Core Concepts

The Asset–Task Flow (ATF) Methodology is a lightweight framework that operationalizes the principle that all data assets are not equal. It addresses the twin challenges of documentation cost and value measurement by adopting an Asset-First perspective.

The Two Pillars of Governance:

Shift Left Governance (Asset Perspective): From the Asset perspective, ATF recognizes that governance debt accumulates rapidly when documentation is done later. We flip this by making the Asset the central hub of all information. Every task, every mutation, every context point is logged directly against the Asset from the start, ensuring seamless, lesser-friction documentation that eliminates the need for expensive, reactive governance tools down the line.

Value-Driven Governance (Flow Perspective): The governance visibility gained from the Asset perspective is then directly leveraged by the Flow perspective. This provides a new form of governance where assets are governed based on their measurable contribution and operational cost.

This relationship provides the necessary context: The Flow informs the required Value of the Asset, and the associated Tasks quantify the Operational Cost incurred to deliver that value.

To understand your true cost of ownership and measure value through this methodology, you must map the three entities that exist in your daily reality:

• 🔷 Flows (The Outcome): The measurable business objective (e.g., “Quarterly Financial Reporting,” “Real-time Fraud Detection”).

• 🔧 Tasks (The Work): The actual engineering effort (tickets) expended.

• 🗂️ Assets (The Inventory): The data objects (tables, models, APIs) being built or maintained.

By linking these three entities, we stop managing generic “tickets” and start managing Impact.