What is data freshness and how is it validated?

< 1 min read

Data freshness means how up-to-date the data is compared to the source system.
Stakeholders expect reports to reflect the latest transactions within the agreed SLA.
In a daily sales dashboard, business expected data updated by 8 AM every day.
I checked the latest order timestamp in the warehouse vs source system.
I also verified ETL last_run_time and record counts for the current day.
If yesterday’s data appeared today, it indicated delayed loads.
During UAT, I validate sample records created recently and confirm they appear in reports.
This ensures decisions are made on current and reliable information.

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