Alternate Names for "Data Governance Office"

Due to some of the confusion (IT Governance, Project Governance, etc...) and negative connotations surrounding the term " Data Governance Office" - we are trying to come up with some alternate names.  As Robert Seiner has suggested in his book, we want to keep Data Governance non-invasive and the term Data Governance is a bit "heavy handed." Does anyone have any thoughts on alternate names?

Here are several I came up with...

Data Coordination Office / Group

Data Support Office / Group

Data Oversight Office / Group

Data Administration Office / Group

Data Enablement Office / Group

Data Advisory Office / Group

Data Practice Office / Group

Data Knowledge Office

Thanks for your help ! 

Barry Goldstein

Hi Barry,
You mentioned several good names. Many of my clients have selected using the name "Data Governance Administrator" to describe the person responsible for the program. If one or more people are assisting the DGA, and these people are working for the DGA, they are often referred to as the Data Governance Office, Team, Group … but if they report into other parts of the organization that group is called a DG Working Group or Working Team. I hope this helps.

Robert S. Seiner

KIK Consulting & Educational Services

The Data Administration Newsletter (TDAN.com)

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Barry, good thought process here.

I like your following suggestions:

• Data Advisory Office
• Data Knowledge Office

I'm adding...

• Data Assets Office - DAO
• Data and Information Management Office - DIMO
• Agile Data Management Office - ADMO
• Chief Data Office - CDO
• Data Lifecycle Office - DLO

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" - Romeo and Juliet

In the final analysis Data Governance is about bringing Governance around Data and you can't manage what can't be governed. 

Its funny that people get nervous with terms and concepts around Data [insert word]:

• Governance
• Stewards
• Owners
• Quality...

Data Center of Excellence maybe.

Thanks everyone for your great ideas !  Appreciate the help.  I will post what we end up deciding upon....

Barry Goldstein

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One that I have heard used as an alternative which is less daunting is Data Assurance. 

I think having clear communication on what Data Governance in your organisation covers and means is a great way to break the fear of the word Governance for sure. 

We avoid the g-word with a Data Standards Council.

I have a strong preference for the term "Data Assets Office," which was mentioned by someone else. I think it positions it better by using the word "assets."

Aaron Fuller, CBIP

Founder & Principal Consultant

Superior Data Strategies 

517-803-0714

superiordatastrategies.com

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Thanks Aaron !

Barry Goldstein

Senior Business Analyst - Data Governance

Washington University in St Louis

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Much thanks everyone for your continued great ideas !  Appreciate the help. !

Barry Goldstein

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Aaron, thanks for your insight.

You picked up on my intent to highlight that we are governing and managing assets, which communicates its value. We must continue to grow the value equation among organizations as it relates to data and information.  

We are trapped into utilizing all sorts of change management methods and techniques (including slick program names) to address the high degree of data illiteracy of most organizations. It's like climbing a mountain of technical debt in knowledge related to Data Governance and Management and their functional - knowledge areas. 

I laugh silently at all the organizations I'm aware of that desire to jump into Predictive and Prescriptive Analytics, Machine Learning, AI... and the Shiny Objects, without even having made a serious attempt to implement:

• Data Strategy
• Data Governance program
• Data Management program, especially making Data Quality improvements

Somehow organizations have fallen into the deceptive thinking that you can have Six-pack Abs (great Data Assets) without the Discipline and Pain of working real hard and eating very clean. It's still No Pain, No Gain game, and strapping on the electric Abs Toning Belts don't work. 

I have a friend who works for a 'Data Trust Office' and they are essentially the governance team.

The organisation I worked for as the Lead Data Steward is in the process of adapting the name of Enterprise Data Office, which is acting as a middle layer between the executive Data Governance Group and the operational layer (everybody else, including data domain stewards and custodians).

Like this suggestion William.

Very good Lena, like this one also.

This is the name of our office as well EDO (Enterprise Data Office).

One of the recent names I have heard that I am fond of is Information Integrity team.

Hi Barry,
We've stood up a data governance program over the past year and a half. We went with "Data Management Office" which I think succeeds in being less heavy-handed to your concern.

Mike Maloney
Network Director, Data Quality Management
Data Management Office
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The University of Vermont Health Network

UVMHealth.org

We went with Data Management Office to in our organization

Hi Barry,

I am curious if you all came with a name? Do you need more ideas?

Michelle

Michelle Knight

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Freelance Production Assistant

Freelance Data, Technology and Science Writer

For now, we have a couple of unofficial names as the relatively new office takes form:

Office of Data Governance and Management

Office of the Chief Data Officer

Nice!

Michelle Knight

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Freelance Data, Technology and Science Writer

Hi Michelle,

We are called Data and Information Services Unit.. The thread had some ideas. However  looking for a new name any suggestions.

One place I worked with that had significant data governance aspects was called "Technical Information Center" .

 I interned for the Charles Stark Draper Lab the department/library was responsible for creating and maintaining the intranet, working with the MIT and other libraries as well as cataloging and standardizing technical documentation. It made business glossary suggestions, trained folks on best information practices and helped staff get needed information to see new business opportunities.

The department was marketed as a go-to place and the name went with the marketing strategy.

I hope that helps.

Michelle Knight

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Freelance Data, Technology and Science Writer

Michelle,

Thanks for sharing. Draper lab was instrumental in getting us to the moon and back safely ... 50 years ago. Can't think of a tech. innovation that has yet surpassed it so anything they've done is certainly noteworthy. Only term I might alter is  "tech.", since may have same unintended connotations as "governance"?

I'm becoming more and more fond of "Data Advocacy" Group, Team, Office, etc. I like that it doesn't step on the toes of the data systems-builders and reporting teams, but still gets at the heart of what I believe is the most important thing: creating measurable business outcomes through data-related efforts (i.e., Data Value).

Anthony J. Algmin
Make an Impact! 

Get the first book on Data Leadership at DataLeadershipBook.com.

Thank you, Raymond and Anthony. I had not thought of these points.

Yeah, Draper Lab's gyroscope helped guide the spacecraft to the moon. Tech could have some unintended connotation, but I also think it depends on the context. Draper was in Technology Square and it seemed like much of the business folk there had engineering experience too. The lab is non-profit; so, sales and marketing are a little different than a for-profit company. I believe most of the money came from government contracts and RFP submissions. So I think considerations around context is important when choosing a name.

With that being said, I think positive active language, like  "advocacy" as Anthony suggests, would be more neutral. I also agree that measurable business outcomes through data-related efforts is very important.  From a software testing perspective, feedback on those measurable business outcomes became key to success.

Michelle Knight

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Freelance Production Assistant

Freelance Data, Technology and Science Writer

It was called 'Data Management Office' but now we have re-branded/changed to 'Group Data Office'

Hello all,

I met with someone yesterday who referred to Data Services and I thought that was a holistic and clean name. So simple and yet I have not been exposed the term before in higher education or academic research related to data governance. 

Stay safe,

Shannon

Hi Barry,

The names that you mentioned are already decent ones. I would like to recommend some few more. 

Knowledge for Data Governance

Data Governance Hub

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