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CDGP practice questions

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Question 1Data Governance

Which statement best describes the scope of a data governance program?

  1. A reporting suite that measures database uptime
  2. A migration plan for moving data to a new warehouse
  3. Decision rights and accountabilities for data assets Correct answer.
  4. A technical platform that cleanses and deduplicates records

Explanation

Data governance is the exercise of authority and control over data management, expressed through decision rights, accountabilities and policy. It establishes who may make which decisions about data and who is answerable for the outcomes, rather than which tools are deployed.

Question 2Data Governance

In a data governance policy hierarchy, which document typically sits directly below the overarching governance policy and states mandatory domain-level requirements?

  1. A business glossary entry for a single term
  2. A data standard for a specific domain Correct answer.
  3. A data quality scorecard
  4. An incident ticket describing a defect

Explanation

A governance hierarchy runs from principles and policy at the top, through standards and controls, down to procedures and work instructions. The domain-level standard is the layer immediately under the overarching policy that converts intent into mandatory requirements.

Question 3Data Governance

Which role is accountable for a data domain, including approving access and setting quality requirements?

  1. Data custodian
  2. Data steward
  3. Data consumer
  4. Data owner Correct answer.

Explanation

The data owner holds accountability for a domain: approving access, defining quality expectations and accepting residual risk. Stewards act on the owner's behalf and custodians implement the technical controls the owner specifies.

Question 4Data Governance

Which role implements the technical controls - such as access provisioning, backup and storage - that the data owner specifies?

  1. Data owner
  2. Data architect
  3. Data steward
  4. Data custodian Correct answer.

Explanation

Data custodians perform the technical implementation of the controls the owner requires, including access provisioning, backup, recovery and storage management. Owners and stewards set requirements; custodians operate the technology that satisfies them.

Question 5Data Governance

Who should approve the definition of a business term in the enterprise business glossary?

  1. The data owner or steward for the domain Correct answer.
  2. The database administrator who maintains the tables
  3. The software vendor that supplies the application
  4. Any analyst who regularly uses the term

Explanation

Agreeing what a business term means is a business decision, so accountability rests with the data owner or steward of the domain that owns the concept. Technical staff and vendors may contribute context but do not approve business meaning.

Question 6Data Governance

Which statement best distinguishes data governance from data management?

  1. Governance sets decision rights and policy; management executes them Correct answer.
  2. Governance covers only unstructured data, while management covers structured data
  3. Governance executes data activities, while management sets policy
  4. Governance is a time-bound project, while management is a continuous operational initiative

Explanation

Governance concerns decision rights and accountability - who decides and who answers for the outcome. Management is the execution of those decisions through people, process and technology across all data types.

Question 7Data Governance

What is the primary purpose of a data governance program?

  1. Increasing the value of data while reducing data-related risk Correct answer.
  2. Maximizing the number of reports delivered to the business
  3. Replacing the enterprise data warehouse with a data lake and streaming platform
  4. Eliminating the need for data stewardship roles

Explanation

Governance exists to raise the value obtained from data while lowering risk such as regulatory breach, poor decisions and remediation cost. It is a decision and accountability capability, not a reporting or platform initiative.

Question 8Data Governance

Which regulation most directly established data protection and privacy obligations that commonly motivate data governance programs in the European Union?

  1. General Data Protection Regulation Correct answer.
  2. HIPAA
  3. Sarbanes-Oxley Act
  4. Basel III

Explanation

The GDPR created EU-wide obligations on lawful processing, retention and data subject rights that require documented accountability and controls. HIPAA addresses US health information, SOX addresses US financial reporting and Basel III addresses banking capital and risk data.

Question 9Data Governance

A multinational wants enterprise-wide data standards but needs regional units to adapt them to local regulation. Which governance operating model fits best?

  1. Fully centralized, with all decisions made at headquarters
  2. Fully decentralized, with no enterprise standards
  3. Federated, with a central council and local stewardship Correct answer.
  4. Fully outsourced to a third-party vendor

Explanation

A federated model keeps enterprise standards and decision rights with a central council while local stewards adapt and apply them within their units. This balances consistency with the need to satisfy regional regulatory requirements.

