Data Updates Comms

Data update communications draft

Generate a draft for the #data-updates-comms Slack form. The skill inspects the current branch of the ETL repo to fill the mechanical fields and seeds the editorial fields with context the user then rewrites in their own voice.

Why this channel exists (read before drafting)

OWID's #data-updates-comms channel is not an internal "FYI I did X" log. It gives information to Charlie (OWID's Communications & Outreach Manager), who turns this input into public-facing posts on social media (Instagram, LinkedIn, X) and in newsletters.

So the form's editorial fields are written for Charlie and indirectly for the general public — not for the data team. A big mistake is writing them in an internal/engineer voice.

The reframing that matters most:

Don't tell Charlie what you'd say to your colleagues ("I updated all the WDI charts"). Tell him what you'd say to a friend who asks what you did this week ("I updated hundreds of our charts to the latest release of the World Bank's largest dataset, called the World Development Indicators. It's a core dataset with hundreds of indicators across global development. This update added new data up to 2025 for dozens of our most-viewed charts…").

What Charlie needs from each field is a reader-centric view: what work was done, what it changes or enables, what's interesting about the source, what it helps people understand about the world, and why anyone should care that it's been updated.

This skill must surface this framing to the user — both at the top of the output draft file and inside each editorial-field prompt block — so the user has it in front of them when they sit down to write. Do not delete or paraphrase the framing.

When to use

• The user says "draft the data-update comms post for X", "fill out the Slack form for X", or similar.
• After an update-dataset run finishes (step 9 of that skill should delegate here with workbench/<short_name>/update-context.yml rather than re-implement).
• After a manual update where the user wants help drafting the announcement.

Inputs

• Preferred after update-dataset: workbench/<short_name>/update-context.yml — reuse gathered facts first, and only gather missing fields directly.
• <namespace>/<new_version>/<short_name> — the updated dataset (garden path).
• Optional: <old_version> — for "what changed since last release".
• Optional: branch name — defaults to current branch (used for the staging-site hostname).

If the user only gives a branch or no input at all, infer the dataset(s) from git diff master...HEAD --name-only filtered to etl/steps/data/grapher/** or snapshots/**. If multiple new datasets are touched, ask the user which one(s) the announcement covers.

What's mechanical vs. editorial

The editorial fields are deliberately not auto-prosed. Slack posts in the editorial voice ("Why we have this dataset on OWID") read flat when LLM-written; the value is in the human framing. The skill's job is to surface the relevant snippets so the user doesn't have to grep for them.

Workflow

0. Reuse update context if available.

   • If workbench/<short_name>/update-context.yml is provided or exists, read it first and use its values for mechanical fields, chart count/views, and editorial snippets.
   • Continue with the steps below only for fields missing from that context. This keeps update-dataset responsible for gathering context during the update while preserving this skill as a standalone fallback.

1. Resolve the dataset.

   • Parse <namespace>/<new_version>/<short_name> or infer from git diff.
   • Locate snapshot DVC: snapshots/<namespace>/<new_version>/*.dvc.
   • Locate garden step: etl/steps/data/garden/<namespace>/<new_version>/<short_name>.py and .meta.yml.
   • Locate built garden dataset: data/garden/<namespace>/<new_version>/<short_name> (must have been run; if missing, tell the user to run the garden step first).

2. Extract mechanical fields.

   • Read DVC origin block via etl.files.ruamel_load (preserves comments if we ever write back) or just yaml.safe_load.
   • Load the garden dataset to get coverage:

     from owid.catalog import Dataset
     ds = Dataset("data/garden/<ns>/<ver>/<sn>")
     tb = ds.read("<table>", safe_types=False).reset_index()
     year_min, year_max = int(tb["year"].min()), int(tb["year"].max())
     n_countries = tb["country"].nunique()
     has_regions = tb["country"].isin(REGION_NAMES).any()  # use etl.helpers.regions
     

   • Year/country coverage: report the range, the distinct-country count, and whether OWID-defined regions are included. Flag if the most recent year has notably fewer countries than the overall median (sparse-recent caveat).

