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🔗 Links & Resources: 👉 Explore our training courses to level up your data management skills: https://bit.ly/4eNkczq 👉 Download our free Data Vault resources: https://bit.ly/4f9AYs9 📢 Join our user group for more discussions, events, and resources. 👍 Like this video if you found it helpful 🔔 Subscribe for more episodes on modern data practices

🔗 Links & Resources: 👉 Explore our training courses to level up your data management skills: https://bit.ly/4eNkczq 👉 Download our free Data Vault resources: https://bit.ly/4f9AYs9 📢 Join our user group for more discussions, events, and resources. 👍 Like this video if you found it helpful 🔔 Subscribe for more episodes on modern data practices

🔗 Links & Resources: 👉 Explore our training courses to level up your data management skills: https://bit.ly/4eNkczq 👉 Download our free Data Vault resources: https://bit.ly/4f9AYs9 📢 Join our user group for more discussions, events, and resources. 👍 Like this video if you found it helpful 🔔 Subscribe for more episodes on modern data practices

🔗 Links & Resources: 👉 Explore our training courses to level up your data management skills: https://bit.ly/4eNkczq 👉 Download our free Data Vault resources: https://bit.ly/4f9AYs9 📢 Join our user group for more discussions, events, and resources. 👍 Like this video if you found it helpful 🔔 Subscribe for more episodes on modern data practices

🔗 Links & Resources: 👉 Explore our training courses to level up your data management skills: https://bit.ly/4eNkczq 👉 Download our free Data Vault resources: https://bit.ly/4f9AYs9 📢 Join our user group for more discussions, events, and resources. 👍 Like this video if you found it helpful 🔔 Subscribe for more episodes on modern data practices

🔗 Links & Resources: 👉 Explore our training courses to level up your data management skills: https://bit.ly/4eNkczq 👉 Download our free Data Vault resources: https://bit.ly/4f9AYs9 📢 Join our user group for more discussions, events, and resources. 👍 Like this video if you found it helpful 🔔 Subscribe for more episodes on modern data practices

In this episode, Neil Strange and Alex Higgs unpack the buzz around data contracts—what they are, why they matter, and how to implement them in real-world data pipelines. Whether you're dealing with broken data pipes, poor quality, or unclear ownership between systems, data contracts can help. This episode covers the basics, shares practical examples, and points to tools like dbt, as well as books by Andrew Jones and Chad Sanderson. ⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro: Why talk about data contracts? 00:33 – What is a data contract (and why do we need them)? 01:47 – How are data contracts actually enforced? 02:20 – dbt’s approach to data contracts 03:13 – Governance: What happens when a contract is broken 03:43 – Preventative vs reactive data quality 04:52 – Data contracts vs API versioning 05:23 – Recommended reading: Andrew Jones & Chad Sanderson 05:58 – Using contracts in your architecture 06:16 – Are they overkill? When to start using them 06:33 – Lean thinking and early detection 07:03 – When to define data contracts in your pipeline 07:27 – Final thoughts and how to get involved 💬 Drop your thoughts in the comments. Agree, disagree, or want to go deeper? Let’s talk. 📢 Join our user group for more discussions, events, and resources. 👍 Like this video if you found it helpful 🔔 Subscribe for more episodes on modern data practices

In this episode, Neil Strange and Alex Higgs dive into the real-world pain of working with XML. From legacy systems and unreadable schemas to bloated file sizes and broken audit trails, Alex shares the kind of problems that don’t show up in the docs—but definitely show up in your project timelines. ✅ What you'll learn: Why XML still shows up in modern data pipelines The key differences between XML and JSON How XSD helps (and hurts) when validating XML Common XML mistakes that break audits and slow down delivery When to fight for JSON instead ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 – Intro 00:14 – Why XML is a “necessary evil” 01:00 – XML vs JSON: key differences 01:18 – When you're forced to use XML 02:08 – Why JSON is usually easier to work with 02:22 – What is XSD and why does it matter? 03:10 – Hidden pitfalls: empty tags and missing elements 04:05 – Why XML breaks in production 05:00 – Real-world XML horror stories 06:01 – Data quality and governance issues 06:44 – Missing keys and broken audit trails 07:12 – Should you always choose JSON? 07:30 – Final thoughts + join the debate 📢 Got strong feelings about XML or JSON? Let us know in the comments. 🔗 Links & Resources: 👉 Free modelling guides and resources: https://bit.ly/4f9AYs9 👉 Learn more about Data Vault modelling: https://bit.ly/4eNkczq 🔔 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe!