Business names

Business names for data entities and dataset fields — operator-assigned alternative names that surface alongside the original technical names everywhere the entity is rendered.

Datasets and dataset fields ingested from a source system carry their technical names (fct_orders_v2, cust_id_pk, txn_dt) — names chosen by whoever built the source schema, often unfit for the cross-team operator and analyst audience that consumes the catalog. ODD lets operators assign business names alongside the technical name: an alternative human-readable label that surfaces everywhere the entity is shown, while the original technical name persists below as a reference wherever the entity carries one.

The technical name stays as-is in lineage edges, ODDRNs, and the underlying source — the business name is purely a presentation-layer alias on the catalog surface.

Setting a business name on a data entity

Step 1. On any data entity's detail page, click the Add Business Name button.

Step 2. Enter the preferred name in the Business Name field and confirm.

Step 3. The newly-assigned business name renders prominently as the entity's display name. When the entity also carries a source-ingested technical name, that original name persists below the new name as an inline reference, so anyone looking at the entity can see both. A manually-created entity has no separate technical name, so it shows only the business name with no Original line beneath it.

The Add / Edit business-name button is hidden on entities whose status is DELETED. When an entity is in the DELETED status the entity-level business-name affordance disappears entirely — there is no disabled-button state and no banner explaining why it is gone. An operator who expects to rename a deleted entity simply sees no button. Restore the entity to a non-deleted status to regain the affordance.

Setting a business name on a dataset field (column)

The same workflow applies at the column level. Open the dataset's Structure tab, find the column to rename, and follow the same Add Business Name flow:

The dataset's Structure tab renders the business name as the primary column label and the technical name as a secondary line — same pattern as the entity-level rename.

Where business names appear

Once set, the business name is the primary display label everywhere the entity (or the field) is rendered:

• On the entity's own detail page (Overview, Structure, Lineage, Test reports, Alerts, Query Examples, Activity, Discussions tabs).

• In Search result rows and the per-entity tile on the Catalog Overview.

• In the Directory drill-down (level-4 entity list).

• In lineage graphs (per-node label).

• In any catalog surface that renders the entity name.

The technical name is preserved underneath for any entity that carries one (a manually-created entity has no separate technical name to show) — operators looking for an entity by either name can find it; analysts reading the catalog see the friendlier label.

RBAC

Setting a business name on a data entity is gated by DATA_ENTITY_INTERNAL_NAME_UPDATE and records a BUSINESS_NAME_UPDATED event on the Activity Feed. Setting a business name on a dataset field (a column) is gated by DATASET_FIELD_INTERNAL_NAME_UPDATE and records a DATASET_FIELD_INTERNAL_NAME_UPDATED event — a different event type. An operator filtering the Activity Feed by BUSINESS_NAME_UPDATED alone sees entity renames but silently misses every column rename; filter on both event types to audit all business-name changes.

For the full permission list, see Permissions.

Where to next

• Data entity detail page — the per-entity surface where the business-name affordance lives in the detail-page header.

• Activity Feed — the audit trail of business-name changes: BUSINESS_NAME_UPDATED (entity) and DATASET_FIELD_INTERNAL_NAME_UPDATED (column).

• Permissions — DATA_ENTITY_INTERNAL_NAME_UPDATE + DATASET_FIELD_INTERNAL_NAME_UPDATE.

• Search and Filtering — where renamed entities surface (search matches against both the technical name and the business name).

• Data Discovery overview — the bucket landing this page sits under.