Governance App

Alation Cloud Service Applies to Alation Cloud Service instances of Alation

Customer Managed Applies to customer-managed instances of Alation

Applies from version 2021.4

Important

You are viewing documentation for Classic Alation.

Alation’s Data Governance App offers a suite of tools to assist Data Stewards in streamlining data governance activities within an organization.

Components of the Governance App

Within the Data Governance App, you can leverage a number of components, each serving its specialized purpose in helping you govern your data assets through the Alation catalog:

• Policy Center—Supports an organization’s security and compliance objectives by providing a centralized view of policy documents and groups, enhancing the governance of sensitive and regulated data.

• Workflow Center—Provides the ability to maintain audit-ability and transparency of approval processes across the catalog.

• Stewardship Workbench—Aids in efficient data governance, allowing for curation of multiple objects from a centralized workbench.

• Governance Dashboard—Provides a centralized overview of catalog growth and curation efforts within the organization based on the Alation Analytics data.

Access to the Governance App

Access to the components of the Governance App depends on your Alation role.

Actions	Server Admin	Catalog Admin	Source Admin Steward Composer	Explorer *	Viewer
POLICY CENTER
Access from the Curate and Govern menu
View policy groups
Create and edit policy groups
Configure access to policy groups
Delete policy groups
Create and edit policies
Configure access to policies
Add/remove policies to/from groups
Delete policies
WORKFLOW CENTER
Access from the Curate and Govern menu
View workflows
Suggest changes/add objects
Approve changes
Create and edit workflows
Publish/unpublish workflows
STEWARDSHIP WORKBENCH
Access from the Curate and Govern menu
Use Bulk Actions
GOVERNANCE DASHBOARD
Access from the Curate and Govern menu
View

* The Explorer role is available on the Alation Cloud Service instances only. This role doesn’t appear on customer-managed (on-premise) instances.

Enable the Data Governance App

The Governance App is not available by default as it’s priced separately from the Alation data catalog. If your organization is interested in adding it to the catalog, contact your account manager for more information on pricing and licensing.

To enable the Data Governance App:

1. Click on the Settings icon in the top right corner.

   

2. The Admin Settings page opens. Search for Feature Configuration or locate this tile under Customization. Click Feature Configuration in the page search results or in the tile to open the page.

   The Admin Settings page appears. Under the Server Admin section, click Feature Configuration.

3. Locate the feature flag Alation Data Governance App and toggle it to the On position.

4. Click Save changes on the top right of the page.

5. Activate the Governance App components your organization has purchased. You have the flexibility to enable these features now or at a later time as needed.

   • Enable Policy Center: Use the feature flag Enable Policy Center.

   • Enable Workflow Center: Use the feature flag Workflows.

   • Enable Stewardship Workbench: Use the feature flag Stewardship Workbench.

   • Enable Governance Dashboard: Use the feature flag Enable Data Governance Dashboard.

     Important

     Before enabling the Governance Dashboard, ensure that the Alation Analytics V2 has been enabled and the Alation Analytics database has been initialized. Do not enable the Governance Dashboard if Alation Analytics is not in use on your instance.

6. Click Save changes on the top right of the page.

7. Check the presence of a component using the information in Access the Governance App Components.

Access the Governance App Components

To open a component of the Governance App:

1. In the left-side navigation panel, click the Curate and Govern icon.

   

2. The Curate and Govern landing page opens. The Curate and Govern page allows for access to the different Governance App components. Click on a component tile to open the corresponding page.

   

1. On the top right of the main toolbar, click Apps.

2. In the menu that opens, click Curate and Govern.

   

3. The Curate and Govern landing page opens. The Curate and Govern page allows for access to the different Governance components. Click on a component tile to open the corresponding page.

   

Disable the Data Governance App

To disable the Data Governance App, toggle the feature flag Alation Data Governance App in Feature Configuration and toggle it to the Off position. The Governance components become deactivated and inaccessible to users.