4.3 Custom Column Handling

A FOCUS dataset consists of a set of columns that convey information about the records provided by a data generator. While FOCUS establishes the core structure and defines standardized FOCUS columns for consistent reporting, the diverse and evolving landscape of service providers and service offerings may require data generators to include custom columns in a FOCUS dataset.

The Custom Column Handling attribute defines column ID naming, formatting, and value requirements for custom columns appearing in a FOCUS dataset.

Each column describes an aspect of the record, including but not limited to:

• Who is responsible for or associated with the activity.
• What the record represents.
• When the activity occurred.
• Where the activity took place.
• Why the record exists or has specific values.
• How values are calculated or determined.

These additional columns enable deeper analysis and provide more detailed information that may not be fully captured by standard FOCUS columns. See the Dataset Completeness attribute for requirements on what custom columns to include.

Column conforming to CustomColumnHandling attribute MUST adhere to the following requirements:

• Custom column MUST adhere to the following Column ID naming requirements:
  • Custom column MUST include the x_ prefix in the Column ID to identify it as an external custom column and to distinguish it from FOCUS columns to avoid conflicts in future releases.
  • Custom column SHOULD use Pascal case in the portion of the Column ID following the required x_ prefix.
  • Custom column SHOULD use only alphanumeric characters in the portion of the Column ID following the required x_ prefix.
  • Custom column SHOULD NOT include special characters other than the underscore in the required x_ prefix.
  • Custom column SHOULD NOT use abbreviations other than Id in the Column ID.
  • Custom column SHOULD NOT use acronyms other than Sku in the Column ID.
  • Custom column SHOULD NOT exceed 50 characters in the Column ID to accommodate column length restrictions of various data repositories.
  • Custom column SHOULD include the Id suffix in the Column ID when the custom column represents an identifier.
  • Custom column SHOULD include the Name suffix in the Column ID when the custom column represents a name.
• Custom column SHOULD conform to DataGeneratorCalculatedSplitCostAllocationHandling requirements when the data generator supports data generator-calculated split cost allocation.
• Custom column SHOULD conform to NullHandling requirements.
• Custom column containing date/time values SHOULD conform to DateTimeFormat requirements.
• Custom column containing JSON objects MUST have its object schema documented by the data generator and accessible to practitioners.
• Custom column containing numeric values MUST contain a single numeric value.
• Custom column containing numeric values SHOULD conform to NumericFormat requirements.
• Custom column containing string values SHOULD conform to StringHandling requirements.
• Custom column representing a national currency SHOULD conform to CurrencyFormat requirements.
• Custom column representing a measurement unit SHOULD conform to UnitFormat requirements.

Column ID naming, formatting, and value requirements for custom columns appearing in a FOCUS dataset.