When naming environment variables, ensure that names are both technically accurate and follow established project conventions: 1. Use terminology that precisely reflects the actual content and purpose of the variable, especially for security-related configurations. 2. Follow established prefixing conventions in your project to indicate which system or component uses the variable. Example: ``` # Bad: Inconsistent prefixing and potentially unclear naming ARTIFACTS_STORAGE_PATH="/path/to/artifacts" SAML_PUBLIC_CERT="" # Good: Consistent prefixing and accurate naming DJANGO_ARTIFACTS_STORAGE_PATH="/path/to/artifacts" DJANGO_SAML_CERT="" # or DJANGO_SAML_X509_CERT if more precision is needed ``` This approach improves code maintainability by making the purpose of variables immediately clear and ensuring consistency across the codebase.