SF-Data-Arch Data Governance Practice Question
Universal Containers is building a Data Governance program for its Salesforce org. The governance lead wants a single authoritative reference that defines every custom object and field, its business definition, data owner, allowed values, and system of record. Which artifact should the architect recommend as the foundation?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming any metadata documentation, such as an ERD or a migration mapping, satisfies governance when only a maintained Data Dictionary captures definitions, ownership, and system of record.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
A Data Dictionary maintained as a versioned document and published to all stakeholders
The requirement is one authoritative reference covering field definitions, ownership, allowed values, and system of record. A Data Dictionary is precisely that artifact and is the standard foundation for a Data Governance program. ERDs, audit retention policies, and migration mappings each serve narrower technical purposes and cannot substitute for a maintained catalog of business and technical metadata.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
A Data Loader field-mapping spreadsheet used for the most recent migration
Why it's wrong here
A migration mapping spreadsheet reflects one project's source-to-target transformation, not the ongoing authoritative definition of the org's data. It quickly becomes stale, covers only migrated fields, and omits ownership, allowed values, and system of record, making it unsuitable as the governance foundation.
- ✗
An Entity Relationship Diagram showing all object relationships and cardinalities
Why it's wrong here
An ERD documents relationships and cardinality between objects, which is useful for data modeling, but it does not capture field-level business definitions, allowed values, data owners, or system of record. It cannot serve as the single authoritative reference the governance lead requested, so it fails the stated requirement.
- ✓
A Data Dictionary maintained as a versioned document and published to all stakeholders
Why this is correct
A Data Dictionary is the authoritative catalog of metadata: object and field names, definitions, owners, allowed values, and system of record. It directly satisfies the governance lead's requirement for one reference covering every field's business meaning and ownership, and it becomes the baseline against which changes are reviewed.
- ✗
A Field Audit Trail retention policy configured on all custom objects
Why it's wrong here
Field Audit Trail retains historical field values for compliance and forensic purposes, but it is a retention and auditing mechanism, not a catalog of definitions. It tells you what changed and when, not what a field means, who owns it, or which system is the source of truth, so it cannot anchor the governance program.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Salesforce exam blueprint
This SF-Data-Arch practice question is part of Courseiva's free Salesforce certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SF-Data-Arch exam.