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What a Good ROPA Looks Like

A ROPA should be a living inventory of processing, not a one-off spreadsheet. Here’s how to make it useful to your privacy program—and your auditors.

Link to purposes

Every activity lists a clear purpose and legal basis (where applicable).

Data lifecycle

Source, storage, sharing, retention and deletion approach—kept concise.

Risk & DPIA flags

Indicators for high-risk processing to trigger DPIAs or extra safeguards.

Common mistakes

  • Copy-pasted vendor blurbs instead of describing your processing.
  • No owners or review cadence—so it goes stale within months.
  • Too much detail (or none) on retention and deletion mechanics.
See our SharePoint ROPA pattern Back to resources