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# Product Data Governance

> The framework of decision rights, accountabilities, policies and controls that determines who may define, change and approve product data, and how those decisions are recorded.

## Definition

The framework of decision rights, accountabilities, policies and controls that determines how
product data is defined, who may create or change it, which source is authoritative for each
attribute, what must be approved before publication, and how those decisions are evidenced.

## Expanded Explanation

Governance answers questions of authority rather than questions of technique. Typical outputs
include an agreed definition for each attribute, a named owner for each data domain, a designation
of the authoritative source per attribute, rules for validation and approval, a change process with
an audit trail, and an escalation route for disputes between functions.

It is distinct from stewardship. Governance sets the rules and assigns the rights; stewardship is
the day-to-day work of applying them, maintaining values, resolving exceptions and monitoring
quality. A governance framework without stewards is documentation; stewards without governance are
individuals making undocumented judgements.

Governance is also distinct from data quality. Quality describes the condition of the data against
defined expectations. Governance is the mechanism that defines those expectations and holds someone
accountable for meeting them. Sustained quality improvement without governance is rare, because
nothing prevents corrected values from degrading again.

## Why It Matters

Digital Product Passport data is published outside the organisation and may be relied upon by
authorities, customers and downstream operators. That converts internal data decisions into external
statements. Governance provides the accountable owner, the approval step and the change record that
allow a published value to be defended, corrected in a controlled way and explained after the event.

## Common Misconceptions

#### Governance is a committee that slows delivery

Effective governance shortens delivery by settling authority and definition questions once, rather
than reopening them in every integration and every publication cycle.

#### Governance is an IT responsibility

Technology enforces controls, but the decisions being enforced belong to the business functions
that create and rely on the data.

## Related Terms

* [Product Data Stewardship](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/data-stewardship)
* [Product Data Quality](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/data-quality)
* [System of Record](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/system-of-record)
* [Authoritative Source](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/authoritative-source)
* [Master Data Management](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/master-data-management)

## Related Knowledge Base Articles

* [What is Product Data Governance?](/docs/knowledge-base/enterprise-systems-and-data-architecture/what-is-product-data-governance)
* [What is Product Data Stewardship?](/docs/knowledge-base/enterprise-systems-and-data-architecture/what-is-product-data-stewardship)
* [How to Build a Trusted Product Data Foundation](/docs/knowledge-base/enterprise-systems-and-data-architecture/how-to-build-a-trusted-product-data-foundation)

## Related Articles

* [Authoritative Source](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/authoritative-source)
* [Product Data Stewardship](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/data-stewardship)
* [Source of Truth](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/source-of-truth)
* [System of Record](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/system-of-record)
* [Golden Record](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/golden-record)
* [Product Data Quality](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/data-quality)
* [Data Architecture](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/data-architecture)
* [Master Data Management](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/master-data-management)

## See Also

* [Enterprise Systems and Data Architecture](/docs/knowledge-base/enterprise-systems-and-data-architecture/overview)
* [Implementation](/docs/knowledge-base/implementation/overview)

## References

* Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, Official Journal of the European Union:
  [https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1781/oj](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1781/oj)
* ISO 8000, data quality: [https://www.iso.org/standard/81745.html](https://www.iso.org/standard/81745.html)

## About This Article

About This Article

<dl>
  <dt>
    Last Reviewed
  </dt>

  <dd>
    2026-08-09
  </dd>

  <dt>
    Next Scheduled Review
  </dt>

  <dd>
    2027-08-09
  </dd>

  <dt>
    Article Version
  </dt>

  <dd>
    1.0
  </dd>
</dl>

tieback Knowledge is a continuously maintained reference library covering Digital Product
Passports, product traceability, product compliance and related regulations. Articles are
reviewed regularly as legislation, standards and implementation guidance evolve.

## Related Docs

* [Enterprise Systems and Data Architecture](/docs/knowledge-base/enterprise-systems-and-data-architecture/overview)
* [Implementation](/docs/knowledge-base/implementation/overview)
* [Digital Product Passports](/docs/knowledge-base/digital-product-passports/overview)
* [Glossary](/docs/knowledge-base/glossary/overview)