Quiz: Test your knowledge of information governance best practices

If organizations want to optimize productivity, reduce storage costs and maintain compliance, they need an information governance plan.

Information governance is a set of processes, roles and tools that streamline information management, mitigate security risks, ensure regulatory compliance and make information accessible to those who need it. Poorly managed information can make documents and other digital resources difficult for workers to find. However, well-managed information can increase productivity and help workers search for relevant and up-to-date documents.

Additionally, information governance can cut storage costs and help organizations remain compliant with privacy regulations, such as the EU's GDPR and California's CCPA. Failure to adhere to compliance regulations can result in steep penalties and damage an organization's reputation.

The information governance market grew as many organizations took on digital transformation projects throughout the 2010s. Organizations that undergo digital transformation can collect and store more data than companies with physical repositories, so they require more elaborate governance policies. Since the late 2010s, many organizations have completed simple information governance projects, such as digitizing paper documents, and shifted focus to data retention and cleansing projects.

As organizations store more data and customers increasingly demand stricter privacy laws, information governance becomes more critical. In fact, many organizations have added governance roles, such as chief information governance officer (CIGO), into their C-suites.

The following quiz can help anyone test their knowledge of information governance basics.

Editor's note: This information governance quiz was originally written by Jonathan Gourley. Tim Murphy updated it in 2024.

Tim Murphy is an associate site editor for TechTarget's Customer Experience and Content Management sites.