Steward

(Canonical: Data Product System Steward)

The Steward in Maysano owns the governance system, not individual data products.

This role ensures that governance components remain reusable, consistent, and scalable across the organization.

If the Product Manager owns the product, the Steward owns the governance fabric that makes products trustworthy.

Role Essence

The Steward owns the quality and consistency of reusable governance components.

This includes:

Data Quality (DQ) profiles
SLA profiles
Access profiles
Pricing profiles (where applicable)
Governance templates
Component lifecycle management

The Steward ensures that governance remains structured and reusable rather than fragmented and product-specific.

Core Accountability

The Steward is accountable for:

Governance library integrity
Reusable component consistency
Governance standardization
Component lifecycle (creation, approval, versioning, deprecation)
Preventing governance drift

If governance becomes inconsistent or duplicated unnecessarily, the Steward has failed.

Key Responsibilities

1) Maintain the Governance Library

The Steward:

Creates reusable governance components
Reviews new component proposals
Ensures components follow structural standards
Avoids unnecessary duplication
Maintains clear naming and versioning

Governance components should be reusable across multiple products.

2) Review Product Governance Coverage

The Steward evaluates whether:

Selected components fit the product use case
Required governance areas are covered
DQ, SLA, Access, and other policies are coherent
No structural gaps exist

The Steward reviews — but does not define — product scope.

3) Approve or Reject New Governance Components

When a Product Manager proposes a new profile:

The Steward evaluates necessity
Checks overlap with existing profiles
Ensures structural compliance
Approves, refines, or rejects the proposal

Reuse is preferred over creation.

4) Manage Component Lifecycle

The Steward manages:

Versioning of governance components
Deprecation policies
Migration paths when components evolve
Structural updates aligned with standards

Governance evolution must remain traceable.

5) Define Governance Standards

The Steward defines:

Naming conventions
Required fields and validation rules
Acceptance criteria for governance components
Governance templates

These standards enable scale and interoperability.

Explicit Non-Responsibilities

The Steward does not:

Define business objectives
Define outcome KPIs
Define product scope
Own product internal KPIs
Configure platform infrastructure

Governance oversight does not extend into business strategy or product ownership.

Decision Authority

The Steward has final authority over:

Approval of governance components
Governance template standards
Reusable profile lifecycle
Acceptance criteria for governance consistency

No product can override governance standards.

Primary Outputs in Maysano

The Steward maintains:

Governance library components
DQ, SLA, Access, Pricing profiles
Governance templates
Versioned governance standards
Governance validation rules

Collaboration Model

The Steward collaborates with:

Product Manager — to ensure proper component selection and reuse
Outcome Owner — indirectly, when governance impacts strategic measurability
Admin — when access policies intersect with platform enforcement

The Steward safeguards consistency. The Product Manager applies governance to products.

Interaction with AI

AI can support the Steward by:

Detecting governance inconsistencies
Identifying duplicate or overlapping components
Suggesting reusable profiles
Validating structural completeness

AI can recommend. The Steward approves.

Success Indicators

A Steward is successful when:

Governance components are reused across products
Governance remains consistent over time
New components are created only when necessary
Standards are clear and adopted
Governance supports scale without slowing innovation

The Steward ensures that governance is an enabler — not an obstacle.