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Not for use or disclosure outside the AT&T companies
except under written agreement
AT&T Enterprise Data Warehouse Page 
Data Warehouse Data Naming Standard
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The AT&T Corporate Data Naming Standard (CDNS)1 is the foundation of the EDW Data Naming
Standard. This Standard is an extension to the CDNS to help the Data Modelers, Data Specialist,
and DBAs determine consistent names used in the EDW across projects. The EDW Data Naming
Standard is the implementation of the CDNS along with the extensions of the EDW Data Naming
Standard.

All new data elements in the EDW are required to follow the EDW Data Naming Standard.

¦ If a table does not exist and has to be created, the standard is followed in naming the
table and all columns within that table.
¦ If a table does exist but a column is added to that table the standard is applied to naming
that new column.
¦ Applying the EDW Data Naming Standard to pre-existing data elements is not expected.
¦ If a new table is a mirror of an existing table, it is considered to be a new table and the
standard should be followed in naming the table and columns.

Below is how EDW is implementing this standard.

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Data Warehouse logical model data names (Standard English Names (SEN)) will be assigned by
the Data Modeler based on the definition of the data element and will follow the EDW Data
Naming Standard. The entity and attribute names in the logical model must be fully spelled out.
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Data Warehouse physical data element name (Standard Technical Alias (STA)) has a 30
character limit. The STA ends in a class word that is always abbreviated. Naming of tables and
columns should result in names that use the keywords and/or their standard abbreviations listed
in the EDW Keyword List. Acronyms that are globally recognized across all of the AT&T
companies (and listed in the EDW Approved Acronym List) should be used in place of the fully
spelled out phrase (for example, use BTN for Billing Telephone Number). When adding new
columns to an existing table the Data Modeler and the Data Analyst should pattern the new
names to be consistent with the existing names within that table. However, all words,
abbreviations, and acronyms MUST come from either the Keyword list or the EDW Approved
Acronym list. Compaction of already abbreviated keywords should be avoided by removing
keywords from the name when possible. Compacted abbreviations should not be used in column
or table names just because another column or table had to compact the keyword abbreviation.

For example:

Table ³A´ needs the following three data elements.

1. Customer_Alternate_Billing_Account_Address CD, 45 Characters

2. Customer_Alternate_Billing_Account_Address_Line_Status_Ind, 58 characters

3. Customer_Affiliate_Account_Nbr. 30 Characters
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1
A copy of the AT&T Corporate Data Naming Standard is available on the web page
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2
Global acronyms are used in the STA but not in the SEN.



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AT&T Enterprise Data Warehouse Page r
Data Warehouse Data Naming Standard
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To make the names fit and to encourage conformity the names are shortened using the Keyword
Standard Abbreviation list. The column names now look like this:

1. CUST_ALT_BLG_ACCT_ADDR_CD 25 Characters long

c 33 Characters long

3. CUST_AFFILIATE_ACCT_NBR 23 Characters long

Unfortunately, after abbreviating all the keywords in column number 2, the name is still too long.
The recommended solution is to remove keywords from the name to shorten it. The design team
will need to determine which word(s) can be removed. If LINE is removed the name fits within the
30 character limitation.

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If it is determined that a word from the element name cannot be removed and certain keywords
need to be compacted (this is discussed in the Corporate Data Naming Standard.) the other
columns will NOT compact their column names because of this one column.
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For example, column 2 had to compact CUST, ACCT, and ADDR to shorten the column name to
30 characters. Column 3 uses the standard abbreviations CUST and ACCT (even though the
fully spelled names fit within the 30-character limit) in order to maintain consistency with the
primary usage of these keywords within the table. Columns 1 & 3 use the standard abbreviations
while column 2 compacts some keywords.

1. CUST_ALT_BLG_ACCT_ADDR_CD 25 Characters long

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3. CUST_AFFILIATE_ACCT_NBR 23 Characters long

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All elements that represent the same piece of data should be named consistently across all tables
using the same keyword and keyword modifiers. For instance, if a code representing a state
(STATE_CD) is present in multiple tables, it should always be named STATE_CD. In some
cases the corresponding STATE reference table will not be present in the model where the
STATE_CD should exist as the key. Although the reference table does not exist in the model, the
element should still be named STATE_CD because it really belongs to the STATE entity.
In some instances the data element name may have the proper keywords and keyword modifiers
but the name still does not follow the EDW Data Naming Standard because a class word may
need to be added to the name. For example, a dollar amount in a data element called a
FINANCIAL_ACCOUNT in existing tables has both a keyword of ACCOUNT and a keyword
modifier of FINANCIAL. However, this data element name is still not compliant to the standard
because it needs a class word. By the name we cannot tell if this is an amount, code, or identifier.
In this example the data element name would change to ACCOUNT_TYPE_AMT. The Data
Specialist should be consulted to determine the appropriate class word.

