Question 1

We did a data cleanup two years ago. Why is it bad again?

Accepted Answer

Because nobody was measured on keeping it clean. That is not a criticism of your team — it is what happens when quality is a project rather than a standing score with an owner. Continuous per-domain scoring is the specific thing that stops the cycle.

Question 2

Can our own people write the rules?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and they should. The people who know what a correct product record looks like are rarely the people who write SQL. A no-code rule builder is not a convenience feature here — it is what makes the rules stay current after we leave.

Question 3

Is this the same as buying a governance platform?

Accepted Answer

No. We implement platforms where they fit, Microsoft Purview in particular, but a platform is a place to record decisions, not a substitute for making them. The work is the stewardship, the rules, and the owner.

Question 4

How do we know it is working?

Accepted Answer

You get a score per domain, continuously, with a name against it. That is the deliverable. If the score cannot go down visibly, nobody is really measuring it.

Question 5

Where should we start?

Accepted Answer

With an audit of one domain — usually product or supplier, because that is where the pain shows first. It is short and fixed-price, and it tells you what the rest of the programme should be, including whether there is one.