Data governance is best described as which of the following?

Data governance is best described as which of the following?

• A. It focuses on data quality checks only.
• B. It governs data access at the database level.
• C. It defines data retention schedules only.
• D. It formally regulates how, when and by whom the organizational data and metadata are created, stored, updated and archived.

Answer: (D)

Data governance is about the formal framework of policies, roles, and processes that determine how organizational data and its metadata are created, stored, updated, used, and archived. It sets who is responsible for data decisions, when actions should happen, and what standards apply, ensuring consistency, accountability, and compliance across the data lifecycle. This goes beyond just quality checks, database-level access, or retention in isolation by tying these activities into an overarching governance program that governs the entire flow of data and metadata. The best choice captures this broad, principled approach to managing data and metadata from creation through archival, including governance over responsibilities and timing. The other options describe narrower aspects—data quality checks, access control, or retention alone—that are important components but do not by themselves define governance.

Data governance is about the formal framework of policies, roles, and processes that determine how organizational data and its metadata are created, stored, updated, used, and archived. It sets who is responsible for data decisions, when actions should happen, and what standards apply, ensuring consistency, accountability, and compliance across the data lifecycle. This goes beyond just quality checks, database-level access, or retention in isolation by tying these activities into an overarching governance program that governs the entire flow of data and metadata.

The best choice captures this broad, principled approach to managing data and metadata from creation through archival, including governance over responsibilities and timing. The other options describe narrower aspects—data quality checks, access control, or retention alone—that are important components but do not by themselves define governance.