COMPEL Glossary / data-catalog
Data Catalog
A data catalog is a searchable, organized inventory of all data assets within an organization, providing metadata about each dataset's location, format, schema, ownership, quality metrics, access permissions, lineage, and permitted uses.
What this means in practice
It functions as a discovery tool that helps AI teams and data scientists find, understand, and access the data they need without relying on tribal knowledge or ad hoc requests. For organizations with data spread across many systems and departments, a data catalog is essential for preventing the common problem where valuable data exists but nobody outside its original team knows about it. In COMPEL, data catalogs are assessed as part of the data governance maturity evaluation during Calibrate and implemented during Produce as foundational data infrastructure within the Technology pillar.
Why it matters
Without a data catalog, valuable datasets remain invisible to AI teams, locked in departmental silos where only their original creators know they exist. Organizations report that data scientists spend 30-40% of their time simply finding and understanding data. A searchable catalog transforms data from a hidden liability into a discoverable asset, dramatically reducing duplication and accelerating AI project starts.
How COMPEL uses it
COMPEL evaluates data catalog maturity during the Calibrate stage under Domain 6 (Data Management and Quality) within the Technology pillar. The Produce stage implements catalog infrastructure as foundational data tooling. Catalog completeness and usage metrics are tracked during Evaluate, and the Learn stage captures lessons about catalog adoption to improve discoverability in subsequent cycles.
Related Terms
Other glossary terms mentioned in this entry's definition and context.