Summary

Data platforms are exemplified by a complex set of connections that are subject to a set of constantly evolving requirements. In order to make this a tractable problem it is necessary to define boundaries for communication between concerns, which brings with it the need to establish interface contracts for communicating across those boundaries. The recent move toward the data mesh as a formalized architecture that builds on this design provides the language that data teams need to make this a more organized effort. In this episode Abhi Sivasailam shares his experience designing and implementing a data mesh solution with his team at Flexport, and the importance of defining and enforcing data contracts that are implemented at those domain boundaries.

Announcements

• Hello and welcome to the Data Engineering Podcast, the show about modern data management
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• Your host is Tobias Macey and today I’m interviewing Abhi Sivasailam about the different social and technical interfaces available for defining and enforcing data contracts

Interview

• Introduction
• How did you get involved in the area of data management?
• Can you start by explaining what your working definition of a "data contract" is?
  • What are the goals and purpose of these contracts?
• What are the locations and methods of defining a data contract?
  • What kind of information needs to be encoded in a contract definition?
• How do you manage enforcement of contracts?
• manifestations of contracts in data mesh implementation
• ergonomics (technical and social) of data contracts and how to prevent them from prohibiting productivity
• What are the most interesting, innovative, or unexpected approaches to data contracts that you have seen?
• What are the most interesting, unexpected, or challenging lessons that you have learned while working on data contract implementation?
• When are data contracts the wrong choice?

Contact Info

• LinkedIn
• @_abhisivasailam on Twitter
• Website

Parting Question

• From your perspective, what is the biggest gap in the tooling or technology for data management today?

Closing Announcements

• Thank you for listening! Don’t forget to check out our other show, Podcast.__init__ to learn about the Python language, its community, and the innovative ways it is being used.
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Links

• Flexport
• Debezium
  • Podcast Episode
• Data Mesh At Flexport Presentation
• mesh-principles.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss">Data Mesh
  • Podcast Episode
• Column Names As Contracts podcast episode with Emily Riederer
• dbtplyr

The intro and outro music is from The Hug by The Freak Fandango Orchestra / CC BY-SA