A comparison of the role of a data owner vs. a data steward can be useful in understanding their different responsibilities. Generally, the two have a collaborative relationship and work together to make the organization a better, more functional place. A Data Governance environment program functions much better when the data owners and data stewards coordinate and work together. 

A proactive relationship between data owners and data stewards helps to ensure the business’s data is of high quality and used strategically.

Data owners (also called stakeholders) are often senior leaders or bosses within the organization, who have taken responsibility for managing the data in their specific department or business area. For instance, the director of marketing or the head of production are often data owners because the data used by their staff is critical to their operations. It is a position that requires both maturity and experience. Data owners are also responsible for implementing the security measures necessary for protecting the data they own – encryption, firewalls, access controls, etc.

The data steward, on the other hand, is responsible for managing the organization’s overall Data Governance policies, monitoring compliance, and ensuring the data is of high quality. They also oversee the staff, as a form of the data police, to ensure they are following the guidelines that support high-quality data. Additionally, they create and monitor metadata, data dictionaries, and data lineage information.

The Responsibilities of a Data Owner

There are a number of reasons a data owner needs to be a person with some authority. They may need to make changes in people’s behavior regarding workflows, practices, and infrastructure, to both protect the data and ensure its quality. Or they may need to initiate data audits and data cleansing. The data owner must have the authority to implement these processes to fulfill their role, or the entire Data Governance program can suffer. Without adequate authority, the data owner will be ineffective. Generally speaking, a data owner is responsible for the classification, use, protection, and quality of data within a department. 

The responsibilities of the data owner involve developing and incorporating processes that ensure Data Quality, as well as methods for auditing and reporting on the level of Data Quality.

While the data owner role needs to be assigned to a person with authority, it is also true that many people in upper-level management don’t necessarily understand the finer points of Data Management or the technology supporting it. Additionally, upper management rarely has much in the way of spare time, meaning they cannot realistically initiate all the processes needed to support an effective Data Governance program.

Another concern is that, in some situations, there may be multiple bosses with an interest in data covering a specific business area (such as sales, which affects production, income, advertising tactics, etc.). In these situations, it is generally agreed that the most effective path is to have one of the bosses (preferably the head of that department or business area) in charge of protecting and monitoring the data. The various other bosses then consult, query, and collaborate with that data owner, as needed.

The Responsibilities of a Data Steward

Data stewards are needed to ensure an organization’s data is of high quality. This is their primary responsibility. A good data steward seeks out data silos and develops appropriate guidelines and processes to stop the practice. Although data stewards do not own specific areas of data, they are responsible for the data overall and have a fair amount of authority because of their position and their experience.

A data steward needs to have a variety of skills, and should be able to advise the various data owners/bosses on how to deal with technical issues they don’t understand. 

Data stewards need to have both good communication skills (which include listening) and a good understanding of the software being used. (Very few people can walk into an organization and have an immediate understanding of the software being used. Just as they will need some time to get to know the people, they will also need some time to get to know the system.) 

As a business expands, the need for a data steward increases. Depending on the size of the business and the amount of data it processes, there may be a need for more than one data steward. Other responsibilities the data steward may be assigned are:

• Ensuring the data is consistent
• Maintaining data storage
• Ensuring the data is error-free
• Looking for sources of repetitive errors

A data steward, depending on the budget, can monitor the flow of data manually, or keep track of the software that is monitoring the data. They must be able to identify and solve data-related problems and support appropriate security and privacy standards. Data stewards should also promote making decisions based on the data.

As with data owners sharing an interest in certain kinds of data, one of the data stewards should be in charge. A single steward should be placed in charge of managing the overall data and be made responsible for ensuring the data’s quality. Having one lead data steward minimizes confusion about data practices and Data Governance, and helps to keep everyone on the same page. 

Data Owner vs. Data Steward: The Collaborative Relationship

Data stewards can offer valuable recommendations and insights to data owners, and vice versa. Regular meetings and collaboration between the data steward and data owners are necessary for successful Data Governance and management. (Business lunches, for a small group of people, can provide a bonding mechanism – shared food – and a place for discussing problems and solutions.) For example, a data steward might identify a source of distorted data that has to be corrected and then discuss the problem with the appropriate data owner during a group lunch to resolve it.

The data owner, in response, can discuss changes in data access and data usage policies to correct the source of distorted data. Other data owners listen in, sharing their own experiences, or becoming aware of the problem and potential solutions. The collaboration process supports good communication and improved Data Quality.

Consider the potential for damage to the business if the data steward and data owners have an antagonistic, noncommunicative relationship. 

By promoting collaborative relationships, an organization can empower data owners/department managers to leverage their data strategically while collecting and using high-quality data. Data owners and data stewards need to develop a strong relationship to create and maintain a successful Data Governance program. Data owners are responsible for guiding strategy and providing business context, while data stewards implement that strategy. Listed below are some behaviors that support good collaboration.

Clear communication: The theme of clear communication requires, in part, being prepared for meetings Long, rambling conversations that don’t cover problems and concerns aren’t an effective use of time. 

Active listening: This is a tactic that promotes the sharing of ideas. Active listening is an important part of good communication but is a skill that is completely different from speaking clearly or writing well.

Brainstorming sessions: Brainstorming often fails in business meetings because individuals within the group are psychologically incapable of supporting the rules. The rules for brainstorming are:

• No criticism 
• Encouraging wild, out-of-the-box ideas
• Quantity of new ideas rather than quality
• Building on each other’s ideas

If the rules are not followed (primarily “no criticism”) people will stop sharing their ideas. People make themselves vulnerable when they share ideas, and criticism shuts them down. Brainstorming works especially well with a group of friends who trust one another. The “no criticism” rule supports trust, which is what needs to be developed for low-level brainstorming in a group of business acquaintances. 

Growth mindset: When a person begins complaining about a world that is constantly changing, they have lost the growth mindset. Maintaining one requires keeping the mind open to learning new things.

Understanding the differences between the role of the data owner vs. the data steward can be useful in establishing a functional Data Governance program. Promoting a collaborative relationship and having them work together makes the organization a better, more functional place. A healthy relationship between data owners and data stewards helps to ensure the business’s data is of high quality and is used strategically.