Skip to main content

Business Terms

RightSight User Guide  ·  Module 3 of 14

Business Terms (Business Terms) v7.6 beta

Build and maintain your enterprise business glossary with AI-powered term generation, hierarchy views, and knowledge graph visualization.

Overview

The Business Terms module (also called Business Terms) is the enterprise glossary where you define, manage, and govern business terms. Each term captures a standardized business definition, ownership, classification, and associated data quality rules.

Target Persona: Data Stewards, Business Analysts, Data Governance leads.

Prerequisites: Domains should be configured first (optional but recommended); RightSight license.

How This Module Helps

Business Terms are the semantic layer of your data governance program. They provide: - A shared vocabulary across the organization — everyone agrees on what "Revenue" or "Customer ID" means - Automatic column tagging — link column patterns to terms so new tables are auto-classified - DQ rule anchoring — rules are attached to terms, so quality is measured at the business concept level - Governance hierarchy — terms roll up to domains, feeding the Enterprise Trust Map

Connects To Relationship
Domains Each term is assigned to a domain
Reusable Rule Repository Terms have DQ rules linked to them
Metadata Analysis Scan-tagged columns reference terms
DQ Command Center Term-level DQ scores
Enterprise Trust Map Terms are nodes in the trust hierarchy
Method Path
Sidebar Observability → RightSight → Business Terms
URL /business-terms
Wizard Augmented DQ Config → Step 2 (Business Terms)
Deep link /business-terms?termId=<id> opens the edit drawer for a specific term

Features & Workflows

1. KPI Dashboard

Six KPI cards at the top provide instant metrics:

KPI Description Click Action
Total Terms Total count of all terms Clears filters
Active Terms with status = Active Filters to active terms
Pending Terms awaiting review Filters to pending terms
Inactive Deactivated terms Filters to inactive terms
AI-Generated Terms created by AI/Harvest Filters by AI source
Manual Terms created manually Filters by manual source
KPI dashboard cards
Figure 1: KPI dashboard cards

2. View Modes

Three view modes available via the toggle group:

Switching Views

  1. Locate the View toggle (List ▪ Hierarchy ▪ Graph).
View mode toggle
Figure 2: View mode toggle
  1. Click Hierarchy to see terms organized by domain.
Hierarchy view
Figure 3: Hierarchy view
  1. Click Graph to see the interactive knowledge graph.
Knowledge graph view
Figure 4: Knowledge graph view
  1. Click List to return to the default table view.

List View (Default)

  • Tabular view with sortable columns.
  • Infinite scroll for large datasets.
  • Checkbox selection for bulk actions.
  • Columns: Name, Domain, Status, Source, Rules count, Last Updated.

Hierarchy View

  • Tree structure showing terms organized by domain hierarchy.
  • Expand/collapse domain nodes to browse terms within each domain.

Knowledge Graph View

  • Interactive network graph visualization.
  • Nodes represent business terms; edges show relationships.
  • Zoom, pan, and click nodes for details.

3. Creating a Business Term

Steps

  1. Click + Create in the toolbar.
Create button in toolbar
Figure 5: Create button in toolbar
  1. The Create Term Drawer slides in from the right.
Create Term Drawer
Figure 6: Create Term Drawer
  1. Fill in the following tabs:

Basic Info Tab

Field Type Required Validation Description
Term Name Text Yes Unique, max 150 chars Unique business term name
Definition Textarea Yes Max 2000 chars Business definition
Domain Dropdown No Must be existing domain Assigned domain
Status Dropdown No Active/Pending/Inactive Defaults to Pending
Basic Info tab filled
Figure 7: Basic Info tab filled

Ownership Tab

Field Type Required Description
Data Owner User picker No Business owner
Data Steward User picker No Technical steward
Subject Matter Expert User picker No SME contact
Ownership tab
Figure 8: Ownership tab

Classification Tab

Field Type Required Description
Sensitivity Dropdown No Public / Internal / Confidential / Restricted
Data Category Dropdown No Master / Reference / Transactional
Regulatory Tags Multi-select No GDPR, HIPAA, SOX, etc.
Classification tab
Figure 9: Classification tab

Additional Info Tab

Field Type Required Description
Synonyms Tags input No Alternative names
Abbreviations Tags input No Common abbreviations
Related Terms Multi-select No Links to other terms
Notes Textarea No Free-form notes
Additional Info tab
Figure 10: Additional Info tab

Scan Tag Tab

Field Type Required Description
Column Patterns Tags input No Regex patterns for auto-tagging columns
Scan Status Display — Shows scan/tag job status
  1. Click Save to create the term.
Term created success
Figure 11: Term created success
What Happens Next
  • The term appears in the List view.
  • A success toast confirms creation.
  • If a domain was assigned, the term appears under that domain in Hierarchy view.
  • The term is available for linking to DQ rules in the Reusable Rule Repository.
  • The term appears as a node in the Enterprise Trust Map.
Error Scenarios
  • Duplicate term name — A validation error appears: "A term with this name already exists."
  • Missing required fields — The Save button remains disabled until Term Name and Definition are provided.

4. Editing a Term

Steps

  1. Click a term row in the list.
Click term row
Figure 12: Click term row
  1. The Term Edit Drawer opens with pre-filled values.
Term Edit Drawer
Figure 13: Term Edit Drawer

  1. Navigate through tabs and modify any field.

  2. Click Save to apply changes.

What Happens Next
  • The term updates in all views immediately.
  • Edit history is tracked and viewable in the audit trail.