3. Query staging for affected published charts.

   make query SQL="
     SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT c.id) FROM charts c
     JOIN chart_configs cc ON cc.id = c.configId
     JOIN chart_dimensions cd ON cd.chartId = c.id
     JOIN variables v ON cd.variableId = v.id
     WHERE v.catalogPath LIKE '%<ns>/<ver>/<sn>%'
       AND c.publishedAt IS NOT NULL"
   

   • Map the count to a qualifier: 1–9 = "handful", 10–49 = "moderate", 50–199 = "large", 200+ = "massive".
   • Only count published charts. Drafts are excluded by design — the Slack audience cares about user-facing impact.

4. Seed the editorial fields with snippet bullets. For each of "why it matters", "caveats", "anything interesting": don't write prose, write 2–6 substantive bullets above an empty text fenced block. Bullets are clean reader-facing prose — no Snapshot description: / Garden description: prefixes in the output. Use those as internal source pointers only.

5. Pick chart views — rank by actual data change, not just our intuitions about which chart is "flagship".

   The picked views show up in the public announcement under "Here's what changed". If the underlying data didn't actually change between the old and new release, the announcement misrepresents the update. So the primary ranking signal is: for each published chart on the new dataset, how many of its y-variables have a different dataChecksum than the matching variable on the old dataset? This is the same signal Chart Diff uses.

   Run on staging (which has both old and new variables side-by-side):

   from etl.config import OWID_ENV
   from sqlalchemy import text
   import pandas as pd
   
   sql = """
   SELECT c.id AS chart_id, cc.slug,
          JSON_UNQUOTE(JSON_EXTRACT(cc.config, '$.title'))       AS title,
          JSON_UNQUOTE(JSON_EXTRACT(cc.config, '$.hasMapTab'))   AS has_map,
          JSON_UNQUOTE(JSON_EXTRACT(cc.config, '$.type'))        AS chart_type,
          SUM(v_new.dataChecksum <> v_old.dataChecksum)        AS n_changed,
          COUNT(*)                                             AS n_vars
   FROM charts c
   JOIN chart_configs cc        ON cc.id = c.configId
   JOIN chart_dimensions cd     ON cd.chartId = c.id
   JOIN variables v_new         ON cd.variableId = v_new.id
   LEFT JOIN variables v_old    ON v_old.shortName = v_new.shortName
                                AND v_old.datasetId = :old_dataset_id
   WHERE v_new.datasetId = :new_dataset_id
     AND c.publishedAt IS NOT NULL
     AND cd.property = 'y'
   GROUP BY c.id
   HAVING n_changed > 0
   ORDER BY n_changed DESC, has_map DESC
   LIMIT 30
   """
   with OWID_ENV.engine.connect() as conn:
       df = pd.read_sql(text(sql), conn, params={"old_dataset_id": OLD_ID, "new_dataset_id": NEW_ID})
   

   Resolve OLD_ID / NEW_ID from the datasets table by catalogPath.

   Then rank the data-changed subset by chart views. Among the charts whose data actually changed, prefer the ones readers actually look at — a chart with 246 views/day and 1 changed variable is a far better announcement candidate than a chart with 3 views/day and 18 changed variables:

   from etl.analytics.data import get_chart_views_last_n_days
   views = get_chart_views_last_n_days(chart_ids=df["chart_id"].astype(int).tolist(), n_days=30)
   df = df.merge(views[["chart_id", "views_daily"]], on="chart_id", how="left").fillna({"views_daily": 0})
   df = df.sort_values(["views_daily", "n_changed"], ascending=[False, False])
   

   Apply secondary tie-breakers within the top of that ranked list:

   • Prefer has_map = true — readers can find their own country.
   • Skip population-weighted variants and country-specific cuts.
   • If two charts tie on views but one has many y-vars changed (e.g. probability-of-dying-by-age with 18/18), that's a slightly stronger signal than "1 of 1 changed".

