Tutorial | Governance basics

Get started

Dataiku’s Govern node enables analytics leaders and project managers to track the progress of AI initiatives at the scale of an enterprise. Take the first steps in your governance journey with this tutorial!

Objectives

In this tutorial, you will:

• Surface items from connected Dataiku nodes in a centralized location.

• Add a governance layer to chosen items.

• Move items through governance workflows.

• Organize governed projects under business initiatives.

• Continue governing as your Dataiku items evolve.

Prerequisites

To reproduce the steps outlined in this tutorial, you will need:

• Dataiku 14.0 or later.

• A Dataiku Govern node connected to a Design node.

• A Full Designer user profile.

Create the project

Dataiku 13.3+Dataiku Pre-13.3

1. From the Dataiku Design homepage, click + New Project.

2. Select Learning projects.

3. Search for and select Governance Basics.

4. If needed, change the folder into which the project will be installed, and click Install.

5. From the project homepage, click Go to Flow (or type g + f).

Note

You can also download the starter project from this website and import it as a zip file.

Use case summary

You’ve just created a project in the Design node. This node is your experimental sandbox for building projects. Your goal is to apply a governance framework to this project using the Govern node.

The specific content of the project isn’t critical. For demonstration purposes, it helps if the Flow includes a saved model with a few versions, but this isn’t required. With any basic project, you’ll be able to understand the role of the Govern node as part of an AI governance strategy.

Let’s get started!

1. Navigate to the Governance Basics project you just created on the Design node.

2. On the project homepage, next to the title, click the pencil () icon to rename the project <YOUR INITIALS> Governance Basics to make it easier to identify as your own.

3. From the waffle () menu in the top navigation bar of the Design node, select Dataiku Govern.

Tip

Throughout this tutorial, you’ll often move between the Govern and Design nodes. Keep both tabs open to ease switching back and forth!

Surface Dataiku items within the Govern node

Before taking any actions, it’s important to first recognize how the Govern node surfaces items from all other connected Dataiku nodes.

Start at the Govern home page

Begin at the home page of the Govern node.

1. If not already there, click the home () icon in the top navigation bar of the Govern node.

2. Recognize the presence of the following pages:

   • Governable items

   • Registries for models, bundles, and possibly GenAI

   • Governed projects

   • Business initiatives

When you finish this tutorial, you’ll understand the purpose of each of these pages.

Important

Your experience with the Govern node may differ depending on whether you have a standard or advanced license. An advanced license allows for greater customization, as well as greater capabilities with respect to GenAI. Nevertheless, the foundations covered in this tutorial apply equally to all users.

Review an inbox of governable Dataiku items

The first page to know is the Governable items page. This page functions like a Govern “inbox”. It surfaces “ungoverned” items from all connected Dataiku nodes. We’ll explain what it means to govern an item in later steps!

This page should include the project you just created on the Design node — as that project is an ungoverned Dataiku item.

1. Either from the home page or directly from the top navigation bar, navigate to the Governable items () page.

2. Recognize the accordion menus of surfaced Dataiku items, including projects, bundles, saved models, etc.

3. In the Projects section, find your Governance Basics project, and click on its title.

4. If needed, use the search box to find it.

5. Review the project’s metadata in the Source Objects () tab of the right Details panel.

6. Confirm in the Related objects section that this project contains one saved model, but no bundles.

Test the sync between the Govern and Dataiku nodes

The Govern node actively tracks certain types of items from connected Dataiku nodes. Bundles are one such item. Add a bundle to the project, and confirm the Govern node recognizes this update.

1. Return to the Design node, and open your version of the Governance Basics project.

2. From the More Options () menu of the top navigation bar, select Bundles.

3. Click + New Bundle.

4. Name it v1.

5. Click Create.

6. Return to the Governable items () page of the Govern node.

7. Select your Governance Basics project.

8. Confirm the presence of the v1 bundle in the related objects section of the Source Objects () tab. (Refresh the page if needed).

Tip

You’ll notice the presence of a icon, indicating that the project, bundle, and model aren’t governed. We’ll get to this soon!

Filter governable items

At the scale of an enterprise, you might have thousands of items you could potentially govern. Accordingly, it’s worth getting familiar with the search, hiding, and filtering controls at the top of Govern node pages.

For example, the project you created on the Design node includes a specific tag: govern-training. Filter for ungoverned projects with this specific tag.

1. From the Governable items () page, click the Add Filter () icon.

2. Click the plus () icon > Condition to add a condition.

3. Create a filter where the field value Tags does contain the value govern-training.

4. Click Save. Name it govern-training tag, and click Save again.

5. Click Close on the filter dialog.

6. Observe how only items with this project tag remain.

Explore registries of Dataiku items

For now, resist the temptation to govern the project you’ve created. Let’s complete a tour of the other key pages in the Govern node first.

