By Robert S. Seiner – TDAN.com and CIBER, Inc.

To own or not to own, that is the question. At least that was the question that came up often during an Information Stewardship special interest group (SIG) that I moderated at the recent conference. To the disgust of the gentleman sitting to my right in this session (he choked every time one of the participants mentioned the word "owner" instead of "steward"), the semantics of information stewardship appeared to drive the conversation. Semantics, and the fact that many a stewardship program works well for a while and fizzles when not managed or not sold properly to business and technical management (this is a related topic reserved for another day).

My definition of information stewardship involves accountability for information resource. Stewards do not, in fact, "own" the data, rather they take care of it. Just like a baby-sitter takes care of my kids and (hopefully) returns them safely to me at the end of the evening, the steward takes care of data for the period of time in which they are accountable. When the baby sitter leaves, so does their responsibility. I could just imagine Susie (Friday night's babysitter) arguing with Tracy (the Saturday night babysitter) that she owns my kids. Sometimes I wish this were true, however the truth is (besides for the fact that my wife and I never get out two nights in a row), the babysitters only have responsibility for the kids when they are in charge of taking care of them. … Just like the information steward only has accountability when the data is under their "watchful eye".

Ok, ok, … that is a silly comparison. Or is it? When a babysitter arrives to watch my "little monsters", they are basically charged with certain accountabilities, not all accountabilities. They are supposed to keep the kids safe, keep the kids happy, get them in their pajamas, and force them into bed (those with little kids can relate to the last action). Predefined actions are the basis of their accountability. The babysitter is not responsible for seeing that homework is completed (that is a parental after school chore). The babysitter is not responsible for teaching my kids their ABCs or educating them of right from wrong. They are accountable for actions that are plainly defined ahead of time so there are no questions about what their responsibilities are. … Just like information stewards should be.

In my definition of information stewardship, stewards are accountable based on the actions that they take against the data (see my article on A Simplified Approach to Information Stewardship - TDAN Issue 1.0).

The people who are responsible for defining specific data have accountabilities that are related to defining that data. These individuals only have the accountability for the data that they define (heck, the babysitters aren't responsible for the neighbor's kids too). Responsibilities for defining data include creating/reviewing/approving data definitions for the company, integrity and quality of data definition, following data definition standards, regulatory and legal issues, and communicating concerns, issues, and problems with data definition to the individuals that can influence change.

The people who are responsible for creating, modifying, or deleting specific data have accountabilities that are related to creating, modifying, and deleting that data. Responsibilities for creating, modifying and deleting data include the integrity and quality of the data created/updated/deleted in that department, completeness and timeliness of data, management and control of data, and communicating concerns, issues, and problems with data creation/modification/deletion to the individuals that can influence change.

The people who are responsible for consuming specific data (using the data for decision making purposes or reporting information to internal and external entities) have accountabilities that are related to consuming that data. Responsibilities for consuming data can include accountability for data usage, communicating new and changed business requirements to individuals that will be impacted, and communicating concerns, issues, and problems with data consumption to individuals that can influence change.

This is a pretty simplistic approach to information stewardship. From my experience, complexities become evident when defining and gaining buy-in on roles and responsibilities (actions and accountabilities). Complexities become evident when it comes to gathering information about who takes action on data and keeping that information up to date (it is like hitting a moving target). Complexities become evident when selling the need for stewardship to the organization and making certain that people in the company recognize the importance of accountability information. Complexities become evident when stewards go head-to-head to hash out data related issues (resolving data related issues is the ultimate goal, isn't it). Planning to handle these complexities are the true guts of a stewardship program.

As I mentioned at the top of this column, many stewardship programs fizzle over time. The main reason for the fizzle result is a lack of attention paid to the complexities that come with defining a stewardship program, monitoring actions, and communicating accountabilities for information resources. These details are very important, but the truth is that many companies (just like the SIG group) often squabble over the semantics of whether the steward actually owns the data. "Ownership" implies that the steward can do anything they want with the data ("heck, I own it, don't I?"). People don't own the data, they take care of it. Just like a babysitter.

If we aren't going to use the term "steward" instead of "owner", I'd rather see us use the word "babysitter". Consider the steward to be the data's babysitter. They have responsibilities and accountabilities tied to the actions that they take when, in fact, they are on the clock.

By the way, my wife's lease expires next month on the car she is "watching" for the dealership. And to think, she has been the car's steward for the past two years. Argh … the babysitter analogy is better.

About the Author

Robert (Bob) S. Seiner has accumulated twenty years of experience applying data/information-based and knowledge/content-based solutions and disciplines to solve business and technical problems. Mr. Seiner is recognized in the IT industry for his depth of knowledge and involvement in the fields of data & meta-data management, data governance & stewardship, content & knowledge management, and business intelligence / data warehousing.

Mr. Seiner is the President and Principal Consultant of KIK Consulting & Educational Services – www.KIKconsulting.com - a firm that focuses on best practices and knowledge transfer. Mr. Seiner offers traditional consulting services as well on-site intensive education in how to build & implement data management programs, data stewardship programs and meta-data programs.

Mr. Seiner is the Publisher of an internationally recognized Internet publication focused on the management of data, information and knowledge as valued corporate assets. The Data Administration Newsletter (TDAN.com) located at www.tdan.com attracts over thirty thousand visitors every month, and is a reputable and non-biased on-line source for information about the data and knowledge management industries. Mr. Seiner's publication was recently awarded an "exceptional resource" honor offered by the publishers of Data Management Review magazine, and has received “Editor’s Choice” honors from America Online, Netscape, datawarehouse.com, and searchdatabase.com over the past seven years.