   A checksum change is not "gained the new year." A base-year rebase or in-place revision marks every chart data-changed, including charts whose series still end at the previous year (recipient/sector tables that only update in the producer's detailed release, series absent from a preliminary file). For releases that add a partial year, additionally verify each picked view's indicators actually reach the new year (metadata.json → dimensions.years), and prefer the chart carrying the release's headline measure — the one where the announcement's own numbers are visible on open — even when its traffic is low (the announcement is how it gets discovered).

   Reuse charts.selected_views from update-context.yml only if it's already been built using this views-then-checksum process (older runs picked views by intuition and produced misleading recommendations like "life expectancy now updated" when the data was effectively unchanged, or "malaria deaths" when the chart gets ~3 views a day).

   Output 1–3 as [<chart title>](<admin URL>) — . Hyperlink each title to the admin editor URL, not the bare admin path:

   • Production: https://admin.owid.io/admin/charts/<id>/edit
   • Staging (new charts only): http://staging-site-<branch>/admin/charts/<id>/edit

   The bare /admin/charts/<id> path takes the reader to a non-existent route on production; /edit opens the chart editor where they can verify the change. If the chart already existed before this PR (published earlier than the branch was cut — c.publishedAt is older than the first branch commit), link to production. If the chart was first published on this branch, link to staging.

6. Build the search URL.

   The datasetProducts query parameter matches against the grapher datasets.name field (the dataset row's name column in MySQL — same value visible in the OWID admin's dataset list). When garden's gho.meta.yml sets a dataset.title override, that becomes datasets.name on upload. Otherwise it falls through to the snapshot origin's title.

   So the resolution order is:

   1. Garden .meta.yml → dataset.title (if set as override). This is the most common case — most large datasets carry a curated title like Global Health Observatory - World Health Organization or World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP).
   2. Snapshot .dvc → meta.origin.title (fallback).

   Resolve the value programmatically rather than guessing — query the grapher DB or read the garden YAML directly:

   # Most reliable: grab the literal value from the prod-mirror grapher DB
   make query SQL="SELECT name FROM datasets WHERE catalogPath = 'grapher/<ns>/<v>/<short>'"
   
   # Or from the garden YAML
   from etl.files import ruamel_load
   meta = ruamel_load("etl/steps/data/garden/<ns>/<v>/<short>.meta.yml")
   title = (meta.get("dataset") or {}).get("title")  # falls through if missing
   

   Build the URL with urllib.parse.quote_plus(title) so spaces become + and parens become %28/%29. NOT the bare producer field — that mismatches the index. And don't put the producer's homepage URL here, even as a fallback — the Slack template specifically wants this search URL form.

   Important caveat: the search index bakes asynchronously after a PR merge. A correctly-formed URL can still return zero results for a few hours post-merge while the index re-bakes. If the user reports "no results", double-check the URL value against datasets.name first; if it matches, tell them to retry in a couple of hours.

7. Best-effort next-release date.

   • Fetch url_main (WebFetch) and extract any phrase like "next release", "annual update", "updated yearly" near the page header. Tag the answer [verify] so the user knows to confirm.
   • If nothing extractable, output [unknown — please confirm with the producer's release schedule].

8. Write the draft.

   • Output path: ai/data-update-comms.md by default, or workbench/<short_name>/slack-announcement.md when invoked from update-dataset step 9.
   • Use the canonical format in the Output format section below — no example lines, no [filled] / [prompt] tags, no inline instructions. If a field can't be filled mechanically, write [missing — <what's needed>] inside the fenced block and stop.

9. Show the user the file path and stop. Do not post to Slack — that's a human action. The user copy-pastes from the Markdown file into the Slack form.

Output format

The output file must use the Slack form's prompt wording verbatim as section headings. The user copy-pastes the answer text into the matching Slack fields, so each prompt is its own ## <verbatim heading>.

