Data Analytics Engineering

---
name: data-analytics-engineering
description: Analytics engineering for reliable metrics and BI readiness. Use when building dbt models, defining metrics, or designing analytics layers.
version: "1.0"
updated: "2026-09-04"
---

# Data Analytics Engineering

## Scope

- Define metrics, grains, and dimensional models.
- Build transformation layers and semantic models.
- Implement data quality tests and observability.
- Document datasets, lineage, and ownership.
- Align analytics outputs with BI and product needs.

## Ask For Inputs

- Business metrics and decision use cases.
- Source systems, data freshness, and latency needs.
- Existing warehouse, tooling, and orchestration.
- Expected data volumes and change cadence.
- Governance requirements and access controls.

## Workflow

1. Define metric dictionary and grains.
2. Design staging, intermediate, and mart layers.
3. Model dimensions and facts with clear keys.
4. Build semantic layer and metric definitions.
5. Add tests for freshness, nulls, ranges, and duplicates.
6. Document lineage, owners, and SLAs.
7. Plan rollout, backfills, and validation checks.

## Outputs

- Metric dictionary and semantic model.
- Data model with schema and grain definitions.
- Transformation plan and dbt or SQLMesh structure.
- Data quality test suite and alerting plan.
- Documentation and ownership map.

## Quality Checks

- Keep metric definitions stable and versioned.
- Treat metrics as APIs: document changes, deprecate safely, and backfill deliberately.
- Define data contracts for core tables (schema, freshness, keys) to control downstream breakage.
- Avoid mixed grains in a single model.
- Ensure tests cover critical joins and aggregates.
- Validate against source of truth and historical baselines.

## Templates

- `assets/metric-dictionary.md` for metric definitions and owners.
- `assets/semantic-layer-spec.md` for entities, measures, and dimensions.
- `assets/data-quality-test-plan.md` for test coverage planning.

## Resources

- `references/modeling-patterns.md` for modeling guidance and data quality patterns.
- `references/tool-comparison-2026.md` for dbt vs SQLMesh vs Coalesce decision matrix.
- `references/semantic-layer-patterns.md` for semantic layer implementation (Cube, dbt Semantic Layer, AtScale, warehouse-native).
- `references/data-quality-testing.md` for data quality test strategies, dbt tests, Great Expectations, and alert design.
- `references/metric-governance.md` for metric lifecycle management, ownership models, deprecation policies, and metric debt prevention.
- `data/sources.json` for curated vendor docs and trend-tracking sources (use as a WebSearch seed list).

## Related Skills

- Use [data-lake-platform](../data-lake-platform/SKILL.md) for platform architecture.
- Use [data-sql-optimization](../data-sql-optimization/SKILL.md) for query tuning.
- Use [ai-ml-data-science](../ai-ml-data-science/SKILL.md) for modeling and experiments.

---

## Trend Awareness Protocol

**IMPORTANT**: When users ask recommendation questions about analytics engineering, data modeling, or BI, you MUST use WebSearch to check current trends before answering. If WebSearch is unavailable, use `data/sources.json` + web browsing and state what you verified vs assumed.

### Trigger Conditions

- "What's the best tool for [analytics engineering/data modeling/BI]?"
- "What should I use for [transformation/semantic layer/metrics]?"
- "What's the latest in analytics engineering?"
- "Current best practices for [dbt/metrics layers/data quality]?"
- "Is [tool/approach] still relevant in 2026?"
- "[dbt] vs [SQLMesh] vs [other]?"
- "Best BI tool for [use case]?"
- "SQLMesh acquisition" or "Fivetran transformation"
- "Agentic analytics" or "AI data workflows"
- "Metric debt" or "metric governance"

### Required Searches

1. Search: `"analytics engineering best practices 2026"`
2. Search: `"[dbt/SQLMesh/semantic layer] vs alternatives 2026"`
3. Search: `"analytics engineering trends January 2026"`
4. Search: `"[specific tool] new releases 2026"`
5. Search: `"agentic analytics AI data 2026"` (for AI-related queries)

### What to Report

After searching, provide:

- **Current landscape**: What analytics tools/patterns are popular NOW
- **Emerging trends**: New tools, patterns, or standards gaining traction
- **Deprecated/declining**: Tools/approaches losing relevance or support
- **Recommendation**: Based on fresh data, not just static knowledge

### Example Topics (verify with fresh search)

- Transformation tools (dbt, SQLMesh, Coalesce)
- Semantic layers (dbt Semantic Layer, Cube, AtScale, warehouse-native)
- Metrics stores and headless BI
- Data quality tools (dbt tests, Elementary, dbt-expectations/Metaplane)
- BI platforms (Metabase, Superset, Lightdash, Hex)
- Data modeling patterns (dimensional, wide tables, activity schema)
- Analytics engineering workflows and CI/CD
- Agentic AI workflows for analytics
- Data mesh and domain-owned data products

## Fact-Checking

- Use web search/web fetch to verify current external facts, versions, pricing, deadlines, regulations, or platform behavior before final answers.
- Prefer primary sources; report source links and dates for volatile information.
- If web access is unavailable, state the limitation and mark guidance as unverified.