Well, I don't know how creative it is, but attached is how I implemented a dictionary of the fields and other terms for an application. In this case, the dictionary is maintained in an Excel spreadsheet.
In a more complicated application, field definitions and the rules for calculating the field values are entered on a web page and stored in a database. The business system (a cost reporting system in this case) executes the rules that were entered. QlikView script then pulls from the same database as the business system, avoiding separate maintenance and preventing its dictionary from EVER being out of sync. I don't want to upload the whole thing, but here's an example of what we display. The text above the dashed line is the description entered by the person maintaining the rule. The text below the dashed line is the rule itself, which is what the business system executes.
WE ALLOCATE THE NET COST (COST LESS RECOVERY) OF NON-PRIME COILS (SECONDARY AND SCRAP) TO RELATED PRIME COILS. ALLOCATION METHODS ARE IDENTIFIED BELOW, IN THEIR ORDER OF PRECEDENCE:
1) WE ALLOCATE CC2 GALXC AND GALVANNEAL TRANSITION COIL COSTS TO ALL PRIME COILS IN THE PRODUCTION RUN. THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO SCRAP COILS BECAUSE SCRAP COILS ARE NOT USED AS TRANSITION COILS.
2) WHEN A COIL IS DOWNGRADED PRIOR TO PCM, WE ALLOCATE THE NON-PRIME COIL COSTS TO ALL PRIME COILS PRODUCED ON THE PCM WITHIN THE MONTH OF THE DOWNGRADE. THIS ALLOCATION IS BASED ON PRODUCT GROUP (CRA, CRFH, GALV, TIN).
3) WE ALLOCATE DUMMY COIL COSTS TO ALL PRIME COILS RUN ON A FACILITY WITHIN THE MONTH OF THE DOWNGRADE. THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO SCRAP COILS BECAUSE SCRAP COILS ARE NOT USED AS DUMMY COILS.
4) WE ALLOCATE NON-PRIME COIL COSTS TO PRIME COILS ON THE ORIGINAL PRIME ORDER ITEM. A NON-PRIME COIL'S COSTS ARE REFLECTED ON ALL THE ORIGINAL ORDER ITEM'S PRIME COILS PRODUCED AT THE FACILITY CHARGED FOR THE DOWNGRADE.
5) IF NONE OF THE PRECEDING SITUATIONS PREVAIL THEN WE ALLOCATE A NON-PRIME COIL'S COSTS TO ALL PRIME COILS PRODUCED ON THE LAST PRODUCTION FACILITY DURING THE NON-PRIME COIL'S PRODUCTION MONTH.
AS WITH ALL COSTS, WE NORMALIZE TO THE SHIPPED WEIGHT OF THE COIL, OR TO THE CURRENT WEIGHT OF THE COIL FOR IN-PROCESS COILS.
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SET ATM ALLOCATED NET COST OF NON-PRIME COILS = 0 $
IF CURRENT COIL COST CLASS NOT = "PRIM"
EXIT-COMMIT
END-IF
IF ATM ORDER ITEM PRODUCED WEIGHT OF PRIME COILS NOT = 0 LB
SET ATM ALLOCATED NET COST OF NON-PRIME COILS
= ATM ALLOCATED NET COST OF NON-PRIME COILS
+ ATM PRODUCED WEIGHT
* ( ATM ORDER ITEM NET COST OF RELATED NON-PRIME COILS
/ ATM ORDER ITEM PRODUCED WEIGHT OF PRIME COILS )
END-IF
IF ATM MONTHLY PRODUCED WEIGHT OF PRIME COILS NOT = 0 LB
SET ATM ALLOCATED NET COST OF NON-PRIME COILS
= ATM ALLOCATED NET COST OF NON-PRIME COILS
+ ATM PRODUCED WEIGHT
* ( ATM MONTHLY NET COST OF RELATED NON-PRIME COILS
/ ATM MONTHLY PRODUCED WEIGHT OF PRIME COILS )
END-IF
SET ATM ALLOCATED NET COST OF NON-PRIME COILS
= ATM ALLOCATED NET COST OF NON-PRIME COILS
* ATM WEIGHT NORMALIZATION RATIO