Question 10Data Governance

In a data governance operating model, 'decision rights' means:

  1. The intellectual property rights over the data model
  2. The documented authority to make and approve specific data decisions Correct answer.
  3. The software licences held by the analytics team
  4. The read and write permissions granted to database users by the security team

Explanation

Decision rights define who has the authority to make and approve particular data decisions, and they are a core artifact of the governance operating model. System permissions and licences are technical or commercial controls, not governance decision rights.

Question 11Data Governance

Which statement about a RACI matrix used in data governance is correct?

  1. Exactly one role should be accountable for each activity Correct answer.
  2. Consulted roles have final approval authority
  3. The responsible role must always be the data owner
  4. Several roles may be accountable for the same activity

Explanation

In RACI, accountability for an activity sits with a single role even when several parties are responsible for doing the work. Consulted parties provide input and informed parties receive updates; neither holds accountability.

Question 12Data Governance

Which content belongs in a data governance charter?

  1. Scope, mandate, decision rights and reporting lines Correct answer.
  2. SQL scripts used for profiling source systems
  3. Physical table definitions for the sales schema
  4. The current list of open production incidents

Explanation

A charter establishes the program's mandate: its scope, authority, decision rights, structure and reporting lines. Technical artifacts and operational records belong to other management processes.

Question 13Data Governance

Which characteristic indicates the highest level of data governance maturity?

  1. Governance activities are ad hoc and reactive
  2. Policies exist but are not enforced or measured
  3. Governance is measured, continuously improved and embedded in culture Correct answer.
  4. Governance is performed only when an audit is announced

Explanation

At the highest maturity level, governance is measured, continuously improved and embedded in everyday behaviour rather than performed ceremonially. Ad hoc activity and unmeasured policies indicate lower levels of maturity.

Question 14Data Governance

Which is an example of a leading indicator for a data governance program?

  1. Number of data incidents reported in the last quarter
  2. Percentage of critical data elements with an assigned owner Correct answer.
  3. Remediation cost already incurred this year
  4. Number of audit findings raised in the previous year

Explanation

Leading indicators measure the conditions that produce good outcomes, such as ownership coverage of critical data elements. Incident counts, audit findings and remediation cost are lagging indicators of events that have already occurred.

Question 15Data Governance

Critical data elements are best described as:

  1. Every column that exists in the enterprise data warehouse and its marts
  2. Elements that materially affect reporting, risk or key outcomes Correct answer.
  3. Fields designated as primary keys in source systems
  4. Any data element that an auditor has requested during fieldwork

Explanation

Critical data elements are the subset of data whose quality materially affects regulatory reporting, risk or key business outcomes, and they receive priority governance attention. Treating every field as critical dilutes focus and resource.

Question 16Data Governance

A critical data element has breached its quality threshold for three consecutive months. What is the most appropriate governance response?

  1. The issue is escalated to the data owner and governance council Correct answer.
  2. The element is removed from the critical data element list
  3. The steward corrects the records quietly without documenting the issue
  4. Reporting is suspended until the next fiscal year

Explanation

A repeated breach of a critical data element is a governance issue as well as a technical one and must follow the documented escalation path. Escalation lets the owner and council decide on remediation, resourcing or formal risk acceptance.

Question 17Data Governance

Which decision is normally a data governance responsibility rather than an IT governance responsibility?

  1. Setting the server patching schedule
  2. Deciding which definition of 'active customer' is authoritative Correct answer.
  3. Selecting the database vendor for a new platform
  4. Approving the network security architecture

Explanation

Choosing the authoritative business definition is a decision about meaning and accountability, which belongs to data governance. Technology selection, architecture and patching are IT governance and IT management decisions.

Question 18Data Governance

How should data governance be applied within an agile delivery model?

  1. Governance requirements are built into the definition of done Correct answer.
  2. Governance is suspended because agile teams are self-organizing
  3. Governance applies only to waterfall projects
  4. Governance reviews are deferred until after go-live

Explanation

Agile delivery works best when governance requirements are expressed as acceptance criteria and reviewed each iteration, so controls are built in rather than bolted on. Deferring or suspending governance reintroduces exactly the risk the program exists to manage.

