WGU D494 TASK 1 - DATA GOVERNANCE GAPS AND BEST PRACTICES ANALYSIS
| 2026 UPDATE | WITH COMPLETE SOLUTION
A. Describe the status of each of the data governance cornerstones:
• People - At Golden Maple bank, the current status of people seems very disjointed. The
organization operates in departmental silos with limited coordination between
departments. There are no clearly identified data owners, data stewards, or data
custodians. The IT department supports various technical needs of the Business Analytics
Department and the Data Warehousing Department, however, each of these departments
has their own sets of policies and procedures. Additionally, there are issues integrating
data from these various departments. Enterprise level decision making is also inadequate,
which indicates limited ongoing data governance structure.
• Technology - The use of a centralized data warehouse and various data marts indicates an
established, yet siloed structure. Automated application scoring models and fraud
detection systems are in place, but adaptability is questionable. Cloud based mobile app
development is in progress, which indicates a shift toward scalability.
• Process - Enterprise Information management does not appear to be present. Each
department has their own policies and procedures signifying no formal governance body
overseeing data-related processes across departments. Typical data governance processes
like change management, compliance, and audit-readiness lack formality and synergy.
Additionally, there is a lack of policy on data collection and distribution, and no current
processes established for SBAP data.
• Data - Golden Maple Bank has accumulated a depth of historical data for credit and
fraud modeling. However, there is no indication that their current models align with
federal requirements. Integration throughout the enterprise, along with data silos, are
recurring problems that affect model performance and structure. Across the enterprise,
there is no data governance framework to manage quality, access, compliance, or
standardization.
B. Describe the data governance gaps related to the 4 data governance cornerstones that
manifested as a result of the current crisis in the case study and the recent opportunity to
administer a new line of loans.
• People - As mentioned above, Golden Maple Bank seems to be very disjointed enterprise
wide. A lack of governance structure with dedicated roles, cross-department
collaboration, and clear, enterprise-wide policies leads to a fragmented organization. The
origins of these gaps stem from this lack of governance structure, executive-level
oversight, and clearly defined data governance policies, processes, and management.
• Technology - The technology tools are moderately sufficient for Golden Maple Bank's
current processes. The existing technology is advanced, such as the cloud-native mobile
| 2026 UPDATE | WITH COMPLETE SOLUTION
A. Describe the status of each of the data governance cornerstones:
• People - At Golden Maple bank, the current status of people seems very disjointed. The
organization operates in departmental silos with limited coordination between
departments. There are no clearly identified data owners, data stewards, or data
custodians. The IT department supports various technical needs of the Business Analytics
Department and the Data Warehousing Department, however, each of these departments
has their own sets of policies and procedures. Additionally, there are issues integrating
data from these various departments. Enterprise level decision making is also inadequate,
which indicates limited ongoing data governance structure.
• Technology - The use of a centralized data warehouse and various data marts indicates an
established, yet siloed structure. Automated application scoring models and fraud
detection systems are in place, but adaptability is questionable. Cloud based mobile app
development is in progress, which indicates a shift toward scalability.
• Process - Enterprise Information management does not appear to be present. Each
department has their own policies and procedures signifying no formal governance body
overseeing data-related processes across departments. Typical data governance processes
like change management, compliance, and audit-readiness lack formality and synergy.
Additionally, there is a lack of policy on data collection and distribution, and no current
processes established for SBAP data.
• Data - Golden Maple Bank has accumulated a depth of historical data for credit and
fraud modeling. However, there is no indication that their current models align with
federal requirements. Integration throughout the enterprise, along with data silos, are
recurring problems that affect model performance and structure. Across the enterprise,
there is no data governance framework to manage quality, access, compliance, or
standardization.
B. Describe the data governance gaps related to the 4 data governance cornerstones that
manifested as a result of the current crisis in the case study and the recent opportunity to
administer a new line of loans.
• People - As mentioned above, Golden Maple Bank seems to be very disjointed enterprise
wide. A lack of governance structure with dedicated roles, cross-department
collaboration, and clear, enterprise-wide policies leads to a fragmented organization. The
origins of these gaps stem from this lack of governance structure, executive-level
oversight, and clearly defined data governance policies, processes, and management.
• Technology - The technology tools are moderately sufficient for Golden Maple Bank's
current processes. The existing technology is advanced, such as the cloud-native mobile