Keep the file lean. No "E.g.:" example lines, no [filled] / [prompt — user rewrites] tags, no inline framing instructions, no _Snippets to draw from:_ / _Candidate caveats:_ / _Context from this PR:_ label preambles, no text code fences around the answers. The skill keeps the framing reminders for itself (see "Editorial framing" below); the file is just headings → answer prose (for mechanical fields) or snippet bullets (for editorial fields).

The verbatim Slack prompt headings (do not rephrase, abbreviate, or change punctuation):

The table above is the single source of truth — if the Slack form's wording changes, update it here and nowhere else.

Basis discipline for every number (check before drafting #6–#8 and the chart views)

Producers headline figures on their basis — often current prices where our charts are constant, or a measure our headline chart doesn't carry. Verify every number and ranking in the snippets against our own charts: a producer claim our charts contradict ("X overtook Y", a total a few percent off ours) must be explicitly attributed to the producer, made basis-robust (rounded so both bases agree), or dropped in favor of chart-native numbers. Rankings especially: enumerate the measure × price-basis combinations first — a "first time in history" headline may hold on exactly one of them. Put the reconciliation (which basis says what, what social copy may safely echo) in the caveats field for Charlie; keep reader-facing framing chart-native.

Editorial framing (internal — do not copy into the output file)

Before drafting fields #6, #7, #8, remember they go to Charlie, who turns them into public-facing posts — not into an internal team log. Snippets should sound like what you'd tell a curious friend, not a colleague: reader-centric, with a concrete number where possible, and what's interesting about the source. The agent uses this framing to select and phrase the snippets; the framing itself is never written into the output.

Snippet selection per editorial field

• Why does this matter (#6) — pull 3–5 short bullets that, taken together, answer "why do we have this data on OWID at all?". Draw from meta.origin.description, garden dataset description, and top indicator description_short; rephrase into clean prose. Do not prefix each bullet with its source label (e.g. don't write Snapshot description: "…"); just write the substantive content.
• Caveats (#7) — pull 2–4 bullets surfacing real interpretation pitfalls. Draw from indicator description_key bullets, sanity-check workarounds, and methodology notes. Skip if there are no load-bearing caveats.
• Interesting (#8) — pull 3–6 bullets describing concrete findings or noteworthy events captured in this update (new policies, reversals, changed countries). Draw from editorial_context.interesting_update_snippets in update-context.yml, commit messages, and resolved workarounds. Phrase them as reader-facing facts, not engineering notes.

Exact draft file structure

# Data update comms draft — <dataset name>

Source: `<ns>/<new_version>/<short_name>` · Branch: `<branch>` · Generated: <iso datetime>

---

## What dataset(s) did you update?

<Dataset title — Producer>

## When was this data released? When is the next scheduled release / our plan for next update?

Released: <date_published>. Next: <best-effort or "unknown — …">.

## Who is the data source(s)? Is there anything our users should know about them?

<producer>. <citation_full or attribution_short, trimmed>.

## What's the coverage of the data in terms of years and countries/regions?

Covers <year_min>–<year_max>, <n_countries> countries<, plus OWID regions if applicable>. <Sparse-recent-year flag if applicable.>

## How many charts did this update affect?

<N> published charts (<size qualifier>)<; if update-context.yml lists published explorers/MDims, fold them in too — e.g. "10 published charts (moderate), plus 3 explorers and 1 MDim">.

## What does this dataset help our users understand about the world, and why is it important they know that?

- <substantive snippet>
- <substantive snippet>
- <substantive snippet>

## Any important caveats or pitfalls in interpretation that users should know about this data? (optional)

- <caveat snippet>
- <caveat snippet>

## Anything interesting to note about this update, including what you had to do? Anything else you'd like to add? (optional)

- <interesting snippet>
- <interesting snippet>

## Add 1–3 chart views we might use in the public announcement

> Pick chart views that represent the whole dataset, rather than, e.g., something very specific about a single country.

