Through the AEM Assets Onboarding series of articles, best practices and Champion tips were shared on fundamental features to utilize in AEM Assets, but there is more to managing a DAM than utilizing features. This article explores DAM governance - setting policies, roles, standards, and workflows to ensure the correct and consistent use of digital assets and to be sure the team is enabled.

Putting it all together and establishing governance

Previous articles in this series touched on fundamentals which are essential to your content strategy. Those resources covered essential topics such as Best practices and tips for getting started with AEM Assets, folder structure & naming, access & permissions, metadata, taxonomy and tagging.
Next, let’s put together the what, the why and the how for establishing governance to manage AEM Assets successful.

What is DAM governance?

It is a set of policy, roles, standards, and workflows which ensures that:

TIP

"Think of DAM governance as the blueprint for your brand's operational success. It ensures that every digital asset is not just stored, but is compliant, discoverable, and ready to deliver value across your enterprise."

- Katie Junge, Senior Marketing Technology Product Manager at Workday and AEM Champion

Why you need it?

DAM governance provides a framework for keeping all team members on track and:

TIP

"A DAM without governance quickly becomes a challenge to use. The real value of AEM Assets is unlocked when metadata, permissions, and taxonomy all work together to make content instantly usable and reusable."

- Priya Nair, AEM Technical Lead at Loblaw and AEM Champion

Now, let's go ahead and look at how to do establish governance through five key steps.

DAM governance done right

1. Set clear goals and building out the right team

2. Define standards and access policies

3. Create and automate workflows

4. Train users and drive adoption

5. Monitor usage and optimize

TIP

"DAM governance done right isn’t just about managing assets, it’s about empowering people. Effective DAM governance in AEM starts with the right team and clear standards; but it thrives through training. When users are empowered with the knowledge to use AEM confidently, adoption accelerates, access becomes purposeful, and the value of your digital assets multiplies."

- Melanie Bartlett, Partner Development Director at MRM and AEM Champion

Governance - one of the key foundations of using AEM Assets

This article on best practices for governance a is part of a serious of articles including foundational guidance, best practices and Adobe Champion tips for getting started with Adobe Experience Manager Assets. To explore all articles in this AEM Assets foundational series, see:

Additional Learning Resources