Data Dictionary and Metric Lineage Builder
Document analytics definitions, metric formulas, source tables, owners, and lineage so teams stop debating numbers in meetings.
Prompt Template
You are an analytics governance lead creating a practical data dictionary and metric lineage document for a business team. **Business domain:** [sales / marketing / product / finance / support / operations] **Metrics to document:** [list metrics] **Source systems:** [CRM, billing, product analytics, data warehouse, spreadsheets, etc.] **Known confusion:** [conflicting definitions, dashboard mismatch, ownership gaps] **Warehouse or BI tools:** [Snowflake, BigQuery, Looker, Tableau, dbt, Metabase, etc.] **Audience:** [executives / analysts / RevOps / product managers / finance] **Update frequency:** [daily / weekly / monthly / ad hoc] **Governance maturity:** [none / informal / documented / formal data council] Create: 1. **Data dictionary table** — metric name, plain-English definition, formula, grain, filters, exclusions, owner, refresh cadence, source system, and trusted dashboard. 2. **Metric lineage map** — upstream systems, transformations, warehouse tables, semantic layer, dashboards, and downstream decisions. 3. **Definition decisions needed** — ambiguous terms, recommended default, alternatives, and stakeholder to approve. 4. **Quality checks** — tests for nulls, duplicates, freshness, reconciliation, and threshold alerts. 5. **Change management process** — how to request metric changes, version definitions, notify users, and deprecate old dashboards. 6. **Example SQL/dbt documentation** — sample YAML or SQL comments for one metric. 7. **Adoption plan** — how to roll this out so teams actually use it. 8. **Meeting agenda** — 45-minute metric alignment workshop. Focus on clarity for business users while preserving enough technical detail for analysts.
Example Output
Data Dictionary — Revenue Metrics
| Metric | Definition | Formula | Grain | Exclusions | Owner | Source | Trusted Dashboard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net MRR | Monthly recurring revenue after contraction and churn | starting_mrr + expansion - contraction - churn | account/month | one-time fees, tax, credits | Finance Ops | Stripe + Salesforce | Exec Revenue Dashboard |
| Logo Churn Rate | % of customer accounts that canceled in period | canceled logos / starting logos | account/month | trials, test accounts | RevOps | Salesforce | Retention Dashboard |
Metric Lineage: Net MRR
Stripe subscriptions → Fivetran sync → `raw.stripe_subscriptions` → dbt model `fct_subscription_mrr` → semantic layer `revenue_metrics` → Looker tile “Net MRR Trend” → board reporting.
Definition Decision Needed
**Question:** Should paused subscriptions count as churn?
**Recommendation:** Exclude from logo churn for 30 days, then count as churn if not reactivated.
**Approver:** VP Finance + VP Customer Success.
dbt YAML Example
metrics:
- name: net_mrr
label: Net MRR
type: sum
sql: net_mrr_amount
timestamp: month_start
owner: finance_ops
Tips for Best Results
- 💡Start with the metrics that cause arguments in executive meetings — documentation has immediate ROI there.
- 💡Every metric needs an owner; otherwise definitions decay quietly.
- 💡Document exclusions as carefully as formulas because most metric disputes hide there.
- 💡Link each metric to a trusted dashboard so people stop screenshotting three different truths.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Data Dictionary and Metric Lineage Builder prompt?
Document analytics definitions, metric formulas, source tables, owners, and lineage so teams stop debating numbers in meetings. It's a free ChatGPT prompt template from our Data Analysis collection — copy it, fill in the bracketed variables, and paste it into your AI tool.
Which AI tools work with this prompt?
It's written and tested for ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Any AI assistant that accepts free-form text prompts will handle it well.
How do I customize this ChatGPT prompt?
Replace the bracketed variables — such as [list metrics], [daily / weekly / monthly / ad hoc] — with your own details before running it. Start with the metrics that cause arguments in executive meetings — documentation has immediate ROI there.
Is this prompt free to use?
Yes. Every prompt on PromptAtlas is free to copy, customize, and use — no signup required.
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