1. **<title>** — `<slug>` — <rationale>
2. **<title>** — `<slug>` — <rationale>

## Link to the updated charts as a search result (not a chart collection anymore). Ask Charlie if you need help with this. (optional)

https://ourworldindata.org/search?datasetProducts=<urlencoded dataset title>

---

## Pending mechanical follow-ups

- <only if any — e.g. "next release date is best-effort", "verify producer's release cadence", source-of-truth caveats>

Strict rules:

• Do not paraphrase the prompt headings — they must match the Slack form character-for-character.
• No code fences around answers — they sit as plain prose under each heading.
• Editorial fields (#6, #7, #8) carry snippet bullets only; the user writes their own answer when filling the Slack form.
• Snippet bullets must be substantive prose, not labelled quotes. Drop source prefixes like "Snapshot description:" — the user shouldn't see them.
• Optional sections (#7, #8, #10) keep their (optional) suffix.
• Notes about scope corrections, source-of-truth caveats, or branch-version mismatches go below the form under a ## Pending mechanical follow-ups section — never inside the verbatim Slack fields.

Critical rules

• Never invent dates, producer names, or chart counts. If the source is missing or stale, mark [missing] and stop on that line — don't paper over a gap.
• Published charts only for the chart count. Same rule as update-dataset step 8 — and the same for the other surfaces it records: only explorers with isPublished=1 and MDims with published=1 (from charts.explorers / charts.mdims in update-context.yml) count toward the announcement. Note unpublished/draft ones under ## Pending mechanical follow-ups, not in the answer.
• Don't write the editorial fields as prose. The user explicitly does not want LLM-voiced "Why we have this data" text — that's exactly the part the human wants to write themselves. Output snippets, not prose.
• Don't post to Slack from the skill. Output a Markdown file and stop. Posting is a human action.
• Use urllib.parse.quote_plus (not quote) for the search URL — Slack's input expects + for spaces in datasetProducts.
• Always run from a green garden build. If data/garden/<ns>/<ver>/<sn> doesn't exist, tell the user to run the garden step before retrying. Don't fabricate coverage from the snapshot alone — the garden output is what matters for the Slack post.

Things to avoid

• Don't auto-write the optional caveats / interesting-notes fields with generic prose ("This dataset offers important insights into…"). Leave them as prompts.
• Don't query the staging DB without the publishedAt IS NOT NULL filter — drafts in the count would mislead.
• Don't use the producer's homepage URL as the search link. The Slack template specifically wants ourworldindata.org/search?datasetProducts=….
• Don't tout the dataset's full indicator count when OWID publishes only one or a few of its indicators. Size claims to what we actually chart — "302 indicators" reads as overselling when the update affects one published chart (user feedback, WWBI 2026-07). Mentioning the count in internal-facing fields is fine only when it's genuinely load-bearing for Charlie.
• Don't fold this skill into update-dataset — keep it standalone so users can invoke it after manual updates too. update-dataset should gather reusable facts in update-context.yml and step 9 should delegate here, not duplicate the Slack rendering logic.

Related

• .claude/skills/update-dataset/SKILL.md step 9 — the orchestrator entry point that should call this skill.
• .claude/skills/data-update-announcement/SKILL.md — what happens next. This skill's Slack post is the input to the public "Data update" post on ourworldindata.org/latest; that skill either reads the Slack message directly or, inside /update-dataset (step 9b), reads update-context.yml plus the slack-announcement.md this skill produced. Two different artifacts: a 10-field internal form here, a reader-facing mini-post there. Don't draft the /latest post from this skill. Note that the /latest skill declines to post when OWID covered the same data publicly less than six months ago — that cooldown does not apply here. This Slack form runs on every update regardless, because its audience is internal and its job is to tell Charlie what changed.
• .claude/skills/edit-faust-metadata/SKILL.md — reuses the same grapher-channel metadata patterns for chart-view selection.