The registry pages centralize all Dataiku items of a respective type into one location. From one particular registry, an organization can see all its models, bundles, or GenAI items. The ability to filter these lists in various ways makes these registries watchtowers for your data and AI initiatives.

1. From the top navigation bar of the Govern node, navigate to the Model registry ().

2. Recognize that you can filter the registry in many ways, including to show only deployed models ().

3. Find your version of the Governance Basics project, and expand the accordion menus to drill down into the model and model versions inside it.

4. Select the active model version () by clicking on its name.

5. Explore the right Details panel options, including the Model metrics () tab to review metrics of the model version.

   

6. Repeat the same process for the Bundle registry (), or, if available to you, the GenAI registry (). You’ll find these pages function just like the model registry.

Tip

Remember that the Govern node surfaces items from all connected nodes. The Dataiku instance (node ID) column reports which node the item comes from.

Add a governance layer to Dataiku items

In the registry pages, you likely noticed a govern status for all items. Indeed, beyond surfacing synced items from other Dataiku nodes, the first action you’ll often take in the Govern node is adding a governance layer to a synced Dataiku item of interest. In other words, you’ll choose which Dataiku items you want to govern.

Focus on governed projects

First, check if your instance already has any projects with an active governed status.

1. From the top navigation bar of the Govern node, navigate to the Governed projects () page.

2. Your page might be empty. It could also have projects that other users sharing the space have chosen to govern.

3. If you have projects here, feel free to explore this page further, recognizing new terminology like template, workflow, and business initiative.

Tip

Once you govern your first project, it will appear on this page!

Govern your first Dataiku project

Add a governance layer to the Design node project you initially created.

1. Using the top navigation bar, navigate to the Governable items () page.

2. In the Projects section, find your version of the Governance Basics project.

3. At the end of its row, click the gavel () to govern it.

Doing this for the first time, we’ll temporarily skip over some details.

1. For the project definition, confirm you’ve selected Save as a new Govern project.

2. For the project template, select the Dataiku Standard template.

3. Apply this same standard template to all applicable existing child items.

4. Depending on your instance rules, you may have different rules for synced items than shown below. If needed, override those rules so that synced items aren’t governed. (No row in the column for synced items should have a checkmark and assigned template).

5. Click Govern.

Tip

We’ll return to governing future synced items at the end of the tutorial!

Understand the source objects of Govern items

When governing the project, you saw terms like templates, child items, and business initiatives. We’ll return to these terms, but first it’s important to distinguish between synced Dataiku items and Govern items.

• The Govern node syncs Dataiku items (such as projects, models, bundles, and GenAI items) from connected Dataiku nodes. You can’t delete them from the Govern node itself because they originate from other nodes.

• On the other hand, Govern items originate in the Govern node. Users may build them on top of a Dataiku item (such as a governed project), or they may purely exist in the Govern node (such as a business initiative, which you’ll see later).

Deleting a governed project should help clarify this distinction between Dataiku source (Design node) and Govern node items.

1. Navigate to the Governed projects () page.

2. Find your version of the Governance Basics project, and click on its name to open your first governed item.

3. Navigate to the Source Objects panel.

4. Recognize that the source of this governed item is your Design node project.

5. In the item header, click the vertical dots () > Delete Govern project.

   

6. Read the confirmation that this action doesn’t delete the original Dataiku project found in the Design node, and then click Delete Govern Project.

7. Return to the Governable items () page to confirm your project is once again available to be governed.

Details when adding a governance layer

The first walkthrough of governing a project skipped over some important details in the dialog. Let’s review them now.

Governance option	Purpose
Governance templates	The template defines the workflow stages of governed items that you’ll explore in the next section of the tutorial. Users with advanced licenses have the ability to define custom workflows beyond the standard template.
Business initiatives	An extra layer of organization to group governance items under a shared theme. You’ll create one in the last section of this tutorial.
Child items	Dataiku items respect a certain information hierarchy. For example, model versions belong to a saved model, which belong to a project. Most often you’ll govern at the project level, including all child items.
Existing vs. synced items	The project you’re governing will often contain existing child items. In addition to choosing to govern existing child items, you can also choose how to govern future (synced) child items that users may add to the project as it evolves. Your instance has its own default rules for handling future items, but you can override them if needed.

With a better understanding of the details, govern the project once more, repeating the same procedure as before.

1. From the Governable items () page, find your project, and click the gavel () again to govern it.

2. Apply the same Dataiku Standard governance template to the project and all existing child items.

3. Click Govern to add the governance layer again.

4. Confirm your project’s return to the Governed projects () page.

5. Navigate to the Model registry () or Bundle registry () pages.

6. From the page header of either registry, change the Governed status to include only governed items.

7. Find your Governance Basics project among the governed models or bundles!

Use governance workflows

You’ve now added a governance layer to a Dataiku project (as well as its child model, model versions, and bundle). Let’s explore the contents of a governed item.

