Implementing Data Contracts
Everything you need to know about implementing data contracts in your organization.
Struggling to improve the quality and reliability of your data, and think data contracts might be the answer?
Looking to implement data contracts in your organization, but don’t know where to start?
Aiming to build a self-serve data platform that users love because it drives their autonomy, automates governance, and facilitates decentralized data ownership?
This course is for you.
What people are saying
I had multiple "oh!" moments that will definitely impact my thinking about the role of data engineering and the ways in which solutions are architected. In particular, the example of using data contracts as the basis of a data platform was a light bulb moment.
Data contracts can do more than just ownership or basic definition. Having producers and consumers working together can create a space for conversation and discussion around expectations of data.
Data contracts are incredibly powerful, and can be used in multiple different ways. They can be treated as a centralised source-of-truth and everything else (schema registries, data catalogues, data quality) can be built up from them
In this course you will explore the full spectrum of data contracts, from implementing intricate technical details to driving adoption in your organization.
Through a mix of video lessons and hands-on exercises you will create a data contract and use it to create an interface (i.e. a table in a database) that is under change management.
We will then use the same data contract implement automated data quality tests and populate a data catalog.
Next we will look at federated data governance and use the data contract to implement data retention policies.
We finish by exploring where and when to implement data contracts, and how to start a successful adoption.
By the end of the course you will…
- Have a deep understanding of data contracts, what they are, and the problems they solve
- Use data contracts to create an interface and implement change management on it
- Understand how to use them to power data quality and data catalogs
- Implement federated computational data governance with data contracts
- Learn practical skills to drive adoption of data contracts in your organization
On completion you will receive a personalized digital certificate.
What people are saying
Data Contracts are a well fitting solution for data management practices for my organization.
I now have a better understanding of what data contracts are and how they can be implemented.
I have a good understanding of data contracts. What they are and where they can be used.
Who's it for?
This course is tailored for software, platform and data engineers, and anyone else looking for practical guidance for implementing data contracts in their organization.
Requirements
Basic Python and SQL knowledge.
You will need either a free Github account (recommended) or a local development containers environment.
Course curriculum
Sign up to access the free preview lessons below.
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2Introduction to data contracts
- • Why data contracts? Free Preview
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• What is a data contract?
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• What problems do you want to solve with data contracts?
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3Exercise: Creating your first data contract
- • Introduction Free Preview
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• Getting set up
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• Defining a data contract
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• Creating a table from the data contract
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• Implementing change management
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• Congratulations!
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4The power of data contracts
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• The power of data contracts
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5Exercise: The power of data contracts
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• Introduction
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• Implementing data quality checks
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• Populating a data catalog
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• Congratulations!
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6Embedding data governance with data contracts
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• The importance of data governance
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7Exercise: Embedding data governance with data contracts
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• Introduction
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• Implementing data retention policies
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8Implementing platform features with data contracts
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• The data contract platform and the ODCS
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• What else can you implement with data contracts?
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9Adopting data contracts in your organisation
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• Data contracts: Where and when
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• Adopting data contracts
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• How will you get started with data contracts?
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10Wrapping up
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• Wrapping up
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• A few parting questions!
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About me
Andrew is a Principal Engineer, author, and trainer who loves building platforms, especially data platforms that create real business value. He’s all about designing efficient and well-governed systems that make it easier to produce and use quality data. Andrew coined the term "data contracts" and in 2023 wrote the well-received book, Driving Data Quality with Data Contracts.