Architecture guide
Data governance reaches analysis too
Data governance is nearly always explained through activation. In Customer Journey Analytics it also decides which fields enter a data view and what can be exported or downloaded.
Sources checked:
From the label to the report
-
Label
- Schema field
- Usage label
The field gets its data usage label. On its own it prevents nothing: it describes the data so that someone can decide about it.
-
Enable the policy
- Usage policy
- Enabled state
The policy relates labels to a marketing action. Until it is enabled, the restriction does not apply and analysis carries on unchanged.
-
Data view
- Available fields
- Blocked fields
With the policy enabled, affected fields cannot be added to the data view. They appear greyed out and the view will not save while they are in it.
-
Export
- Download or API
- Restricted output
The data export label keeps those fields out of downloads and APIs. Whoever asks for the report sees the restriction, not the data.
What Adobe documents
Labelling does not enforce the restriction
Adobe says it plainly: labelling in itself does not mean that data usage labels are enforced, and that is what policies are for. An audit that only reviews labels does not say what is actually blocked.
Labels and policies in Customer Journey AnalyticsSome fields cannot enter a data view
With policies enabled on certain labels, the affected schema components cannot be added to the data view: they appear greyed out in the field list and the view will not save while they are included.
Labels and policies in Customer Journey AnalyticsExport has a label of its own
The data export label keeps fields out of downloads, APIs and activation workflows when its policy is enabled. It does not depend on the chosen destination.
Data usage labels glossaryThe report warns about what it carries
When data leaves Customer Journey Analytics through reporting, export or API, warnings or labels are added to flag that the content needs specific handling.
Customer Journey Analytics and data governanceHow I would review it
- List the enabled policies before looking at labels. They are the only thing that actually blocks.
- Try a data view with a labelled field and check whether it can be saved.
- Request an export of a report with restricted data and keep the result as evidence.
- Check who decides the labels and who enables the policies: they are rarely the same person.
- Review what changes in published reports if a policy comes into force tomorrow.
The restrictions are decided by whoever is legally accountable for the data. Here they are translated into configuration and checked to confirm they block what they claim to block. The specific labels and their scope change over time, so they are verified in the documentation before each rollout.