Question 19Data Governance

What is the typical role of a data governance council?

  1. Conducting external financial audits
  2. Resolving cross-domain issues and setting enterprise-wide data policy Correct answer.
  3. Performing daily data entry corrections
  4. Writing application code for data quality rules and validation routines

Explanation

The council is the cross-functional decision body that resolves issues spanning domains and sets enterprise-wide policy. Operational correction, code development and external audit are performed by other functions.

Question 20Data Governance

Which approach best supports adoption of a new data governance program?

  1. Publishing the policy once and relying on staff to read it
  2. A sustained, stakeholder-segmented communication and training plan Correct answer.
  3. Restricting communication to the executive sponsor only
  4. Waiting until the first audit to explain the program

Explanation

Adoption depends on stakeholders understanding what changes, why it matters and what is expected of them, which requires sustained and targeted communication plus training. One-off publication or audit-driven explanation rarely shifts behaviour.

Question 21Data Governance

Which is the most defensible way to sequence the rollout of a data governance program in a large regulated organization?

  1. Begin with the least important domain to reduce visibility of failure
  2. Roll out all domains simultaneously so no business unit feels excluded
  3. Start with the highest-risk, most visible domain, then expand Correct answer.
  4. Wait until every policy has been approved by all stakeholders

Explanation

Phased rollout beginning with the highest-risk, most regulator-visible domain builds credibility and lets practices mature before scaling. Simultaneous rollout or exhaustive approval cycles typically stall the program before it delivers value.

Question 22Data Governance

An executive asks how the data governance program will be judged successful. Which response reflects best practice?

  1. By the number of policies published on the corporate intranet
  2. By counting the number of council meetings held each quarter and their attendance
  3. By linking governance metrics to business outcomes and risk reduction Correct answer.
  4. By the size of the governance team's annual budget

Explanation

Governance should be justified by the business and risk outcomes it enables, expressed in measurable and agreed terms. Activity counts and budget size measure effort and input rather than delivered value.

Question 23Data Governance

A business unit requests an exception to an enterprise data standard because a legacy system cannot comply. What is the governance-correct handling?

  1. The standard is withdrawn for all business units until the legacy system retires
  2. The exception is formally registered, risk-assessed, time-bound and approved Correct answer.
  3. The request is ignored until the legacy system is decommissioned
  4. The business unit self-approves the exception and carries on as before

Explanation

Exceptions are legitimate governance objects: they should be recorded, risk-assessed, limited in duration and approved by the accountable body. Self-approval, blanket withdrawal or silent disregard all erode the standard's authority.

Question 24Data Governance

An acquisition brings a second organization with its own data definitions into the enterprise. Which governance action should be taken first?

  1. Reconcile acquired definitions to the glossary through the owning stewards Correct answer.
  2. Let each team keep its own definitions permanently to avoid disruption
  3. Immediately enforce the acquirer's definitions across the acquired business without review
  4. Freeze all reporting until the source systems are fully consolidated

Explanation

Merging organizations requires definitions to be mapped and reconciled through the accountable stewards so that differences in meaning are understood before consolidation. Immediate enforcement or permanent divergence both create reporting and decision risk.

Question 25Data Governance

Which factor most commonly causes data governance programs to lose momentum after initial launch?

  1. Treating governance as a one-off project without sustained sponsorship Correct answer.
  2. Assigning named data stewards to every domain
  3. Measuring the program with business-relevant outcome metrics each quarter
  4. Publishing policies in a searchable, accessible repository

Explanation

Programs stall when governance is run as a finite project without continuing executive sponsorship and processes embedded in daily work. Named stewards, outcome metrics and accessible policies are sustaining practices that counter this decline.

Question 26Data Governance

In a data governance program, which responsibility belongs to the data custodian rather than to the business data steward?

  1. Deciding which data quality dimensions matter for a customer data domain
  2. Approving access requests based on documented business need
  3. Resolving conflicting definitions of a business term across business units
  4. Implementing backups, access controls and storage security Correct answer.

