Keys to documenting ETL processes
Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2025 5:34 am
Documenting ETL processes is essential to have a clear and complete view of the work carried out during its implementation. In this post we guide you through the key points to take into account to properly document an ETL project.
We can document ETL processes , that is, those carried out with an extraction, transformation and loading (ETL) tool after their design and implementation, or do so simultaneously, either by opting for the native tool, since each project is self-documenting, or by using a different one.
In any case, when documenting ETL processes it is essential to reflect the heart of the project, which implies producing a clear and well-structured report , which will be delivered to the client so that they have proof of the final work carried out, and, on the other hand, it will also be very useful to facilitate its maintenance and carry out continuous improvement.
ETL Processes: The Basis of Business Intelligence
How to document ETL processes?
There is no standard or commonly accepted moj database that we can follow to document the ETL process and its logic in practice and, in fact, in many cases this task is not even carried out. However, it is necessary to carry it out if we want to have documentation that reflects the development and result of the project, carried out in an illustrative way, and complementing the implemented process itself.
Basically, there are a number of key issues that we should consider when documenting ETL processes in the best possible way. These are the following:
Flexible methodology. The aforementioned absence of a standard or methodology allows us to find our own way of documenting ETL processes . In addition to the utilities provided by the tool used, there are different methods that can help us visualize the implemented ETL, such as the concept of value chain mapping or VSM (Value Stream Mapping ), which will make it possible to use that same visualization as documentation or as part of it, within a more complete report.
Metadata, a good help. Considering that documentation is somehow implicit in the metadata of the ETL itself, it must be considered that a good implementation allows to visualize the processes at once. Thus, at the end of the project, it should be possible to visualize graphically the flow that the data follows and use it as basic information to document the movement of the data , adding an introduction and specifying the input and output flows in an ETL process.
We can document ETL processes , that is, those carried out with an extraction, transformation and loading (ETL) tool after their design and implementation, or do so simultaneously, either by opting for the native tool, since each project is self-documenting, or by using a different one.
In any case, when documenting ETL processes it is essential to reflect the heart of the project, which implies producing a clear and well-structured report , which will be delivered to the client so that they have proof of the final work carried out, and, on the other hand, it will also be very useful to facilitate its maintenance and carry out continuous improvement.
ETL Processes: The Basis of Business Intelligence
How to document ETL processes?
There is no standard or commonly accepted moj database that we can follow to document the ETL process and its logic in practice and, in fact, in many cases this task is not even carried out. However, it is necessary to carry it out if we want to have documentation that reflects the development and result of the project, carried out in an illustrative way, and complementing the implemented process itself.
Basically, there are a number of key issues that we should consider when documenting ETL processes in the best possible way. These are the following:
Flexible methodology. The aforementioned absence of a standard or methodology allows us to find our own way of documenting ETL processes . In addition to the utilities provided by the tool used, there are different methods that can help us visualize the implemented ETL, such as the concept of value chain mapping or VSM (Value Stream Mapping ), which will make it possible to use that same visualization as documentation or as part of it, within a more complete report.
Metadata, a good help. Considering that documentation is somehow implicit in the metadata of the ETL itself, it must be considered that a good implementation allows to visualize the processes at once. Thus, at the end of the project, it should be possible to visualize graphically the flow that the data follows and use it as basic information to document the movement of the data , adding an introduction and specifying the input and output flows in an ETL process.