Add metadata to a governed item

One benefit a governance layer enables is the ability to attach various kinds of metadata to a Dataiku item. For example, you can enrich a governed project with descriptions, scope definitions, reviewer assignments, and a schedule.

1. Navigate to the Governed projects () page.

2. Find your Governance Basics project, and click on its name to open it.

3. While in the Overview panel, click Edit in the item header.

4. Next to Sponsor, click + Add, and select yourself.

5. Copy-paste the text below into the Description field.

   This project is solely for testing the capabilities of the Govern node.
   

6. Still within the Overview panel, scroll down to the Qualification snapshot. Try selecting different values for the risk, value, cost, and feasibility ratings.

7. Feel free to edit any further fields, and click Save in the item header when finished.

Advance a project through a governance workflow

Beneath the overview, you’ll see a workflow of five stages in the left panel. This is the standard workflow that you selected when governing the project.

For now, advance through these stages quickly. In Tutorial | Governance lifecycle, you’ll learn how to make them a meaningful part of your governance lifecycle.

1. From the left panel of your governed project, click Exploration to view that stage of the project’s workflow.

2. Click Edit in the item header.

3. Click Set As Ongoing to indicate this stage is in progress.

4. For the Notes field, copy-paste the following example:

   During the Exploration phase, we need to determine the key risks and projected value of the project.
   

5. Click Set As Finished to advance to the next stage in the workflow.

6. Scroll down to the Qualification stage and explore the available fields.

7. Click Set As Finished, and repeat this process until your project has finished the Delivered stage.

8. Feel free to move back and forth between stages to test how it works. Click Save in the item header when finished.

Advance child items through a governance workflow

Projects aren’t the only item that have a governance workflow. Remember that when adding the governance layer to the project, you also chose to govern the project’s child items.

You can navigate to the child items in several ways, including from the source objects panel of the parent project.

1. From your governed project page, navigate to the Source Objects panel.

2. Under Related objects, expand the Saved models accordion menu.

3. Expand the project’s saved model, and select the active version ().

4. Explore the active model version’s metadata in the right panel, including the Model metrics () tab.

5. In the right panel, click Open to view the governed model version.

   

6. Recognize how the model version has its own independent overview and workflow stages, which you can progress through in a similar manner as the governed parent project.

Tip

At the top of the page representing the governed model version, recognize the nested hierarchy: project, saved model, and model version. You can govern up and down this hierarchy depending on your desired level of granularity.

Review the matrix and Kanban views of governed projects

Now that your governed project includes metadata and workflow progress, explore how it’s visualized in matrix and Kanban views.

1. From the top navigation bar, return to the Governed projects () page.

2. Find your project, noting its Completed workflow stage (having finished the Delivered stage).

3. Locate your project in the qualification matrix, and click its plot point to filter for projects matching the same criteria.

4. Review the metadata you added in the Overview () tab of the Details panel.

5. Switch to the Kanban () view to represent governed projects according to workflow stages.

Tip

You can customize the matrix axes to show the qualification metrics most relevant to your governance needs.

Manage governed projects with business initiatives

As your organization scales its governance activities, you may quickly accumulate hundreds if not thousands of governed projects.

A business initiative functions as an extra layer of organization to manage governance activities. It enables grouping governed projects together on some shared theme or characteristic. On top of this grouping, it provides its own workflow and space for documentation.

Create a business initiative

From the Governed projects page, you may have noticed that your governed project isn’t assigned yet to a business initiative. Create one now!

1. From the top navigation bar of the Govern node, go to the Business initiatives () page.

2. Click Create.

3. If necessary, select Dataiku Standard as the template.

4. Name it <YOUR INITIALS> Test Initiative.

5. Click Create to make a new business initiative.

Add a governed project to a business initiative

Once you have a business initiative, you can add a governed project to it.

1. Within the Overview panel of the new business initiative, click Edit in the item header.

2. For Sponsors, click + Add, and select yourself.

3. Copy-paste a description such as:

   This business initiative groups together projects testing Dataiku Govern.
   

4. Next to Governed projects, click + Add.

5. Find your Governance Basics project, and Select it.

6. Back in the header of the business initiative page, click Save.

   

7. Return to the Governed projects () page, and confirm your governed project is now part of the new initiative.

Tip

Here you started with a business initiative and added a governed project to it. You can just as well open a governed project, and add it to an existing business initiative.

Move a business initiative through a governance workflow

Like governed items, business initiatives also have an attached workflow.