Explanation

Custodians are technical roles that store, protect and move data; they implement safeguards such as backup, access enforcement and encryption. Stewardship is business-facing: defining meaning, resolving conflicts and judging fitness for use. Accountability for the underlying decisions stays with the data owner.

Question 27Data Governance

What is the typical function of a data governance office?

  1. Setting the enterprise's overall corporate strategy and targets
  2. Performing independent audits of financial statements
  3. Coordinating governance activities and maintaining its artifacts Correct answer.
  4. Building and operating the enterprise data warehouse and reporting layer

Explanation

The governance office is a coordinating and enabling function: it plans governance activities, maintains policies, standards, glossaries and issue logs, and prepares and follows up on council decisions. It supports line accountability rather than replacing it.

Question 28Data Governance

A team must record that customer email addresses are encrypted at rest. Where does that requirement belong in a governance artifact hierarchy?

  1. In the data governance charter
  2. In a procedure describing each step the administrator performs
  3. In the business glossary entry for email address
  4. In a data standard stating the mandatory requirement Correct answer.

Explanation

A standard states the mandatory requirement and its acceptance criteria, while procedures describe how staff satisfy it. Placing the rule only in a charter or glossary leaves it unenforceable, and a procedure alone contains no stated requirement to meet.

Question 29Data Governance

A model used to screen job applicants produces materially different outcomes for one demographic group. Which response is most appropriate at the governance level?

  1. Suspend the model pending an ethics review of its data, features and use Correct answer.
  2. Publish the model's accuracy score to reassure stakeholders
  3. Instruct analysts to adjust outputs manually until the outcomes look balanced
  4. Remove the demographic field from the dataset and continue using the model

Explanation

Divergent outcomes raise questions about data selection, proxy variables, decision use and legal exposure, which are governance-level ethics issues. The responsible path is to pause the use, assess harms with the relevant stakeholders and document the decision before redeployment.

Question 30Data Governance

An organization is grouping its data into governance domains. Which basis best justifies placing data in a single domain?

  1. The data is produced by the same application vendor
  2. The data resides in the same database instance
  3. The data is supported by the same IT team
  4. The data covers one business subject area with shared accountability Correct answer.

Explanation

Domains are organized around business subject areas so that one accountable owner and consistent rules govern the data end to end. Where the data physically sits or who supports it are design details that change without changing accountability.

Question 31Data Governance

Which statement correctly distinguishes the data protection officer from a data owner in a governance model?

  1. The owner answers to the regulator, and the officer has no governance role
  2. The officer decides which business processes may use personal data; the owner monitors compliance
  3. The two roles are interchangeable and normally held by the same person
  4. The officer advises on and monitors privacy compliance; the owner decides permitted use Correct answer.

Explanation

Privacy regimes assign monitoring and advisory duties to the protection officer, while business owners remain accountable for deciding permitted uses within that legal framework, working with legal and privacy specialists. The roles are complementary, not interchangeable.

Question 32Data Governance

Which element makes a data governance communications plan effective?

  1. A list of all database tables subject to governance
  2. Audience-specific messages, channels and named delivery owners Correct answer.
  3. A commitment that governance will not change existing workflows
  4. The full text of every regulation the enterprise follows

Explanation

A communications plan segments audiences and specifies message, channel, timing and an accountable sender, so governance decisions reach the people who must act on them. It is a delivery plan, not an inventory of systems or a body of legal text.

Question 33Data Governance

Two business units use different definitions of active customer in reports to the same regulator, and the stewards cannot agree. What is the most appropriate next step?

  1. Ask the regulator to rule on which definition is correct
  2. Let the IT team choose the definition that is easiest to implement
  3. Refer the conflict to the governance council for a documented decision Correct answer.
  4. Allow each unit to keep its own definition to avoid disruption

Explanation

Conflicts stewards cannot resolve escalate to the governance council, which holds the authority to make a binding, documented decision and assign an enterprise definition. Divergent definitions in regulatory reporting create compliance and comparability risk.

Question 34Data Governance

How should sensitivity classification be handled for newly created analytical datasets?

