CDS CDS Stakeholder Communication & Change Management 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which communication strategy is most effective when introducing a new data governance policy to business unit stakeholders who are resistant to change?
- Distribute the policy document via email and require acknowledgment signatures
- Engage stakeholders early with workshops that explain the business value and gather their input (Correct answer)
- Mandate compliance through executive directives without explanation
- Implement the policy silently and address complaints reactively
Correct answer: Engage stakeholders early with workshops that explain the business value and gather their input
Early engagement through collaborative workshops builds stakeholder buy-in by demonstrating business value and incorporating their concerns into the policy design.
Question 2: A data steward is preparing a data quality report for the CFO. Which communication approach is most appropriate?
- Provide raw SQL query outputs with technical metrics
- Deliver a concise executive summary with business impact metrics and recommendations (Correct answer)
- Share the full data profiling log with all field-level statistics
- Send a link to the technical data catalog entry
Correct answer: Deliver a concise executive summary with business impact metrics and recommendations
Executive stakeholders need high-level summaries with business impact framing rather than technical detail, enabling fast decision-making.
Question 3: In a data governance change management program, what is the primary purpose of a RACI matrix?
- To schedule data backups across teams
- To clarify roles by defining who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for each activity (Correct answer)
- To rank data quality issues by severity
- To map data flows between source and target systems
Correct answer: To clarify roles by defining who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for each activity
A RACI matrix eliminates ambiguity by explicitly assigning responsibility, accountability, consultation, and information rights for every governance activity.
Question 4: What is a 'data governance council' primarily responsible for in a large organization?
- Writing ETL scripts for data pipelines
- Providing cross-functional oversight, resolving data policy disputes, and approving governance standards (Correct answer)
- Managing day-to-day database operations
- Conducting penetration testing on data systems
Correct answer: Providing cross-functional oversight, resolving data policy disputes, and approving governance standards
A data governance council brings together business and IT leadership to set policy, resolve disputes, and ensure consistent governance across the enterprise.
Question 5: Which change management model is widely used to guide organizations through structured transitions, including data governance implementations?
- ITIL v4
- Kotter's 8-Step Change Model (Correct answer)
- Scrum framework
- Six Sigma DMAIC
Correct answer: Kotter's 8-Step Change Model
Kotter's 8-Step Model provides a structured approach to organizational change, covering urgency creation, coalition building, vision, and anchoring new behaviors.
Question 6: A data steward notices that a key business unit is not following new data entry standards. What is the best first step?
- Escalate immediately to the data governance council for disciplinary action
- Meet with the business unit to understand barriers and provide targeted training or process support (Correct answer)
- Revoke the unit's data entry access until compliance is confirmed
- Document the non-compliance and wait for the annual review
Correct answer: Meet with the business unit to understand barriers and provide targeted training or process support
Understanding root causes of non-compliance through dialogue often reveals training gaps or process friction that can be resolved without escalation.
CDS CDS Stakeholder Communication & Change Management 1
Which communication strategy is most effective when introducing a new data governance policy to business unit stakeholders who are resistant to change?