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| 1 | +# Recce Documentation Terminology Guide |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | +This guide helps maintain consistent, data-team-friendly language across all Recce documentation. |
| 4 | + |
| 5 | +## Core Philosophy |
| 6 | + |
| 7 | +**Data teams think data-first, code-second.** Our terminology should reflect their mental models and avoid software engineering jargon that creates confusion. |
| 8 | + |
| 9 | +## Preferred Terminology |
| 10 | + |
| 11 | +### Recce-Specific Terms |
| 12 | + |
| 13 | +| **Use This** | **Not This** | **Context** | |
| 14 | +|-------------|-------------|-------------| |
| 15 | +| **Recce instance** | Recce server, Recce app | The UI launched by `recce server` | |
| 16 | +| **data validation** | data testing, data quality checks | Primary concept for what Recce does | |
| 17 | +| **validation results** | diff output, comparison data | What users see in Recce | |
| 18 | +| **impact analysis** | dependency analysis, lineage | Understanding downstream effects | |
| 19 | +| **data changes** | code changes, model changes | What users are validating | |
| 20 | +| **validation workflow** | testing workflow, QA process | How teams use Recce | |
| 21 | +| **diff** | comparison, delta | Data teams familiar with git diff, use freely | |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | +### Data vs Software Terms |
| 24 | + |
| 25 | +| **Data Team Friendly** | **Software Term** | **Why Different** | |
| 26 | +|------------------------|-------------------|-------------------| |
| 27 | +| **data warehouse** | database | Data teams distinguish warehouses from operational databases | |
| 28 | +| **development stage** | environment | "Environment" confuses (warehouse vs dev/prod) | |
| 29 | +| **data models** | components | dbt models vs software components | |
| 30 | +| **release changes** | deploy | Data teams "release" changes, don't "deploy" infrastructure | |
| 31 | +| **validation checks** | unit tests | Data quality checks vs code functionality tests | |
| 32 | +| **automated validation** | CI/CD pipeline | Data processing vs deployment automation | |
| 33 | +| **change review** | code review | Reviewing data changes vs code changes | |
| 34 | +| **diff** | comparison | Data teams understand diff from git/version control | |
| 35 | + |
| 36 | +### Business Impact Language |
| 37 | + |
| 38 | +| **Business Focused** | **Technical Focused** | **Impact** | |
| 39 | +|---------------------|----------------------|------------| |
| 40 | +| **build trust** | ensure quality | Emphasizes outcome over process | |
| 41 | +| **catch issues early** | prevent bugs | Prevention focus, business consequences | |
| 42 | +| **confident releases** | successful deployments | User empowerment over technical success | |
| 43 | +| **team collaboration** | workflow integration | People-first over tool-first | |
| 44 | +| **validate changes** | test modifications | Active validation vs passive testing | |
| 45 | + |
| 46 | +## Terms That Confuse Data Teams |
| 47 | + |
| 48 | +### 🚨 High Confusion Terms |
| 49 | + |
| 50 | +**Environment** |
| 51 | +- **Data team thinks**: Snowflake vs BigQuery warehouse |
| 52 | +- **Software team thinks**: dev/staging/prod deployment target |
| 53 | +- **✅ Use instead**: "development stage" or "dbt target" |
| 54 | + |
| 55 | +**Deploy** |
| 56 | +- **Data team thinks**: Infrastructure deployment (not their job) |
| 57 | +- **Software team thinks**: Release code changes |
| 58 | +- **✅ Use instead**: "release changes" or "make live" |
| 59 | + |
| 60 | +**Pipeline** |
| 61 | +- **Data team thinks**: Data transformation workflow (dbt run) |
| 62 | +- **Software team thinks**: CI/CD automation workflow |
| 63 | +- **✅ Use instead**: "data pipeline" vs "automation workflow" |
| 64 | + |
| 65 | +**Testing** |
| 66 | +- **Data team thinks**: Data quality validation |
| 67 | +- **Software team thinks**: Unit/integration tests for code |
| 68 | +- **✅ Use instead**: "validation" or "data quality checks" |
| 69 | + |
| 70 | +### ⚠️ Medium Confusion Terms |
| 71 | + |
| 72 | +**Model** |
| 73 | +- **Data context**: dbt data model (SQL transformation) |
| 74 | +- **Software context**: Software component or data structure |
| 75 | +- **✅ Clarify**: Always use "dbt model" or "data model" |
| 76 | + |
| 77 | +**Schema** |
| 78 | +- **Data context**: Database schema (namespace for tables) |
| 79 | +- **Software context**: Data structure definition |
| 80 | +- **✅ Clarify**: "database schema" vs "data structure" |
| 81 | + |
| 82 | +**Target** |