  1. The vendor supplying the analytics tool assigns the classification
  2. Owners apply the enterprise scheme and confirm handling rules Correct answer.
  3. Each analyst classifies the dataset according to personal judgement
  4. Classification is set once at system implementation and never revisited

Explanation

Owners apply the approved enterprise classification scheme to new data and confirm the resulting handling requirements, with stewards recording the classification in metadata so controls can be applied. Classification is a governance decision that follows the data as uses and combinations change.

Question 35Data Governance

A bank must demonstrate compliance with risk-data aggregation principles for regulatory reporting. Which evidence best demonstrates this?

  1. Clear ownership of risk data with documented source-to-report lineage Correct answer.
  2. Risk data production is outsourced to an independent third party
  3. Risk reports are produced within a fixed one-hour window each day
  4. All risk data is held in one central database

Explanation

These principles focus on governance and accountability, documented lineage and traceability, accuracy, completeness and timeliness of risk data. Ownership and lineage show that the numbers can be traced, reconciled and defended.

Question 36Data Governance

A change is requested to an enterprise reference code set used in regulatory reporting. Which control is most appropriate?

  1. Each system keeps its own local copy of the code set
  2. The requesting analyst updates the code set directly to meet the deadline
  3. The code set is frozen permanently to avoid reporting changes
  4. The data owner approves it after impact assessment, with versioning and notification Correct answer.

Explanation

Enterprise reference data changes require owner approval after impact analysis, controlled versioning and notification to downstream consumers so reports remain consistent and auditable. Local or ad hoc edits break comparability across reports.

Question 37Data Governance

A governance team wants evidence that a new data retention policy is actually being followed. Which approach provides the most reliable evidence?

  1. Confirming the policy was published on the intranet
  2. Testing records and configurations against the rules, with exceptions tracked Correct answer.
  3. Surveying managers about their perception of compliance
  4. Counting how many staff completed the retention training

Explanation

Assurance rests on evidence of actual practice: testing records and system configurations against the policy and tracking exceptions to closure with named owners. Perceptions, training counts and publication demonstrate intent, not conformance.

Question 38Data Governance

A business unit wants to send a copy of customer data to an external marketing vendor. Which control should be in place before the transfer?

  1. Approval from the marketing team's own manager
  2. No further control, because the vendor is paid for the service
  3. A verbal assurance from the vendor that it will protect the data
  4. An approved data sharing agreement covering use, safeguards and destruction Correct answer.

Explanation

Third-party transfers need documented terms defining permitted use, security safeguards, retention and return or destruction, together with a classification-based review so risk is accepted at the right level. Commercial arrangements do not by themselves create accountability for the data.

Question 39Data Governance

Which statement best reflects a data risk appetite set by a governing body?

  1. How much data risk the organization accepts, with tolerances by domain Correct answer.
  2. The maximum budget allocated to data security tools
  3. A list of controls the IT department must implement
  4. A target that no data-related incident may ever occur

Explanation

Risk appetite is the governing body's statement of how much data risk the organization will accept while pursuing its objectives, usually expressed as tolerances or thresholds by domain or use. Controls and budgets are means of operating within the appetite, not the appetite itself.

Question 40Data Governance

Which practice best sustains effective business data stewards over time?

  1. Formalizing the role with defined duties, time, training and recognition Correct answer.
  2. Assigning stewardship only to IT staff who administer the systems
  3. Rotating stewards randomly each quarter to spread the workload
  4. Adding stewardship duties on top of existing workloads without reprioritizing

Explanation

Stewardship endures when the role is formally defined, resourced with dedicated time, supported by training and reflected in objectives and performance reviews. Ad hoc assignment to already busy people leads to attrition and inconsistent decisions.

Question 41Data Management Fundamentals

Which description best captures data management as defined in the DAMA-DMBOK framework?

  1. Administration of database servers, storage, and nightly backup schedules
  2. Conversion of transaction records into analytical and regulatory reports
  3. Assignment of decision rights, accountabilities, and policy approval authority over data
  4. Planned control of data assets across their life cycles Correct answer.

Explanation

Data management is the discipline of planning, controlling, delivering, and enhancing data assets throughout their life cycles, and it executes the direction set by governance. It spans architecture, modeling, quality, integration, storage, and security rather than any single technical task.

