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What should data documentation include for a small company?
Good documentation covers where each dataset comes from, what each table and column means, how key metrics are calculated, how often data refreshes, who owns it and any known quirks. Keep it short, current and stored where the team can find it.
A minimum useful set:
- A list of source systems and how they connect.
- A data dictionary with plain-English column definitions.
- Metric definitions, for example how revenue, margin or active customer is calculated.
- A diagram of how tables relate.
- Runbook notes on what to do when a refresh fails.
Documentation that lives next to the code, as in dbt, is easier to keep updated than a separate document. Outdated documentation is worse than none, so assign an owner.
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