Data Dictionary Template

Business and technical definitions per attribute: type, format, allowed values, source, owner, classification, code lists, derived fields

Arquitectura y diseño de sistemasEstándardata dictionary mathActualizada 20 oct 2026

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Cómo usar: Use alongside a database or data product so business and engineering share one meaning per field. Write the business definition before the type, classify every attribute and give derived fields an exact formula. Main pitfall: repeating column names and types without definitions, which adds nothing to the schema.

Vista previa

Data Dictionary: [System or data domain name]

Business and technical definitions for every entity and attribute in a system or data product: meaning, type, format, allowed values, source, owner and classification, plus code lists, derived fields and a change log. Based on common industry practice for data dictionaries and metadata management. Replace every [bracketed] value and every row marked Example.

Field	Value
Document ID	[DD-ORDERS-001]
System / data product	[Orders database, schema `public`]
Version	[0.1]
Status	[Draft / In review / Approved]
Data owner	[@data-owner]
Data steward	[@data-steward]
Last updated	YYYY-MM-DD
Related	[Database design document], [Data model diagram], [Glossary]

1. Conventions

1.1 Column meanings

Column	Meaning
Attribute	Physical name as it appears in the schema or file
Business name	Name a business user would recognise
Definition	What the value means, in one or two sentences, without repeating the name
Type and length	Physical data type including precision or maximum length
Format	Pattern, unit, time zone or encoding
Allowed values	Range, list or reference to a code list in section 4
Null	`No` if a value is always present; otherwise when it is absent
Default	Value used when none is supplied
Source	System, form field or calculation that produces the value
Owner	Person or team accountable for the meaning and quality
Class.	Classification label from 1.3
Example	A realistic value

1.2 Naming and formatting rules

Attribute names are snake_case; business names are Title Case.
Dates use ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DD); timestamps are UTC (YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssZ).
Money is stored as a decimal amount plus an ISO 4217 currency code; never as a float.
Country codes are ISO 3166-1 alpha-2; language codes are BCP 47.
Boolean attributes start with is_ or has_.

1.3 Classification labels

Label	Meaning	Handling
Public	May be published	No restriction
Internal	For employees and contractors	Access by role
Confidential	Business-sensitive	Need-to-know; encrypted at rest
Personal	Identifies or relates to a person	Privacy notice applies; masked outside production
Sensitive personal	Special category or financial account data	Strictly limited; field-level protection

2. Entity list

Entity	Business name	One row represents	Owner	Record count (approx.)	Retention
`orders`	Order	One customer order, from checkout to completion or cancellation	Orders team	Example: 70 million	10 years
`order_line`	Order Line	One product and quantity within an order	Orders team	175 million	10 years
`customer_ref`	Customer Reference	A customer known to the Orders domain (ID and display name only)	Customer team	4 million	While active plus 2 years
`order_event`	Order Status Change	One change of an order's status	Orders team	280 million	7 years
[entity]	[Business name]	[Row meaning]	[Owner]	[Count]	[Retention]

3. Attributes by entity

3.1 `orders` (Order)

Attribute	Business name	Definition	Type and length	Format	Allowed values	Null	Default	Source	Owner	Class.	Example
`order_id`	Order ID	System identifier of the order, never shown to customers	uuid	UUID v7	Any	No	Generated	Orders service	Orders team	Internal	`0190f3a2-7c1e-7b2a-9d4f-3e5b6a7c8d9e`
`order_number`	Order Number	Number printed on invoices and quoted by customers	varchar(20)	`ORD-YYYY-NNNNNN`	Unique	No	Generated	Orders service	Orders team	Internal	`ORD-2026-000123`
`customer_id`	Customer ID	Customer who placed the order	uuid	UUID	Must exist in `customer_ref`	No	none	Checkout	Customer team	Personal	`0190f39e-11aa-7c3d-8e9f-0a1b2c3d4e5f`
`status`	Order Status	Current position of the order in its lifecycle	varchar(30)	Upper snake case	Code list CL-01	No	`PENDING_PAYMENT`	Orders service	Orders team	Internal	`SHIPPED`
`currency`	Order Currency	Currency in which all amounts of the order are expressed	char(3)	ISO 4217	CL-03	No	none	Storefront	Finance	Internal	`EUR`
`total_amount`	Order Total	Amount payable for all lines including tax, before refunds	numeric(12,2)	Decimal, 2 places	0 to 999 999 999.99	No	0	Derived (DF-01)	Finance	Confidential	`39.80`
`channel`	Sales Channel	Channel through which the order was placed	varchar(20)	Upper snake case	CL-02	No	`WEB`	Checkout	Commerce team	Internal	`MOBILE_APP`
`created_at`	Order Date and Time	Moment the customer confirmed checkout	timestamptz	ISO 8601 UTC	Not in the future	No	now()	Orders service	Orders team	Internal	`2026-03-14T09:30:00Z`
[attribute]	[Name]	[Definition]	[Type]	[Format]	[Values]	[Y/N]	[Default]	[Source]	[Owner]	[Class.]	[Example]

3.2 `order_line` (Order Line)

