Metadata is a byproduct of a successful data governance program. More often than not, the success of a data governance program depends on the ability to record, validate and share metadata that is produced while implementing a data governance program. Metadata provides more than just the meaning of the data, the lineage of the data, and the rules associated with consuming the data. Governance metadata includes the people aspect of the data, who owns it (if you use that term), who stewards it, and who defines, produces and uses the data across the organization as well as other things.