developing a practical, phased approach to governance.

• What are your top data priorities and who needs to be involved? With a clear list of priorities and the stakeholders involved, we can move from a plan to actual policies and processes. 
• How will you track and communicate progress? Tracking progress helps us determine what is working and what’s not so we can adjust the strategy quickly to ensure sustained momentum. 

Our expert data governance consultants will leave you with more than insights. Our goal is to help you build a plan that’s ready to execute. 

Find Expert Data Governance Consultants at SkyTerra

Our data governance consultants bring clarity, structure and action into your organization’s data, no matter how fast or complicated it is. When we ask the right questions, we can help your organization transition from reactive data management to proactive data governance. To get started on your data governance transformation, book a meeting with our team of experts.