Attribute	Business name	Definition	Type and length	Format	Allowed values	Null	Default	Source	Owner	Class.	Example
`order_line_id`	Order Line ID	System identifier of the line	uuid	UUID v7	Any	No	Generated	Orders service	Orders team	Internal	`0190f3a3-02b4-7d5e-8f60-71829304a5b6`
`order_id`	Order ID	Order the line belongs to	uuid	UUID	Must exist in `orders`	No	none	Orders service	Orders team	Internal	`0190f3a2-7c1e-7b2a-9d4f-3e5b6a7c8d9e`
`sku`	Stock Keeping Unit	Catalogue code of the product variant sold	varchar(40)	Upper case, hyphenated	Must exist in catalogue at order time	No	none	Catalogue	Catalogue team	Internal	`TSHIRT-BLK-M`
`quantity`	Quantity	Number of units ordered	integer	Whole number	1 to 999	No	none	Checkout	Orders team	Internal	`2`
`unit_price`	Unit Price	Price of one unit including tax at the time of the order	numeric(12,2)	Decimal, 2 places	0 or more	No	none	Pricing service	Pricing team	Confidential	`19.90`
`line_total`	Line Total	Amount for this line	numeric(12,2)	Decimal, 2 places	0 or more	No	Derived	Derived (DF-02)	Finance	Confidential	`39.80`
[attribute]	[Name]	[Definition]	[Type]	[Format]	[Values]	[Y/N]	[Default]	[Source]	[Owner]	[Class.]	[Example]

3.3 `[entity]` ([Business name])

[Repeat the attribute table for every entity in section 2.]

4. Code lists and enumerations

4.1 CL-01 Order status

Code	Label	Meaning	Active	Since
`PENDING_PAYMENT`	Pending payment	Order created; payment not yet authorised	Yes	v1.0
`PAID`	Paid	Payment authorised; ready for fulfilment	Yes	v1.0
`SHIPPED`	Shipped	At least one shipment handed to a carrier	Yes	v1.0
`DELIVERED`	Delivered	All shipments delivered	Yes	v1.0
`CANCELLED`	Cancelled	Cancelled before shipment; no further changes	Yes	v1.0
`ON_HOLD`	On hold	Example: Fraud review; replaced by a separate flag	No (retired YYYY-MM-DD)	v1.0

4.2 CL-02 Sales channel

Code	Label	Meaning	Active
`WEB`	Website	Desktop or mobile browser storefront	Yes
`MOBILE_APP`	Mobile app	iOS or Android app	Yes
`CALL_CENTRE`	Call centre	Order taken by an agent	Yes
`MARKETPLACE`	Marketplace	Order imported from a third-party marketplace	Yes

4.3 CL-03 Currency

[Reference the external code list instead of copying it. Example: "ISO 4217 alphabetic codes; accepted subset: EUR, GBP, USD, CHF, SEK."]

5. Derived fields

ID	Attribute	Formula	Inputs	Rounding	Recalculated when
DF-01	`orders.total_amount`	Sum of `line_total` over the order's lines	`order_line.line_total`	Half-up to 2 decimals after summing	Any line is added, removed or changed
DF-02	`order_line.line_total`	`quantity` x `unit_price`	`quantity`, `unit_price`	Half-up to 2 decimals	Generated on write
DF-03	`average_order_value` (report)	Sum of `total_amount` / count of orders, excluding `CANCELLED`	`orders`	2 decimals	Daily batch
[DF-nn]	[Attribute]	[Formula]	[Inputs]	[Rule]	[Trigger]

For report metrics, show the formula explicitly. Average order value for a period $P$ , over non-cancelled orders $O_P$ :

\text{AOV}_P = \frac{\sum_{o \in O_P} \text{total\_amount}_o}{|O_P|}

6. Data quality rules

ID	Attribute(s)	Rule	Threshold	Check frequency	Owner
DQ-01	`orders.total_amount`	Equals DF-01 recomputed	100%	Nightly	Finance
DQ-02	`orders.customer_id`	Exists in `customer_ref`	100%	Nightly	Customer team
DQ-03	`order_line.sku`	Exists in catalogue history	99.99%	Daily	Catalogue team
[DQ-nn]	[Attribute]	[Rule]	[Threshold]	[Frequency]	[Owner]

7. Change log

Version	Date	Entity / attribute / code	Change	Reason	Migration or release	Author
0.1	YYYY-MM-DD	All	Initial dictionary	First release	n/a	[@name]
0.2	YYYY-MM-DD	Example: `orders.channel`	Added with code list CL-02	Channel reporting	`V014`	[@name]
0.3	YYYY-MM-DD	Example: CL-01 `ON_HOLD`	Retired	Replaced by fraud review flag	Release 2.3	[@name]
[x.y]	YYYY-MM-DD	[Item]	[Added / Changed / Retired]	[Reason]	[Reference]	[@name]

Standard and licence note

Based on common industry practice for data dictionaries and metadata management, using ISO 8601, ISO 4217 and ISO 3166 codes by reference only. Original text written for this collection; example values are illustrative. Template licence: MIT.

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Vista previa

Data Dictionary: [System or data domain name]

1. Conventions

1.1 Column meanings

1.2 Naming and formatting rules

1.3 Classification labels

2. Entity list

3. Attributes by entity

3.1 `orders` (Order)

3.2 `order_line` (Order Line)

3.3 `[entity]` ([Business name])

4. Code lists and enumerations

4.1 CL-01 Order status

4.2 CL-02 Sales channel

4.3 CL-03 Currency

5. Derived fields

6. Data quality rules

7. Change log

Standard and licence note

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Data Dictionary Template

Vista previa

Data Dictionary: [System or data domain name]

1. Conventions

1.1 Column meanings

1.2 Naming and formatting rules

1.3 Classification labels

2. Entity list

3. Attributes by entity

3.1 orders (Order)

3.2 order_line (Order Line)

3.3 [entity] ([Business name])

4. Code lists and enumerations

4.1 CL-01 Order status

4.2 CL-02 Sales channel

4.3 CL-03 Currency

5. Derived fields

6. Data quality rules

7. Change log

Standard and licence note

Plantillas relacionadas

Software Architecture Document Template (4+1 Views)

Cloud Architecture Review Template (Six Pillars)

Database Design Document Template (ERD and Physical Model)

3.1 `orders` (Order)

3.2 `order_line` (Order Line)

3.3 `[entity]` ([Business name])