| 83 | +- **Data context**: dbt profile target (dev/prod warehouse config) |
| 84 | +- **Software context**: Deployment target or goal |
| 85 | +- **✅ Clarify**: "dbt target" when referring to profiles.yml |
| 86 | + |
| 87 | +## Terminology Alert System |
| 88 | + |
| 89 | +When reviewing documentation, flag confusing terms with this format: |
| 90 | + |
| 91 | +``` |
| 92 | +⚠️ **Terminology Alert**: [TERM] |
| 93 | +- **Confusion risk**: [Why data teams might misunderstand] |
| 94 | +- **Current usage**: [How it appears in content] |
| 95 | +- **Suggested clarification**: [Better phrasing or explanation] |
| 96 | +- **Context needed**: [When to add explanation] |
| 97 | +``` |
| 98 | + |
| 99 | +### Examples |
| 100 | + |
| 101 | +``` |
| 102 | +⚠️ **Terminology Alert**: "Deploy your changes" |
| 103 | +- **Confusion risk**: Data teams think infrastructure deployment |
| 104 | +- **Current usage**: "Deploy your dbt changes to production" |
| 105 | +- **Suggested clarification**: "Release your data changes to production" |
| 106 | +- **Context needed**: Always in data change contexts |
| 107 | +``` |
| 108 | + |
| 109 | +``` |
| 110 | +⚠️ **Terminology Alert**: "Test environment" |
| 111 | +- **Confusion risk**: Could mean test warehouse vs test deployment stage |
| 112 | +- **Current usage**: "Run Recce in your test environment" |
| 113 | +- **Suggested clarification**: "Run Recce against your development data warehouse" |
| 114 | +- **Context needed**: When referring to data warehouse setup |
| 115 | +``` |
| 116 | + |
| 117 | +## Clarification Patterns |
| 118 | + |
| 119 | +### Pattern 1: Define on First Use |
| 120 | +```markdown |
| 121 | +Recce validates your **data changes** (modifications to dbt models, seeds, or configurations) before they impact production. |
| 122 | +``` |
| 123 | + |
| 124 | +### Pattern 2: Use Data Analogies |
| 125 | +```markdown |
| 126 | +Just like code reviews catch bugs before production, data validation catches issues before they affect business metrics. |
| 127 | +``` |
| 128 | + |
| 129 | +### Pattern 3: Contrast Software vs Data |
| 130 | +```markdown |
| 131 | +While software teams deploy applications, data teams release model changes to their warehouse. |
| 132 | +``` |
| 133 | + |
| 134 | +### Pattern 4: Add Contextual Clarifiers |
| 135 | +```markdown |
| 136 | +Configure your dbt target (the warehouse connection in profiles.yml) to point to your development environment. |
| 137 | +``` |
| 138 | + |
| 139 | +## Maintenance Guidelines |
| 140 | + |
| 141 | +### Adding New Terms |
| 142 | +When introducing new terminology: |
| 143 | +1. **Check for confusion potential** - Could data teams misunderstand? |
| 144 | +2. **Define immediately** - Explain on first use |
| 145 | +3. **Use consistently** - Same term for same concept throughout |
| 146 | +4. **Add to this guide** - Update the preferred terminology table |
| 147 | + |
| 148 | +### Regular Reviews |
| 149 | +- **Monthly**: Review user questions for terminology confusion |
| 150 | +- **Quarterly**: Update based on support feedback and user research |
| 151 | +- **Major releases**: Ensure new features use data-team-friendly language |
| 152 | + |
| 153 | +### Quality Checks |
| 154 | +Before publishing, verify: |
| 155 | +- [ ] **No undefined jargon** - All technical terms explained |
| 156 | +- [ ] **Consistent usage** - Same term used throughout |
| 157 | +- [ ] **Data team perspective** - Language matches their mental models |
| 158 | +- [ ] **Context provided** - Clarification when terms could be ambiguous |
| 159 | + |
| 160 | +## Quick Reference: Common Replacements |
| 161 | + |
| 162 | +| **Instead of...** | **Use...** | **Context** | |
| 163 | +|------------------|------------|-------------| |
| 164 | +| "Deploy changes" | "Release changes" | Data modifications | |
| 165 | +| "Test your models" | "Validate your models" | Data quality checking | |
| 166 | +| "Environment setup" | "Warehouse connection setup" | Database configuration | |
| 167 | +| "CI/CD pipeline" | "Automated validation workflow" | Recce automation | |
| 168 | +| "Unit tests" | "Model validation checks" | dbt testing | |
| 169 | +| "Production deployment" | "Production release" | Making changes live | |
| 170 | +| "Development environment" | "Development warehouse" | Where you develop | |
| 171 | +| "Code review" | "Change review" | Reviewing data modifications | |
| 172 | + |
| 173 | +--- |
| 174 | + |
| 175 | +**Remember**: When in doubt, choose the term that a data analyst (not a software engineer) would immediately understand. Clarity builds trust and reduces barriers to adoption. |
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