Using Your Development Environment › Setting Up the User Environment › Fields

Fields

Field names should be complete words or abbreviations that are a concise, meaningful definition of the field. Following are some suggestions for creating field names:

• The format should be object name + field type:
  • The object name should be words or abbreviations separated by spaces.
  • The field type is optional and should describe the type of data stored in the field. The field type is useful when the type is not evident from the object name. For example, Date might be Statement Date.
• Develop a method to capitalize consistently. For example, capitalize the first letter of the first word, or the first letter of each meaningful word.
• Develop standard abbreviations that conform to site vocabulary. For example, you could use "CUST" for customer or "PROD" for product.
• Develop rules for naming common status field types. For example, status fields used as binary flags should be referenced to a single status field with the conditions Yes or No.
• Set up base fields for all common field types and reference these fields by most other field types. This convention helps to ensure uniformity and allows changes to be made more efficiently. To place base fields at the top of the list, preface them with the letter A. Name base fields to reflect the field attributes. For example, A yes or no (Y|N) status or A Text Desc 30.
• When you create the field, add narrative text. Add functional narrative to describe the field to designers, and if applicable, add operational narrative to describe the field to end users. Use a standard template.

  Keep in mind the effect of the narrative on help text. If you enter operational text, it becomes the help text for the field; however, if you enter only functional text, it becomes the help text.

• To facilitate panel generation, set appropriate column headings for each field.
• Where sequencing is necessary, sequence numbers by five.