HEAD: Hierarchical Enterprise Architecture for Data

The Hierarchical Enterprise Architecture for Data (HEAD) is put forward here as a way to address that. It is recursive by design: each layer of the organization — from a small team all the way up to the enterprise — plays two roles. It looks after its own analytics while also consuming what comes from below, passing governed results upward in turn. This approach protects local freedom without letting the whole structure fall apart. HEAD rests on four ideas. Meta-Analytics helps teams build new insights out of what has already been analyzed, avoiding the churn of moving large volumes of raw data. Analytical Lineage makes it possible to trace how insights are created and reshaped, which builds trust and supports audits. A Request and Approval Channel adds a formal, accountable way for upper layers to ask for access to data from below, with the decision left in the hands of the data owner. Finally, the Change Notification Layer spreads word of updates — to schemas, policies, or logic — so that everyone can adjust in time. The Data Glossary, part of the governance framework, takes care of dataset discovery without confusing visibility with access.