DMLI study guide

DMLI · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

DMLI is a data management credential aimed at practitioners who already work with data day to day - analysts, data stewards, engineers moving toward governance roles, and managers who own data products - and who want a structured way to demonstrate breadth across the discipline. The exam is multiple choice and is organized around six domains: data management fundamentals, governance and compliance, quality and integration, modeling and architecture, analytics and business intelligence, and leadership, ethics, and professional practice. The DMLI study guide has 6 sections and about 1,776 words.

Data Management Fundamentals

Data management is the discipline of acquiring, storing, organizing, and using data as an organizational asset. Candidates should be fluent in the data lifecycle (plan, design, create/obtain, store, use, share, maintain, archive, dispose) and in the distinction between data (raw facts), information (data in context), and knowledge (applied understanding).

327 words, about 2 min 02

Data Governance and Compliance

Data governance is the exercise of authority and control over data - decision rights, accountability, and policy. Candidates must understand the difference between governance (who decides, what rules apply) and management/execution (carrying out the work).

299 words, about 1 min 03

Data Quality and Integration

Data quality is fitness for use, measured across dimensions: accuracy, completeness, consistency, timeliness, validity, uniqueness, and integrity . Candidates must know the difference between dimension (what you measure) and metric (the threshold/score).

297 words, about 1 min 04

Data Modeling and Architecture

Data modeling covers conceptual (business concepts), logical (entities, attributes, relationships, normalized), and physical (tables, indexes, storage) levels. Know normalization (1NF–3NF: atomic values, no partial dependency, no transitive dependency) and when denormalization is appropriate (performance, reporting).

283 words, about 1 min 05

Analytics and Business Intelligence

Analytics spans descriptive (what happened), diagnostic (why), predictive (what will happen), and prescriptive (what to do). BI focuses on reporting, dashboards, KPIs, and self-service.

288 words, about 1 min 06

Leadership, Ethics, and Professional Practice

This domain covers the human and ethical side of data work. Leadership concepts: stakeholder management, communication, change management, team building, and the ability to translate data into business value.

282 words, about 1 min