Question 42Data Management Fundamentals

Which activity is a data governance activity rather than a data management activity?

  1. Tuning a query so that a nightly report finishes within its refresh window
  2. Designing the logical entity-relationship model for a new application
  3. Building the extract-transform-load job that feeds the enterprise warehouse
  4. Approving a policy that assigns certification authority for a data domain Correct answer.

Explanation

Governance is the exercise of authority: making decisions about policy, standards, ownership, and accountability for data. Management activities then execute those decisions through engineering, modeling, and operations work.

Question 43Data Management Fundamentals

A customer file is missing the postal code on 12 percent of its records. Which data quality dimension is primarily affected?

  1. Accuracy
  2. Validity
  3. Completeness Correct answer.
  4. Timeliness

Explanation

Completeness measures whether the values that are required for a data element are actually present. Missing postal codes reduce completeness regardless of whether the stored values are correct or well formatted.

Question 44Data Management Fundamentals

A data dictionary contains the business-approved definition of the term "Active Customer". This is an example of which metadata type?

  1. Operational metadata
  2. Technical metadata
  3. Business metadata Correct answer.
  4. Process metadata

Explanation

Business metadata supplies definitions, business rules, and context that let users interpret data correctly. Technical metadata describes structure and format, while operational or process metadata records execution details such as job run times and error logs.

Question 45Data Management Fundamentals

Which of the following is the best example of master data?

  1. The customer identifier and name shared by sales and service systems Correct answer.
  2. A quarterly revenue forecast prepared by the finance team
  3. A daily log of clickstream events from the public website
  4. The list of ISO country codes used to validate postal addresses

Explanation

Master data describes the core business entities, such as customers, products, and employees, that are reused across many processes and systems. It is non-transactional and relatively stable compared with event or analytical data.

Question 46Data Management Fundamentals

Which statement best describes reference data?

  1. Controlled code sets used to categorize or classify other data Correct answer.
  2. Records of customer orders captured at the point of sale
  3. Aggregated measures held in a departmental data mart
  4. Unstructured documents such as contracts and emails

Explanation

Reference data consists of controlled vocabularies and code sets, such as country codes or status codes, that are used to classify, validate, and constrain other data values. It is typically small, stable, and shared across systems.

Question 47Data Management Fundamentals

Under a records retention policy, which lifecycle activity removes data that is no longer required or legally permitted to be kept?

  1. Disposal Correct answer.
  2. Capture
  3. Transformation
  4. Enrichment

Explanation

Disposal is the lifecycle stage in which data is destroyed or de-identified once its retention period ends and no legal hold applies. Retention schedules govern when that stage is triggered for each data class.

Question 48Data Management Fundamentals

Which data model type is the least detailed and describes core business concepts and their relationships?

  1. Logical data model
  2. Conceptual data model Correct answer.
  3. Dimensional data model
  4. Physical data model

Explanation

A conceptual model is the most abstract, capturing the key business entities and relationships without attributes or implementation detail. Logical models add attributes and rules, and physical models add DBMS-specific structures.

Question 49Data Management Fundamentals

Which statement correctly distinguishes a data warehouse from a data lake?

  1. The warehouse applies schema on write; the lake uses schema on read Correct answer.
  2. The warehouse stores only unstructured documents; the lake stores only relational tables
  3. The warehouse holds only master data; the lake holds only transactional data
  4. The warehouse is always on-premises; the lake is always cloud-hosted

Explanation

A warehouse typically models and structures data at load time to support fast, governed SQL access, which is schema on write. A lake lands data in native formats and applies structure when the data is read, which is schema on read.

Question 50Data Management Fundamentals

A team loads raw source files into a cloud data warehouse and then applies all transformation logic using SQL inside that warehouse. This pattern is best described as:

  1. Change data capture
  2. Extract-transform-load
  3. Extract-load-transform Correct answer.
  4. Master data management

Explanation

Extract-load-transform loads raw data into the target platform first and performs transformation there, using the warehouse's own compute. Traditional ETL transforms data in a separate engine before loading it.