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News & Insights

News, insights & articles from the Understanding Data Team

What's a snapshot
Blog

How a Breakfast Session Became the Perfect Lesson in Snapshots

Last week, we hosted a breakfast session at Understanding Data. And as you would expect, there were pastries on the table. Lots of pastries. During the session, we took a few pictures of the table. At first glance, they are just nice atmosphere shots. But in reality, those photos perfectly illustrate what a snapshot is in the world of data. What is a snapshot? A snapshot is a capture of data at a specific moment in time. Just like a photo shows how many pastries were on the table at 8:30 AM, a snapshot preserves what a dataset looked like at a certain point in time. It sounds simple, but it is incredibly valuable. Without snapshots, you only see the current situation, not how you

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data documentation by using dbt Doc Blocks
Blog

DRY data documentation by using dbt Doc Blocks

Using dbt doc blocks enables DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself) documentation by defining field descriptions in central Markdown files, improving consistency and maintainability as projects scale. This approach prevents the need to redefine fields in multiple YAML files, allowing updates to be reflected instantly across all downstream models. The Hidden Cost of Poor Documentation Documentation is often one of the most overlooked aspects of data work. We build pipelines, structure our models, and deliver dashboards. The people already involved understand what is happening, but what happens when someone new joins?Without clear documentation, it becomes difficult for them to make sense of anything.With the rise of AI, this problem is only amplified. We increasingly expect to “talk” to our data, but if that data lacks clear definitions,

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Blog

Secrets

What is a secret? Some things you want to tell everyone, such as: We are the partner for data-driven work. Other things you prefer not to tell everyone, such as the PIN code of your bank card.   In computer systems, “secrets” are confidential pieces of information. For example: – The access password for your database – The username of your SaaS system Secrets belong to your software, but you usually want to store them in a different place. You would not leave the key of your safe hanging on the safe itself. An interesting idea is that you can cut the key of your safe into 100 pieces and still keep those pieces next to the safe. This way, the key is nearby, but

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News

Behind the scenes

At Understanding Data, our days usually revolve around numbers, insights and dashboards. This time, however, something different was on the agenda: a professional photoshoot. Together with the team at Bunqer, we captured who we are and what we stand for. Not just as data specialists, but as the people behind the analyses and projects. It was a great opportunity to step away from our daily data analytics work and reflect on how we’ve grown as a team. In just one year, we’ve evolved into a strong team of driven experts. We wanted that ambition and focus to shine through in the images as well. No over-the-top poses, but authentic visuals that show how we work together: professional, focused and with a touch of down-to-earth Kempish

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