1. From the Govern node’s top navigation bar, go to the Business Initiatives () page.

2. Find your business initiative, and click on its name Test Initiative to open it.

3. From your business initiative page, select the Ideation workflow stage.

4. Click Edit in the item header.

5. In the Ideation stage, click Set As Ongoing.

6. Make any adjustments to the fields and ratings as desired.

7. Click Set As Finished to advance to the In Progress stage.

8. When finished exploring, click Save in the item header.

   

9. Return to the Business Initiatives () page, and find your in-progress initiative in the matrix () and Kanban () views.

Having grouped a project under a business initiative, your tour of the standard Govern node pages is complete! Next, see how to manage governance as your Dataiku items evolve.

Govern an evolving project

Governance isn’t a one-time snapshot. It’s an ongoing commitment! The remainder of this tutorial focuses on how the Govern node handles changes in the Dataiku source objects which it intends to govern.

Review the governance rules of future Dataiku items

Any active Dataiku project will continue to evolve. Among other changes, this means new models and bundles. How does a governed project respond to the evolution of its source objects?

The answer depends on your instance’s auto-governance rules, which define if and how future Dataiku items in the project should be governed.

Recall the dialog when first adding the governance layer to an ungoverned Dataiku project. Although your own instance rules may have differed, unlike for existing items, you didn’t add a governance template to future synced items.

Take a moment to review the rules for your instance.

1. From the top navigation bar of the Govern node, open the waffle () menu.

2. Select Governance settings.

3. Yours may differ, but in the screenshot below, no type of synced item from Dataiku nodes is automatically governed.

4. Accordingly, there is no applicable Governance template to select.

Tip

There’s no one correct answer to defining auto-governance rules. It’s up to your organization to determine which rules best meet your governance objectives!

Add a child item to a governed project

Put these rules to the test by creating a new bundle in the governed project.

1. Return to the Design node, and open your version of the Governance Basics project.

2. From the More Options () menu of the top navigation bar, select Bundles.

3. Click + New Bundle.

4. Name it v2.

5. Click Create to finish adding a second bundle to the Dataiku project.

6. Back in the Govern node, return to the Source Objects panel of the governed project.

7. In the Related objects section, confirm the v2 bundle is present (the sync works), but it isn’t governed (assuming your auto-governance rule for bundles is the same as shown above).

Override auto-governance rules

Your instance rules may not always define the behavior you want for future child items. For this project, assume that you do indeed want to automatically govern future bundles.

1. Navigate to the Governance settings panel of the governed project (not the instance-wide settings).

2. Click Override (or Edit depending on your instance rules).

3. Next to bundles, check the box to Govern synced items.

4. Select Dataiku Standard as the governance template.

5. Click Save to confirm the new custom rule.

After defining a custom rule for child bundles of your governed project, test it works as expected.

1. In the Governance Basics project on the Design node, add a third bundle named v3.

2. Refresh the Source Objects panel of the governed project.

3. In the Related objects section, expand the Bundles accordion menu.

4. You should have governed v1 and v3 bundles, as well as an ungoverned v2 bundle.

Edit the source object of a governed project

That addresses the governance of entirely new source objects. But how does the Govern node respond to changes in the source objects themselves?

To explore this question, change the name of the source Dataiku project belonging to your governed project.

1. Return to the Design node, and open your version of the Governance Basics project.

2. From the project homepage, click the pencil () icon to edit the title. Name it <YOUR INITIALS> New Governance Basics, and click Save.

3. Refresh the Source Objects panel of the governed project.

4. In the Dataiku project section, confirm the governed project points to the updated “New” project title.

5. Confirm the presence of an information () icon in the item header of the governed project. Hover over it to find the name of the source Dataiku project (which no longer matches the name of the governed project).

Tip

Recall the distinction between Dataiku items and Govern items first discussed when deleting the original governed project. These mismatched names highlight the difference between the synced Dataiku source project and the Govern project connected to it.

If desired, navigate to the Overview of the governed project page. Click Edit in the item header, and match the name of the governed project to its Dataiku source project. The information () icon disappears!

Next steps

Congratulations! You’ve taken your first steps using the Govern node to:

• Surface Dataiku items from connected nodes.

• Apply a governance layer to those items.

• Advance those items through governance workflow stages as defined by a template.

• Organize governance activities according to business initiatives.

• Continue governing items as their source objects evolve.

Before you finish, take a moment to delete work that you no longer need as a courtesy to those sharing your Govern node.

1. From the Business initiatives () page, open your test initiative. From the vertical dots () menu, click Delete Business Initiative.

2. From the Governed projects () page, open your project. From the vertical dots () menu, click Delete Govern Project.

3. From the Design node, open your project. From the project homepage, click Actions > Delete this project.

In this tutorial, you moved governed items through workflow stages in an arbitrary manner. The next step is using these stages to inject oversight and control into actual deployment processes. You’ll see how to do that in Tutorial | Governance lifecycle!