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    DataWorks:Data Standard

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    DataWorks:Data Standard

    Last Updated:Mar 26, 2026

    In enterprise data warehouses, the same concept often appears under different names and types across tables — one table stores a member ID as user_id with type VARCHAR, another stores it as userid with type BIGINT. These inconsistencies force downstream teams to write custom reconciliation logic and create silent errors in reporting. DataWorks Data Modeling addresses this at the source through data standards: a set of reusable, enforced definitions that govern how fields are named, typed, enumerated, and organized across all your Logical Models.

    With data standards, you can:

    • Apply a single field definition to all fields that share the same business meaning, across multiple tables

    • Restrict a field to a fixed set of valid values and automatically generate quality monitoring rules

    • Define business units (currency, quantity, time) and attach them to measure fields

    • Enforce naming conventions for tables and fields across all data warehouse layers

    DataWorks supports four standard types: Field Standard, Lookup Table, Measurement Unit, and Naming Dictionary.

    How data standards work

    image

    Associating a data standard with a field in a Logical Model means that field adopts all rules defined in the standard — name, Data Type, value range, and unit. If the standard changes later, all associated fields can be located and updated at once.

    Supported table types

    The following table shows which standard types apply to which Logical Model table types.

    Standard type Source Table Dimension Table Fact Table Aggregate Table Application Table
    Field Standard ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
    Lookup Table ✓ ✓ ✓ — —
    Measurement Unit — — ✓ ✓ ✓
    Naming Dictionary ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

    Access data standards

    1. Log on to the DataWorks console. In the top navigation bar, select the desired region. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Data Development and O&M > Data Modeling. On the page that appears, select the desired workspace from the drop-down list and click Go to Data Modeling.

    2. On the Data Modeling page, click Data Standard in the top menu bar to open the Data Standard page.

    Field Standard

    A Field Standard provides a standard definition for a field, including its name, Data Type, and value range. Associate it with fields that share the same business meaning across multiple tables to enforce consistent naming and typing throughout your Logical Models.

    Example: Without a Field Standard, one table might store a member ID as user_id VARCHAR and another as userid BIGINT. Creating a member_id Field Standard and associating both fields with it resolves the inconsistency.

    Table name Original field Issue Standardized field
    Registration Table user_id Inconsistent naming member_id
    Login Table userid Lack of an underscore causes ambiguity member_id

    Hierarchical structure

    Field Standards are organized in a three-level hierarchy under the root directory:

    • Root directory: The top-level directory. All directories, Standard Sets, and standards are placed under it.

    • Directory: Stores standards and Standard Sets, similar to a folder in an operating system.

    • Standard Set: Similar to a directory, but can only contain standards.

    Field Standards also support inheritance relationships. For example, a buyer ID standard and a seller ID standard can both inherit from a member ID standard, making it easier to identify field associations across your models.

    Define a Field Standard

    To create a large number of Field Standards at once, use the Batch import feature.

    1. On the Data Standard page, click Field Standard in the left-side navigation pane.

    2. In the directory tree on the left, right-click the target directory or Standard Set and select Create Standard. > Create directories or Standard Sets as needed to organize your Field Standards.

    3. In the Create Standard dialog box, configure the following parameters.

      Important

      Before deleting a Field Standard, remove all references to it.

      Parameter Description
      Abbreviation When associated with a field in a Logical Model, this value becomes the field's name.
      Display Name When associated with a field in a Logical Model, this value becomes the field's display name.
      Data Type The data type for the field.
      Length Depends on the selected Data Type. For example, if you select DECIMAL, this value corresponds to 20 in DECIMAL(20, 4).
      Precision Depends on the selected Data Type. For example, if you select DECIMAL, this value corresponds to 4 in DECIMAL(20, 4).
      Not Null Whether the referencing field can be null. Null values are allowed by default.
      Default Value The default value for a referencing field when no value is provided. Maximum length: 2,048 characters.
      Parent Standard Select an existing standard to create an inheritance relationship. For example, since both a buyer ID and a seller ID are types of member ID, their standards can inherit from the member ID standard.
      Referenced Lookup Table Select a predefined Lookup Table to constrain the value range of the field.

    Use a Field Standard

    Associate a Field Standard with a field in a Logical Model. The field inherits the standard's Abbreviation as its name, the standard's Display Name as its display name, and the standard's Data Type and Not Null settings directly.

    This is supported for Source Tables, Dimension Tables, Fact Tables, Aggregate Tables, and Application Tables.

    For example, associate the member ID field in the dimension table dim_ec_con_member_df with the member_id Field Standard. For detailed steps, see Configure fields for a dimension table.

    image

    Lookup Table

    A Lookup Table defines the range of acceptable values for a field. For example, restrict the gender field to the values 0 (Unknown), 1 (Male), and 2 (Female).

    Define a Lookup Table

    To create a large number of Lookup Tables at once, use the Batch import feature.

