{
  "id": "dwd_6azimhas",
  "type": "term",
  "slug": "business-metadata",
  "title": "Business metadata",
  "summary": "What data means to the business: definitions, owners, rules, and how important it is.",
  "status": "draft",
  "classification": "public",
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Shan Umasankar",
      "url": "https://dealwithdata.com",
      "role": "author"
    }
  ],
  "assisted_by": [
    "Claude"
  ],
  "scales": [
    "personal",
    "business",
    "enterprise"
  ],
  "related": [
    "dwd_wg5zzqg2",
    "dwd_2p63wxfx"
  ],
  "created": "2026-10-07",
  "updated": "2026-10-07",
  "version": 1,
  "url": "https://dealwithdata.com/glossary/business-metadata/",
  "markdown_url": "https://dealwithdata.com/glossary/business-metadata.md",
  "body_markdown": "Business metadata is the human meaning layered on top of [[technical-metadata]]: business terms and their definitions, business elements, owners and stewards, criticality flags, policies and rules. Unlike technical metadata it can rarely be harvested; someone has to decide it, or a tool has to propose it and someone has to approve it.\n\n**Example:** \"Outstanding Balance: the unpaid principal owed on a loan as of the reporting date. Owner: Lending. Critical data element: yes.\"\n\n**Not to be confused with** [[technical-metadata]], which says where data *is*.\n"
}