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Back data-need-002

Make entities identifiable in plain language

Satisfied

As a service builder, I need entities to be identifiable in plain language so that services can present information clearly, support user journeys, and avoid confusion caused by technical references alone.

Priority
medium
Status
proposed
Themes
data-principle
Actors
service-builder
Source
data-design

Justification

Justification just-0017

The current rule requires a `name` field on every dataset, giving services a consistent display label. This matters when planning decisions rely on human judgement and discussion rather than long identifiers. The rule is too broad at present. Datasets representing a user-recognisable entity or document should provide a human-readable name. Relationship and event datasets should normally derive their display label from referenced records or controlled values, rather than storing a duplicate `name` field. For example, a planning condition name lets services present conditions clearly instead of relying on codes alone, and a site name lets planners refer to the site in discussions and reports with less ambiguity. Conversely, a decision-condition record should normally display the name of its referenced planning condition, and a timeline record should display the controlled process event and its date. The rule should be refined to express this distinction between a stored name and a derived display label. Until then, it records a useful design intention, but should not be read as requiring an artificial `name` field on every dataset.

Satisfaction: full; Confidence: high

Satisfied by:

Rule:

{
  "applies_to": "dataset",
  "requires": [
    {
      "field": "name"
    }
  ]
}

See complete justification record: just-0017