    1. On the Data Standard page, click Lookup Table in the left-side navigation pane.

    2. Right-click a directory name and click Create Lookup Table. > Create directories as needed to organize your Lookup Tables.

    3. In the Create Lookup Table dialog box, configure the parameters and add enumerated values. For example, set ID to gender, Display Name to Gender, and Name to gender. Add the following enumerated values:

      Important

      Before deleting a Lookup Table, remove all references to it.

      Code ID Code name Name Description
      0 Unknown unknown Unknown gender
      1 Male male Male
      2 Female female Female

    Publish a Lookup Table

    Click Publish in the upper-right corner of the Lookup Table details page to materialize the Lookup Table as a Physical Table or Materialized View.

    Use a Lookup Table

    Associate a Lookup Table with a field in a Logical Model. The field inherits the Lookup Table's ID as its name and the Lookup Table's Display Name as its display name.

    This is supported for Source Tables, Dimension Tables, and Fact Tables.

    For example, associate the gender field in the dimension table dim_ec_con_member_df with the gender Lookup Table. For detailed steps, see Configure fields for a dimension table.

    image

    If the same field has different names across multiple tables, associate all instances with a single Lookup Table to standardize naming and enumerated values.

    Table name Original field Original enumerated values Standardized field Standardized enumerated values
    Member Information Table sex 1, 2 gender 0, 1, 2
    Member Login Table gender 0, 1, 2 gender 0, 1, 2

    Enforce standards with Lookup Tables

    When a Fact Table or Dimension Table is published as a Physical Table, the system generates a Quality Rule for every field associated with a Lookup Table. Create a quality monitoring rule based on this Quality Rule to monitor and enforce the standard for the Physical Table. For more information, see Implement data standards.

    Measurement Unit

    A Measurement Unit defines business-specific units, such as currency, quantity, and time.

    Define a Measurement Unit

    To create a large number of Measurement Units at once, use the Batch import feature.

    1. On the Data Standard page, click Measurement Unit in the left-side navigation pane.

    2. Right-click the target measurement category and select Create Measurement Unit.

    3. In the Create Measurement Unit dialog box, configure the parameters and click OK. For example, set Abbreviation to m, Name to meter, and Display Name to Meter.

    Use a Measurement Unit

    Associate with a Logical Model

    Attach a Measurement Unit to a specific field in a Logical Model. This is supported for Fact Tables, Aggregate Tables, and Application Tables.

    For example, associate the item quantity field in the order creation fact table dwd_trade_order with the Measurement Unit piece. For detailed steps, see Configure fields for a fact table.

    image

    Associate with an Atomic Metric

    When defining an Atomic Metric, select an appropriate Measurement Unit based on the statistical data type of the Atomic Metric.

    Naming Dictionary

    A Naming Dictionary provides standardized definitions for the roots and morphemes of business terms, Physical Tables, and fields. It serves as an enterprise-level library for naming conventions, allowing you to check whether table and field names in your data warehouse layers comply with agreed-upon naming standards.

    Define a Naming Dictionary

    To create a large number of Naming Dictionary entries at once, use the Batch import feature.

    1. On the Data Standard page, click Naming Dictionary in the left-side navigation pane.

    2. Click Create. In the Create Naming Dictionary dialog box, configure the parameters and click OK. For example, set Display Name to Engine, Name to engine, and Abbreviation to eng.

    Use a Naming Dictionary

    Use a Naming Dictionary to check naming conventions for tables across your data warehouse layers. This is supported for Source Tables, Dimension Tables, Fact Tables, Aggregate Tables, and Application Tables.

    For example, if no Naming Dictionary entry with the abbreviation trade exists, the table name dwd_trade_order would violate the naming convention for the Data Warehouse Detail (DWD) layer.

    imageimage

    To use this feature, configure it in the data warehouse layer checker. For more information, see Configure data warehouse layer checkers and Use checkers.

    More operations

    Batch import standards

    Use the Batch Import feature to create large numbers of data standards at once. DataWorks provides a downloadable template for each standard type.

    Batch Import is supported for Field Standards, Lookup Tables, Measurement Units, and Naming Dictionaries. The import template format is .xlsx, with a maximum of 30,000 records per import and a file size limit of 10 MB.

    1. On the Data Standard page, click Naming Dictionary in the left-side navigation pane. > The Field Standard and Lookup Table pages also have Import and Export buttons.

    2. Click Import to open the Import page and select the Import Type.

    3. In the Template Preview section, click Download Template and fill in the required fields.

    4. Click Next Step. On the Data Import tab, upload and preview the data file.

      If an object with the same name already exists in DataWorks, Import Mode lets you choose to skip that object or overwrite it with the content from the file.

    5. On the OK tab, review the import results. Click View More Details next to an entry to open its edit page. If the import fails, resolve the errors based on the details provided and import again.

    Batch export standards

    Export data standards to reuse them across different workspaces. The Export button is available on the details pages for Field Standards, Lookup Tables, and Naming Dictionaries.