Microsoft Purview · Unified Catalog Governance
Data Steward
Create, update, and read artifacts and policies within governance domain. Read artifacts from other domains.
Scope: Full curation access within assigned domain, read access across domains
Permissions
- Create and manage glossary terms within domain
- Create and update critical data elements (CDEs)
- Define business objectives and key results (OKRs)
- Manage data products and their metadata
- Configure access policies within domain
- Read and reference artifacts from other governance domains
- Curate business metadata and documentation
Common use cases
- Business glossary curator maintaining terminology standards
- Data governance analyst defining critical data elements
- Domain SME documenting business concepts and definitions
- Metadata specialist enriching data product documentation
- Business analyst creating domain-specific glossaries
- Data steward coordinating definitions across business units
Best practices
- Establish glossary term standards and naming conventions
- Link glossary terms to data products and assets
- Coordinate with stewards in other domains on shared concepts
- Regular review and update of business definitions
- Involve business stakeholders in glossary development
- Document term lineage and relationships
- Create critical data elements for regulatory compliance
- Use OKRs to align data governance with business goals
Security considerations
- Broader permissions than Data Product Owner
- Can create policies affecting domain access
- Should coordinate with domain owner on major changes
- Cross-domain read access enables better coordination
- Assign to trusted domain experts with business judgment
Common questions
When should I assign the Data Steward role?
Assign Data Steward when you need to: Business glossary curator maintaining terminology standards; Data governance analyst defining critical data elements; Domain SME documenting business concepts and definitions; Metadata specialist enriching data product documentation; and Business analyst creating domain-specific glossaries. It is part of Microsoft Purview and should be granted as a least-privilege alternative to broader roles like Global Administrator.
What can someone with the Data Steward role do?
The Data Steward role grants permissions including: Create and manage glossary terms within domain; Create and update critical data elements (CDEs); Define business objectives and key results (OKRs); Manage data products and their metadata; Configure access policies within domain; and Read and reference artifacts from other governance domains. See the Permissions section above for the full list.
What are the security risks of the Data Steward role?
Key considerations when assigning Data Steward: Broader permissions than Data Product Owner; Can create policies affecting domain access; Should coordinate with domain owner on major changes; and Cross-domain read access enables better coordination. Review the Security considerations section before assignment, and pair with Privileged Identity Management (PIM) for just-in-time access where possible.