---
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
---
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.

**Example:** "Outstanding Balance: the unpaid principal owed on a loan as of the reporting date. Owner: Lending. Critical data element: yes."

**Not to be confused with** [[technical-metadata]], which says where data *is*.