Dictionary
The dictionary is one spot for all of your organization's terms
A dictionary is a document that provides definitions and metadata for data assets within an organization. Creating a data dictionary can provide several benefits:
Improved data transparency: A data dictionary can help make data more transparent and understandable, making it easier for others to use and trust the data.
Enhanced data governance: A data dictionary can help establish clear roles and responsibilities for data management and ensure that data is being used appropriately.
Improved data discovery: A data dictionary can make it easier for users to find and access data assets, improving productivity and efficiency.
Enhanced data security: A data dictionary can help organizations identify and protect sensitive data, ensuring that it is only accessed by authorized personnel.
Improved data quality: A data dictionary can help organizations identify and address data quality issues, improving the overall quality of their data.
Data doesn't have meaning without a consistent understanding of how terms are defined. This is why creating a dictionary is so important, and why understanding how it's maintained and who created terms is essential to the data workflow.
Using Secoda's Dictionary
Secoda's dictionary is the place to define all of your organizational terms. Dictionary terms are searchable and can be found in the Dictionary folders.
Check out our Dictionary best practices for strategies regarding building out your Dictionary.
Each Team is able to have it's own Dictionary section, but you can also use the General Team to host terms that you don't want to assign to a Team. You can add Terms to multiple Team's Dictionaries as well.
Creating Dictionary Terms
You can find the Dictionary in the side navigation bar beneath Metrics, if it is enabled for the Team you are working in.
Once in the Dictionary, you'll be able to see all of the current terms your team has created, sorted by last added.
To create a new dictionary term, simply click New Dictionary Term in the top left.
From here, you'll have the option to add a definition, list Collections the term is a part of, assign ownership, and add applicable tags.
Enriching Dictionary Terms
There is a lot more enrichment that can be done with Dictionary terms in order to make them more searchable and link them elsewhere within the product. Add Related resources, a Verification status, as well as Teams that are associated with the term.
Dictionary Term Templates
Secoda allows you to create templates for your dictionary terms. Creating a standard structure for dictionary terms across your team is helpful so that you can ensure each term has the same detail and structure as the next.
To create a Dictionary template, go to the Templates button beside New Dictionary Term.
Click New Template. The text box that shows up allows you to templates the title of terms, and the definition section of the terms. Once you've added your template, click Save.
To create a new term using the template, click the three dots beside the template name, and then Apply. You can also use keyboard shortcut Command + A to do this.
To delete a dictionary term template, click on the three dots beside the template name and click Delete.
Nesting Terms
If you're team is working with a whole long list of terms, you might want to consider organizing them in some way. You are able to nest terms under another term to create a sort of folder structure.
For example, let's say you have a bunch of terms that all fall under the category "Customer". You can create a term called Customer, define it, and then nest the other existing terms underneath it.
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