Effective change management depends on clear ownership, timely decisions, and coordinated delivery. Delays are often caused less by technical complexity and more by uncertainty over who is responsible for action.
This page defines the typical roles involved in managing changes across data, reporting, and analytics services.
The objective is to ensure requests are progressed efficiently, decisions are made at the right level, and accountability remains clear throughout the change lifecycle.
Purpose
This guidance exists to provide:
- Clear ownership of change activity
- Faster decision-making
- Better coordination across teams
- Reduced ambiguity and delay
- Stronger governance and accountability
- Consistent delivery standards
Core Role Definitions
Requestor
The individual or team requesting the change.
Typical responsibilities:
- Define the business need
- Explain expected outcome
- Provide evidence or examples
- Confirm timing requirements
- Support user testing where needed
Data Engineering
Responsible for data platform, pipelines, models, and structural delivery.
Typical responsibilities:
- Technical assessment
- Design and implementation
- Data validation
- Performance and integrity controls
- Release preparation
- Technical documentation
Reporting / BI
Responsible for reports, dashboards, semantic models, and user-facing analytics.
Typical responsibilities:
- Assess reporting impact
- Implement report changes
- Validate measures and visuals
- Coordinate user communications
- Support adoption and testing
Business Owner
The accountable owner for business meaning, priorities, or operational outcomes.
Typical responsibilities:
- Confirm business value
- Approve logic changes
- Prioritise demand
- Accept trade-offs where required
- Confirm readiness for use
Service Owner
Responsible for overall service confidence and governance.
Typical responsibilities:
- Maintain standards and control
- Resolve escalations
- Approve significant risk decisions
- Monitor service health
- Ensure effective operating model
Programme / Project Lead
Required where change forms part of wider transformation activity.
Typical responsibilities:
- Coordinate dependencies
- Align milestones
- Manage stakeholder visibility
- Confirm readiness across workstreams
RACI Matrix
| Activity | Requestor | Data Engineering | Reporting / BI | Business Owner | Service Owner | Programme Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raise request | R | C | C | C | I | I |
| Initial assessment | C | R | R | C | I | I |
| Classify risk/change level | I | R | R | C | A | I |
| Prioritisation | C | C | C | A | A | C |
| Technical build | I | R | R | I | I | I |
| User testing | C | C | R | A | I | C |
| Approve logic change | I | C | C | A | I | C |
| Production release | I | R | R | I | A | I |
| Release communication | I | C | R | C | A | I |
| Post-change review | C | R | C | C | A | C |
RACI Key
- R = Responsible (does the work)
- A = Accountable (final owner / decision maker)
- C = Consulted (input required)
- I = Informed (kept updated)
Practical Principles
Decisions Sit with Ownership
Business meaning should be approved by business owners, not engineers alone.
Delivery Sits with Specialists
Technical delivery should remain with the appropriate delivery teams.
Accountability Should Be Clear
Each key activity should have one clear accountable owner.
Consultation Should Be Proportionate
Not everyone needs to be involved in every decision.
Common Failure Modes to Avoid
- No named approver
- Too many approvers
- Technical teams prioritising business demand alone
- Business owners requesting change but unavailable for testing
- Changes released without communication
- Shared responsibility with no accountability
Governance Note
For smaller low-risk changes, roles may be combined pragmatically. For higher-risk or strategic change, clearer separation of duties is recommended.
Related Guidance
See also:
- Change Management
- How to Raise a Change
- Change Levels Matrix
- Emergency Change Route
- Breaking Changes Register
- Change & Release Calendar
Final Note
Strong delivery teams still need clear ownership. Defined responsibilities turn good intentions into reliable outcomes.