Keep dimension names simple and intuitive.
| Example | Recommended Name | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Department | ✅ Department | ❌ Dept_Name |
| Country | ✅ Country | ❌ Ctry / Nation |
| Fiscal Year | ✅ Fiscal Year | ❌ FY2024_Field |
💡 Tip: Avoid abbreviations unless they’re universally understood in your organization.
Use mapping tables to unify categorical labels.
Example: Align “US,” “USA,” and “United States” under a single standard value.
This prevents duplicate categories and ensures that dashboards aggregate data correctly.
Limit the number of dimensions in each database to what’s meaningful for reporting.
Too many granular categories (e.g., “Employee ID” as a dimension) can make dashboards slower and harder to interpret.
Dimensions like Date, Region, Department, and Product are common anchors for analysis.
Reusing them across multiple databases enables seamless drill-downs and unified reporting views.
Dimensions can drift over time if data sources change.