The task
Scenario. Ops in one region tracks a balance as `cash_ledger`. Finance in another region calls the same balance `payments_settlement`. A new analyst gets asked to reconcile the two and can't tell if they're the same number under two names or genuinely different things. Nobody wants to be the person who merges two different metrics into one report.
The ask
- The existing definition of each term in its own system
- Whether they genuinely describe the same thing or only sound alike
- One governed term both resolve to, with a record of exactly what changed
Hero prompt
Check whether `cash_ledger` and `payments_settlement` describe the same underlying balance. If they do, link them under one glossary term so anyone searching either name gets the same governed answer.
Step by step
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Pull the first term's definition.
Search for <cash_ledger> as written in its own system and pull whatever definition or description already exists.
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Pull the second term's definition.
Do the same for <payments_settlement> in its own system.
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Compare to confirm they match.
Compare the two definitions and their underlying columns side by side; tell me whether they truly describe the same thing or only sound similar.
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Link both under one governed term.
Link both under a single governed glossary term so a search on either <cash_ledger> or <payments_settlement> resolves to one answer, then list exactly what you changed.
What you'll give it
Required context
- Both terms or field names, and the systems or schemas they come from
- Write access to the glossary, for the linking step
Optional context
- Whether the mismatch is a translation issue (different language, same concept) rather than a genuine naming divergence
- A stakeholder from each side who should be looped in before the merge is finalized
What Atlan creates
Outputs
- A documented alias or synonym relationship linking both terms to one glossary definition
- Or, if they turn out not to match, a written explanation of exactly how they differ
Summary. Anyone who searches `cash_ledger` or `payments_settlement` from now on lands on the same governed definition, instead of two people quietly reporting two different numbers under the same name.
This writes a new alias link (or an updated term description) into the glossary. It leaves the original two source fields untouched; only the governed definition layer changes.
Follow-up prompts
Keep going once the first answer lands.
Look for a third name
Check if any other system uses yet another name for this same balance.
Audit the whole glossary
Audit the whole glossary for likely duplicate concepts under different names.
Re-run after a migration
Re-run this after the next acquisition or system migration.
Tips & troubleshooting
The riskiest version of this isn't two names for the same thing, it's two names for two subtly different things that someone merges anyway. Don't skip the comparison step to save time.
- Match the client to the work.** Use a client that shows you the proposed link before it writes it; this is a governance decision, not a lookup, and you want to eyeball it first.
- Automate or chain it.** Run this against a running list of terms flagged as "possibly duplicate" during onboarding or a merger integration, instead of waiting for someone to notice by accident.
- Ask what it changed.** After it runs, ask it to list exactly which term was updated and which alias was added, so you have an audit trail of every reconciliation it made.