The dataLayer is half data structure, half social contract. The contract is the part most teams underinvest in.

The short version: a dataLayer the analytics team can reason about is mostly a matter of doing the obvious thing carefully. Pick conventions for naming, casing, and structure, write them down, and have new code reviewed against them before it ships.

You will say no to some pushes that do not match the convention. That is the entire point. That trade-off is the one most teams underweight when they plan the work, and it is the one that quietly determines whether the project ships on time.

If you want a longer treatment, we have a deeper post in the series. For now, the takeaway is small enough to fit on a sticky note: A house style is the cheapest way to keep your dataLayer from becoming an archaeological site.