5. Deleting a Term

Steps

  1. Click the delete icon on a term row.

  2. A Confirmation Dialog appears listing dependencies:

Dependency Type Impact
Reusable Rules Rules linked to this term lose their term association
Intents Intents referencing this term are unlinked
Tagged FQNs Column tags referencing this term are removed
  1. Click Confirm to delete.
What Happens Next
  • The term is removed from all views.
  • All linked rules, intents, and column tags are unlinked (not deleted).
  • The term node is removed from the Enterprise Trust Map.

6. Reviewing Terms (Approval Workflow)

Steps

  1. Click the review icon on a Pending term.

  2. The Term Review Panel opens.

  3. Choose an action:

Action Effect
Approve Sets status to Active
Reject Sets status to Inactive
Request Changes Adds a comment, keeps status as Pending
  1. Click the chosen action button.
Review action completed
Figure 14: Review action completed
What Happens Next
  • Approved terms become Active and are included in DQ scoring.
  • Rejected terms become Inactive and are excluded from governance metrics.

7. Bulk Actions

Steps

  1. Select multiple terms using checkboxes in the list.

  2. The Selection Actions Bar appears showing the count of selected items.

  3. Choose an action:

  4. Activate — bulk-approve selected terms.
  5. Inactivate — bulk-reject selected terms.

  6. Clear — deselect all.

  7. Confirm the bulk action.

Bulk action confirmation
Figure 15: Bulk action confirmation

8. Harvest Knowledge (AI Generation)

Steps

  1. Click ✨ Harvest in the toolbar.
Harvest button in toolbar
Figure 16: Harvest button in toolbar
  1. The Harvest Knowledge Drawer opens.
Harvest Knowledge Drawer
Figure 17: Harvest Knowledge Drawer
  1. Configure the generation:
Field Required Description
Company Name Yes Your organization's name
Industry Yes Select from supported industries
Domain Focus No Specific domain to generate terms for
Number of Terms Yes How many terms to generate (e.g., 10, 25, 50)
Harvest configuration filled
Figure 18: Harvest configuration filled

  1. Click Generate — AI generates business terms with definitions and DQ rules.

  2. Preview generated terms — duplicates are flagged with a warning icon.

Harvest preview with duplicates flagged
Figure 19: Harvest preview with duplicates flagged
  1. Select terms to import using checkboxes → click Import Selected.
Harvest import selected
Figure 20: Harvest import selected
What Happens Next
  • Selected terms are created with status = Pending.
  • Each term includes an AI-generated definition and suggested DQ rules.
  • Duplicates (terms with names matching existing terms) are skipped.
  • Review and approve the generated terms before they become active.

9. Template Import (CSV)

Steps

  1. Click ↑ Import in the toolbar.

  2. The Template Import Drawer opens.

  3. Download the CSV template by clicking Download Template.

  4. Fill in terms in the template following the column format.

  5. Upload the completed CSV.

  6. Preview and confirm import.

Import preview
Figure 21: Import preview
What Happens Next
  • All valid terms are created in a batch.
  • Invalid rows are flagged with error descriptions.

10. Business Term Rules

Steps

  1. Click the rules icon on any term row.

  2. The Business Term Rules Sheet opens showing associated DQ rules.

  3. Add rules by clicking + Add Rule and selecting from the Reusable Rule Repository.

  4. Remove rules by clicking the remove icon next to a rule.

11. Scan Tag (Column Tagging)

Steps

  1. Open the Scan Tag tab in a term's edit drawer.

  2. Define column name patterns (regex) that should auto-tag with this term.

  3. Click Run Scan to execute tagging across all connections.

  4. The Scan Tag Dialog shows progress and results.

  5. View tagged columns in the Jobs Panel.

What Happens Next
  • Columns matching the pattern across all connections are tagged with this business term.
  • Tagged columns appear in Metadata Analysis.
  • The tags feed into the Enterprise Trust Map for governance coverage.

12. Filters

Click the Filter button to open the Filters Sheet:

Filter Options
Status All / Active / Pending / Inactive
Source Type All / Manual / AI-Generated / Imported
Domain All domains
Search Free-text search across term names and definitions

13. Jobs Panel

Click Logs in the KPI area to open the Jobs Panel:

  • View running and completed scan/tag jobs.
  • See job progress and results.
  • Track AI harvest job status.

14. Refresh

Click the ⟳ button to manually reload term data and KPIs.

From Business Terms Navigate To
Term → assigned to domain Domains
Term → has DQ rules → rule repository Reusable Rule Repository
Term → scan-tagged columns → metadata Metadata Analysis
Term → DQ scores → command center DQ Command Center
Term → ETM hierarchy node Enterprise Trust Map
Wizard → next step Reusable Rule Repository

Tips & Best Practices

  • Use the AI Harvest feature to bootstrap your glossary with industry-standard terms.
  • Assign every term to a domain for proper governance hierarchy.
  • Define column patterns (Scan Tag) early — this enables automatic column-to-term mapping across all connections.
  • Use the Knowledge Graph view for executive presentations showing term relationships.
  • Review and approve AI-generated terms before they become active governance artifacts.
  • Keep the Pending queue near zero — terms must be Active to participate in DQ scoring.
Was this article helpful?