Elements that represent the same piece of data being integrated across subsidiaries should be
named consistently across all tables using the same keyword and keyword modifiers. In some
instances where the name does not follow the EDW Data Naming Standard a class word may
need to be added to the name. If an element already exists, the column name associated to that
element should be used unless it is poorly named, is misleading or does not follow the EDW Data
Naming Standards. There is more than one way to determine if an element exists within the
EDW; see Appendix B for further details. If it is determined that an existing name does not



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AT&T Enterprise Data Warehouse Page 
Data Warehouse Data Naming Standard
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properly reflect the data, a new element should be named more appropriately. The existing poorly
named element should be evaluated to determine if its name should be changed. The evaluation
should include the effect the change will have on existing Data Warehouse applications and
clients. If there are multiple names for an element on the EDW, choose the element that follows
the EDW Data Naming Standards.
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This keyword/abbreviation list search will query the AT&T keyword/abbreviation lists for matching
words typed in the search screen. The result set will contain the keyword/abbreviation if it exists
on the lists.3.

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3
The AT&T Keyword list is a slimmed down version of the combined Ameritech, Pacbell, SWBT, and SNET
keyword lists.



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AT&T Enterprise Data Warehouse Page X
Data Warehouse Data Naming Standard
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The class word describes the basic kind of data. Examples are NAME, CODE, TEXT, and
INDICATOR. There is a class word List, which describes each class word. You should consult the
list to determine the appropriate word for the data you are naming. You will not know the right
class word to use without looking at the list; it¶s not obvious.

The prime word describes what the data is about. Examples of prime words are EMPLOYEE
name, CUSTOMER name, VENDOR name, and ORDER number.

Add modifiers to make the name more meaningful and unique (for example, ENGINEERING
employee name, employee LAST name).

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Existing data elements in the EDW will NOT have to be renamed to conform to the CDNS.

In the EDW, the CDNS will be implemented as written along with the EDW Data Naming
Standards for all new data elements. This includes appending class words to all data attribute
and column names, using the keyword list for acceptable keywords to name data elements, and
when necessary, using standard abbreviations per the abbreviation list (see topic: 


above).
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Global acronyms are usually acceptable column abbreviations to attribute names. If the last letter
of the acronym is the first letter of a class word, there is no need to affix an additional class word
to that column (e.g., USOC, BAN). However, if the last letter of the acronym is not a class word in
the attribute name, then a class word is required. A list of EDW approved acronyms is
documented in the EDW Approved Acronym List.
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AT&T Enterprise Data Warehouse Page '
Data Warehouse Data Naming Standard
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Data Warehouse Data Naming Standard
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There are two methods available for determining if an element already exists on the EDW. The
first is to query the DBMS dictionary on the EDW Production (EDWP) platform. For example, to
determine the existing columns that have a string value of "DIV", use the following query:

SELECT COLUMNNAME, COUNT(*)

FROM DBC.COLUMNS
WHERE COLUMNNAME LIKE '%DIV%'
AND DATABASENAME IN
('SERVICE_ORDER','CUSTOMER','PRODUCTS','MARKETING','USAGE','BILLING','
FINANCE','NETWORK',¶CORP¶,'REFERENCE')
AND COLUMNFORMAT IS NOT NULL
GROUP BY COLUMNNAME
ORDER BY COUNT(*) DESC, COLUMNNAME

This query also returns the total number of columns for each data element that contains "DIV" in
its name.

The second method for determining if a name already exists makes use of the metadata search
facility found on the EDW web page. A search can be conducted against the EDW tables to
determine if a name or partial name (for example, "DIV") exists. Modifying the EDW web page to
include an indicator for the preferred data element name is being looked into. When the indicator
is on, any element being added will use the preferred name.



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