How to Create a Business Glossary? Breaking Down The Steps

Last Updated on: May 05th, 2023, Published on: May 05th, 2023

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Creating a business glossary is an essential step toward ensuring that all stakeholders in your organization have a clear understanding of the terminology, data definitions, and data lineage. Moreover, this will improve communication, reduce misunderstandings, and facilitate better decision-making.

Table of contents

  1. How to create a business glossary? Breaking down the steps
  2. Business glossary templates: Examples to help you get started
  3. Books and online resources to learn about business glossaries
  4. Rounding it all up
  5. How to create a business glossary: Related reads

How to create a business glossary? Breaking down the steps

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to get started with creating a business glossary:

1. Identify your stakeholders


Determine who will be involved in the creation and maintenance of the business glossary. This could include representatives from the data, engineering, and Salesforce teams, as well as other relevant departments. Make sure that these stakeholders are committed to the project and understand its importance.

2. Define your scope


Decide on the scope of the business glossary. This will likely include key terms and concepts related to travel & finance management, as well as any specific terms used by your organization. You can start with a smaller scope and expand it over time.

3. Collect and compile terms


Gather a list of terms and concepts that need to be included in the business glossary. You can source these from existing documentation, such as data dictionaries, data models, and process flows, as well as by interviewing subject matter experts within your organization.

4. Define the terms


Collaborate with your stakeholders to provide clear, concise definitions for each term. These definitions should be easily understood by both technical and non-technical users. Make sure to include any relevant context, such as how the term is used within the organization or in the industry.

5. Establish a governance process


Develop a process for maintaining and updating the business glossary. This should include guidelines for adding new terms, updating existing definitions, and removing outdated terms. The governance process should also outline roles and responsibilities, such as who can propose changes and who has the authority to approve them.

6. Choose a platform


Select a platform or tool to host your business glossary. This can be a dedicated glossary tool, a data catalog, or a simple wiki or document management system. Ensure that the platform is easily accessible to all stakeholders and allows for versioning and tracking changes.

7. Populate the glossary


Enter the terms and their definitions into the chosen platform. Make sure that the information is well-organized and easy to navigate. Consider using categories or tags to group related terms.

8. Communicate and train


Inform all relevant stakeholders about the existence of the business glossary and provide training on how to use it. Encourage everyone to refer to the glossary whenever they encounter unfamiliar terms or need clarification on definitions.

9. Maintain and update


Regularly review and update the business glossary to keep it current and accurate. Encourage stakeholders to provide feedback and suggest changes as needed.

By following these steps, you’ll create a comprehensive and well-maintained business glossary that serves as a valuable resource for everyone in your organization.

Business glossary templates: Examples to help you get started

Here are a few examples of business glossary templates to help guide you in creating your own. Each template provides a different approach to organizing and presenting terms and definitions.

Let’s dive in!

1. Simple spreadsheet template


A basic spreadsheet template can be a good starting point for a business glossary. You can use software like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.

TermDefinitionCategoryLast UpdatedUpdated By
Cost CenterA business unit responsible for managing and tracking costs.Finance2023-05-01John Doe
Net RevenueTotal revenue minus the cost of goods sold.Finance2023-04-28Jane Smith
Booking ClassA code used to categorize airline tickets by price & rules.Travel2023-04-25Mike Brown

2. Wiki-style template


A wiki-style template can be used if you prefer a more narrative approach to presenting terms and definitions. This can be created using tools like Confluence or an internal wiki system.

Cost Center

  • Category: Finance
  • Definition: A business unit responsible for managing and tracking costs.
  • Last Updated: 2023-05-01
  • Updated By: John Doe

Net Revenue

  • Category: Finance
  • Definition: Total revenue minus the cost of goods sold.
  • Last Updated: 2023-04-28
  • Updated By: Jane Smith

Booking Class

  • Category: Travel
  • Definition: A code used to categorize airline tickets by price & rules.
  • Last Updated: 2023-04-25
  • Updated By: Mike Brown

3. Data catalog or dedicated glossary tool


Data catalogs or dedicated glossary tools often come with built-in templates and features to help create and maintain a business glossary. These tools often provide search functionality, category organization, and version control.

Keep in mind that the chosen template should fit your organization’s needs and preferences. It should be easily accessible, simple to navigate, and allow for efficient maintenance and updates.

Scaling the most practical business glossary template

Out of the three above-mentioned templates, the most scalable and actively maintained option would be using a data catalog or a dedicated glossary tool.

These tools are specifically designed for managing business glossaries and metadata, providing several advantages:

1. Scalability


As your organization grows and the number of terms increases, these tools can handle the expanding volume of data without performance issues.

2. Advanced features


Dedicated glossary tools often come with built-in features like search functionality, version control, customizable categorization, and access controls, which make it easier to manage and maintain the glossary.

3. Collaboration


These tools allow multiple users to contribute to the glossary, suggest changes, and review updates, which promotes collaboration and helps keep the glossary current.

4. Integration


Many data catalog and glossary tools can integrate with other data management systems, making it easier to align your business glossary with your organization’s data architecture.

While spreadsheet and wiki-style templates can be effective for smaller organizations or those with fewer terms, they may become more challenging to manage as the volume of data grows. Dedicated glossary tools offer a more robust and scalable solution that can better support the long-term needs of your organization.

Books and online resources to learn about business glossaries

Here are some books and resources that can help you learn more about business glossaries and how to create them:

Books


  1. ”Data Governance: How to Design, Deploy and Sustain an Effective Data Governance Program” by John Ladley: This book provides a comprehensive guide to data governance, which includes a section on creating business glossaries.
  2. ”The Data Catalog: Sherlock Holmes’ Data Sleuthing Adventures” by Bonnie O’Neil and Lowell Fryman: This book covers data catalog concepts, which can help you understand how to create and maintain a business glossary within a data catalog.
  3. ”Data Management for Researchers: Organize, maintain and share your data for research success” by Kristin Briney: This book provides an overview of data management concepts, including data documentation and metadata, which are relevant to creating a business glossary.

Online Resources


  1. DAMA International (Data Management Association) - The DAMA website offers various resources on data management topics, including business glossaries. Consider becoming a member to access their library of resources, webinars, and the Data Management Body of Knowledge (DMBOK).
  2. TDAN (The Data Administration Newsletter) - This online publication provides articles and resources on various data management topics, including business glossaries and data governance.
  3. **Data Governance Professionals Organization - The DGPO is a membership-based organization focused on data governance, offering resources, webinars, and events that can help you learn more about business glossaries.
  4. Online forums and communities - Platforms like LinkedIn and Reddit have dedicated groups or subreddits (such as r/datagovernance) where you can connect with other professionals, ask questions, and share resources related to business glossaries and data governance.

These books and resources should provide you with a solid foundation to learn about business glossaries and best practices for creating and maintaining them.

Rounding it all up

Creating a business glossary is crucial to ensure clear communication, reduce misunderstandings, and facilitate better decision-making. To create a comprehensive glossary, you must identify your stakeholders, define the scope, collect and compile terms, define the terms, establish a governance process, choose a platform, populate the glossary, communicate and train, and maintain and update the glossary regularly.

A simple spreadsheet, wiki-style template, or a dedicated glossary tool are different options to create and maintain a business glossary. The selected template should be easily accessible, simple to navigate, and allow for efficient maintenance and updates. Regularly review and update the business glossary to keep it current and accurate.

If you are evaluating a business glossary tool for your team, do take Atlan for a spin - Atlan is more than a business glossary solution, it is a collaborative metadata management and data catalog tool that enables a shared understanding of data.

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