Data Documentation
Data documentation is the practice of creating and maintaining comprehensive, structured information about datasets, including their source, structure, content, quality, and usage. It involves documenting metadata, data dictionaries, data lineage, and business context to ensure data is understandable, trustworthy, and usable by stakeholders. This process is essential for data governance, reproducibility, and collaboration in data-driven projects.
Developers should learn and use data documentation to improve data quality, facilitate collaboration, and ensure regulatory compliance in data-intensive applications. It is critical in scenarios like building data pipelines, developing machine learning models, or creating data warehouses, where clear documentation helps prevent errors, speeds up onboarding, and supports data auditing and lineage tracking.