What are Naming Conventions for Cognos Planning D-List?  If you have ever taken the Cognos Analyst training class then you are familiar with the numbering conventions used for D-Lists:

1-Calculations
2-Hierarchical
3-No Calculations
4-Timescale
5-Versions

The idea behind this is that when creating a D-Cube you create it putting the D-List in order of 1-5. This helps in priority conflicts of formulas and formats. Plus, when you browse the library the D-Lists are sorted by the type of D-List. Easy Right? Maybe yes, Maybe no. The naming convention is open to interpretation. If I have a D-List for Years and it has no calculations, is it a 4 or a 3? What about  a D-List that has Current Year Budget, Prior Year Actual, and a variance between Current Year Budget and Prior Year Actual. Is this a 5 since it has versions or is it a 1 since there is a calculation? What about a D-List that was a 3 but I’ve recently included a subtotal in the D-List do I need to go back and rename this to a 2?

The numbering method works great in a training class environment to help us learn the dimension order when creating the D-Cubes. After we learn the order, do we really need to number our dimensions?

Another Naming Convention Method that can be used is to prefix the D-List with an abbreviation related to the function of the D-Cube it is. For example:

P-Payroll
C-Capital
R-Revenue
P-P&L
G-General.
B-Balance Sheet

If a D-List contains calculations such as an IF THEN statement or uses BiFs then put Calc at the end of the Description.  For Example: P-Payroll Calc.  Since the D-List has Calc at the end, most likely it will be the first dimension in the cube. Using the prefixes, the D-Lists will be placed in order by function type. The cube order should be Calculation D-Lists first, Elist second, other D-Lists, Timescales, & Versions.

Keep in mind if you are using Planning 8.4, Contributor now shows the name of the dimension. In prior versions, Contributor  users were unable to see the D-List name but in 8.4 the Dimension name is now shown. Be careful what you name your D-Lists having a Dimension name such as “Dummy Version” may get questions from the users.