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How do you document data to make it more usable?

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Data is a valuable asset for any organization, but only if it is well documented and easy to access, understand, and use. Data documentation is the process of creating and maintaining metadata, or information about data, such as its source, quality, meaning, and context. Data documentation can help you achieve data governance goals, such as data quality, data security, data privacy, and data compliance. In this article, you will learn how to document data to make it more usable for yourself and others.

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Laurent Dresse ?

The Data Governance Kitchen | Chief Evangelist | Thought Leader | Data Knowledge Workplace | Cooking Chef
Merrill Albert

Enterprise Data Leader, Data Governance Officer, Data Thought Leader/Evangelist, Chief Data Officer, Fractional…
Richard Ashton

Co-Founder at Ardeema Solutions | Helping you make fast accurate decisions | On a mission to change the way Data is…

1 Why document data?

Data documentation is not only a good practice, but also a necessity for data governance. It can help you find and access data faster and easier, as well as understand and trust data better. Furthermore, data documentation can enable you to use and share data more effectively, as well as protect and comply with data more securely. Such documentation may include clear and consistent data names, descriptions, and locations; relevant and accurate data definitions, standards, and rules; data lineage, transformations, and usage policies; and data classifications, retention, and consent information.

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Merrill Albert

Enterprise Data Leader, Data Governance Officer, Data Thought Leader/Evangelist, Chief Data Officer, Fractional Governance, Data Strategist, creator of #CrimesAgainstData, preventing data problems for business success
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Data documentation needs to be thought of as something useful. When you think of it merely as a check-the-box activity, you'll likely get poor quality documentation that isn't very useful to people. People often think something is obvious when they've spent months working on it, but when they've left behind no documentation, people come along and don't know what it means. They will often make an assumption that is likely incorrect, leading to inaccurate results. Create the documentation, but also have it validated by someone who can confirm it is complete and useful.

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Meg Morrissey

DAM Manager for United Airlines (Contract)
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Data documentation is crucial to the sustainability and usability of your data. Without it, data can be misinterpreted, corrupted by well-meaning information professionals, and left on the shelf. Data integrity is key to successful use, and if it can't be verified, it will (and should) be passed over.

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2 What to document?

Data documentation can encompass different facets of data, depending on the data type, data lifecycle, and data stakeholder. Nevertheless, some common elements of data documentation include a centralized repository of metadata (data catalog), a detailed description of the data elements (data dictionary), a graphical or textual representation of the data flow and transformations (data lineage), a measurement and evaluation of the accuracy, completeness, consistency, timeliness, and validity (data quality), a classification and protection of the sensitivity and confidentiality (data security), and a collection and management of the consent and compliance (data privacy).

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Richard Ashton

Co-Founder at Ardeema Solutions | Helping you make fast accurate decisions | On a mission to change the way Data is viewed and used.
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A data audit allows you to capture what data you have, where it is stored, what it means, its accuracy and how secure it is. This provides a foundation to move forward from, that can be adapted and updated as needed. It also provides a documented inventory and dictionary to be used as a point of reference for the business.

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3 How to document data?

Data documentation can be done manually or automatically, depending on the data volume, complexity, and the available tools. Generally, you need to identify the data sources and stakeholders, collect and organize the metadata, validate and verify its accuracy and quality, store and update it in a secure location, and finally publish and share it with relevant stakeholders. This is essential for ensuring data relevance, completeness, consistency, reliability, trustworthiness, availability, visibility, and usability.

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Merrill Albert

Enterprise Data Leader, Data Governance Officer, Data Thought Leader/Evangelist, Chief Data Officer, Fractional Governance, Data Strategist, creator of #CrimesAgainstData, preventing data problems for business success
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While tools can help with data documentation, they aren't always accurate. Thinking a tool can "automatically" create all data documentation accurately isn't the best approach. Think of the tool as something that can accelerate progress. Let the tool do its thing, but then validate it and enhance it. Make sure that it is something that people are going to be able to use in the future.

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4 What are the best practices for data documentation?

Data documentation can be improved by adhering to certain best practices. This includes the use of a standard and consistent metadata format and language, such as XML, JSON, or YAML. Additionally, there should be a common and clear metadata vocabulary and terminology, such as ISO 11179 or Dublin Core. A collaborative and integrated metadata tool or platform, like Dataedo, Alation, or Collibra, should also be employed. Furthermore, a proactive and iterative metadata approach, like Agile or DevOps, as well as a user-centric and value-driven metadata strategy like Design Thinking or Lean should be implemented.

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5 What are the benefits of data documentation?

Data documentation can be incredibly beneficial for your organization, improving data quality and security, while enhancing data analysis and insight. It can also facilitate data collaboration and innovation, as well as reducing data costs and risks. Data documentation can help reduce data errors, duplication, and breaches, as well as enabling data discovery, exploration, and visualization. Additionally, it can optimize data storage, management, and compliance.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Laurent Dresse ?

The Data Governance Kitchen | Chief Evangelist | Thought Leader | Data Knowledge Workplace | Cooking Chef
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The data inventory and documentation is the cornerstone of your Data Governance initiative. It is the most appropriate way to build knowledge, enrich with subject matter experts and share it back to the ENTIRE (yes in capital) organization!

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How do you document data to make it more usable?

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3

4

5

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1 Why document data?

2 What to document?

3 How to document data?

4 What are the best practices for data documentation?

5 What are the benefits of data documentation?

6 Here’s what else to consider

Data Governance

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How do you document data to make it more usable?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Why document data?

2 What to document?

3 How to document data?

4 What are the best practices for data documentation?

5 What are the benefits of data documentation?

6 Here’s what else to consider

Data Governance

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