Document the Naming Convention for a Project

A Policy Model Naming Conventions document should be created at the start of every Policy Modeling project to clearly set out a consistent method of wording attribute text and allocating attribute names.

• Consistent wording of attribute text is critical because automatic linking will only work when attributes are an exact text match (or an exact match with the negative text form). If different rule developers use different attribute text when creating separate chunks of rules, the attributes will not tie together. The Policy Model Naming Conventions document should define which nouns will be capitalized in attribute text and whether particular acronyms are necessary.
• Consistent and coordinated allocation of attribute names is critical because attribute names are used to integrate the policy model with external applications, and it is essential that data items required by the application developers have the names agreed on in the design documents. The Policy Model Naming Conventions document should cover any conventions used for attribute names, such as whether related attribute names all commence with the same string, and how the entity an attribute belongs to is to be reflected in the attribute name.

For more information on recommended Policy Modeling project procedures, see Plan and Manage a Project.