The 5W1H+R framework structures a data story by asking why, who, what, when, where, and how, then examining relationships with other data. It exposes lineage and provenance while reducing uncertainty before technical access is fully established. section 4.5
Use the framework as an investigation checklist for each data asset:
- Clarify why the data was created, how it was intended to be used, who owns it, and who can grant access. section 4.5
- Record privacy and security concerns, source systems, storage arrangements, queryability, and data types. section 4.5
- Trace when the data and systems were created, major outages or repurposing events, aggregation, replatforming, and relationships to other infrastructure data. section 4.5
- Check available metadata across the framework’s 27 questions, especially when a data catalog or MDM system is incomplete or absent. section 4.5
