Impact Analysis
The Impact Analysis feature analyzes and traces the impact of changes to source metadata and profiled results to all other identified source systems within the lineage. It tracks the impacted data elements upstream and downstream to the affected data objects, such as Tables, Table Columns, Reports, Report Columns, Files, and File Columns.
The data object on which the impact analysis is performed is called the affected data object. Impact analysis can be performed on six different data object types:
Tables
Table columns
Files
File columns
Reports
Report columns
In the Advanced Tools > Impact Analysis section, Authors with Meta-Write (MW) permission can access and run impact analysis. The Impact Analysis displays a comprehensive list of impact analyses that have been performed. Users who created it, invited users, and authors with Meta-Read (MR) or Meta-Write (MW) permissions can view it.
View Impact Analysis Records
The main screen of the Impact Analysis feature presents a comprehensive list of analysis records, offering insights into various details mentioned below:
Impact Analysis Name: This field displays the name of the impact analysis (created during the record's initiation).
Title: This field displays the record's title (created during the record’s initiation).
Number of Source Objects: The number of Source Objects reflects the total count of source objects added to the specific impact analysis record, which helps discover its impact on upstream and downstream objects in the lineage.
Number of Impacted Objects: The field displays the total count of impacted objects within the analysis records, based on the analysis of impacted objects originating from the source objects within that analysis. All impacted objects across all levels of lineage can be viewed. The lineage level can be identified in the Impacted Objects tab → Impact Level column (located on the right side of the page).
Add Impact Analysis
Go to Nine Dots > Add Impact Analysis.
An "Add Impact Analysis" pop-up is displayed to add a new impact analysis.
Delete Impact Analysis
The "Delete Impact Analysis" option removes an entire impact analysis. Upon selecting this option and confirming the delete operation, a job is submitted within the system to execute the deletion process. This ensures efficient management of the impact analysis by removing unwanted or outdated assessments.
Impact Object Summary Page
After adding the Impact Analysis, users are redirected to the summary page when they select it.
Summary
This page provides an overview of the analysis, with detailed explanations in the following sections.
Business Description
The business description offers contextual information related to the business for the impact analysis.
Impact Analysis Properties:
Number of Downstream Objects: This indicates the count of source objects with the analysis type “Downstream.”
Number of Upstream Objects: This displays the count of source objects with the analysis type “Upstream.”
Number of Downstream Objects with Association: This represents the count of source objects with the analysis type “Downstream with Association.”
Number of Upstream Objects with Association: This shows the count of source objects with the analysis type “Upstream with Association.”
Total number of Source Objects: This presents the overall count of source objects added in the impact analysis, encompassing all analysis types.
Source Objects
View Source Objects
On the Impact Analysis page, the Source Object section provides detailed information about the objects that have been added for performing Impact analysis, including:
Object Details: This section provides various details about the object, including the connector and its associated schema name. It also specifies the name and type of the source object.
Analysis Type: This displays the chosen type of analysis for the added object.
Job Status: This indicates the status of the last job, showing whether it successfully discovered impacted objects for that specific object.
Impact Count: This displays the count of objects impacted by the particular source object.
Impact Level: This specifies the level of separation of the impacted object from the affected object.
Add Source Objects
Various methods exist to include source objects in an impact analysis to identify affected objects.
Through the impact analysis screen
Users with MW permission on an object can add source objects to an impact analysis using Advanced Tools > Impact Analysis. In the “Source Objects” section, click the "+" icon to add a source object.
Add Source Object pop-up displays. Now, enter the relevant details to add a source object.
Analysis Type
Downstream: This analyzes the total downstream dependencies of data objects (table, file, report).
Downstream with Associations: This analyzes the downstream dependencies of data objects, executed queries, and the objects associated with the query. Associations in impact analysis also include references.
Upstream: This analyzes the total upstream dependencies of the data object (Table, File, Report).
Upstream with Associations: This analyzes the upstream dependencies of data objects along with executed queries.
Object Type
This feature enables the precise selection of entities such as tables, files, and reports, allowing users to customize their selection to their needs by selecting only the relevant object types for a more focused addition to Impact Analysis.
Select by
The "Select by" feature offers two search options for adding data to the impact analysis: "Search by name" and "Search by ID." "Search by name" quickly locates and includes data in the analysis by entering the name. Similarly, "Search by ID" searches for and adds data using its unique object ID.
After adding all the information, click Add Object. The source object will be added.
Through Data Catalog
Users can choose the object they want to include in the impact analysis from the data catalog. Clicking the nine dots shows the option "Add to impact analysis." Clicking on this option prompts them to select the impact analysis job where they wish to add the chosen objects. During this process, the user must specify the selected objects' analysis type and impact level.
Through Compare Schemas
Objects can also be incorporated into the Impact Analysis using the Compare Schema module in Advanced Tools. After comparing two schemas, the comparison results are displayed in a tabular format. Within this display, the desired objects can be added to the impact analysis by clicking the icon associated with each object name. This icon becomes visible when hovering over the object name in the table.
Additionally, objects can be added to the impact analysis directly from the Nine Dots menu on the result page. The Nine Dots menu offers four options related to adding or deleting impact analysis for Tables/Columns:
Add Deleted Tables to Impact Analysis: This adds the deleted tables from the schemas that have been compared to each other to the impact analysis.
Add Deleted Columns to Impact Analysis: This includes the deleted columns from the compared schemas in the impact analysis.
Add Updated Columns to Impact Analysis: This adds the changed columns from the compared schemas to the impact analysis.
Add To Impact Analysis: This enables the selected object to be added directly from the result page to the impact analysis.
Through LMDF
Source objects can be added to the impact analysis using the "Load Metadata from Files" feature in Advanced Tools. To do this, users must fill in a template and then update it to insert the specified objects.
Refer to the "Load Metadata from Files" document for a more detailed explanation.
Summary Page - Nine Dots Options
The following section details the various operations performed on the impacted object summary page.
Discover Impacted Objects
Impact Level
The "Impact Level," specified before conducting impact analysis, represents the level of lineage analysis or separation of the impacted object from the affected object. When selected as an input during impact analysis, it limits the identification of impacted objects to the specified level. If the impact level is set to three, the system will disregard objects affected more than three levels upstream or downstream. Input "-1" as the impact level to analyze all levels.
Discover Impacted Objects for all source Objects
Users can choose to analyze the impact on all source objects added to the impact analysis. This option provides a comprehensive overview of the impact on every source object.
Users can enable the versioning option by checking the box next to 'Enable Versioning'. Versioning allows the user to save the records of impacted objects in different executions (the latest five versions will be saved).
Delete Source Objects
This option allows for removing selected source objects from the impact analysis, offering flexibility in refining the scope by excluding specific objects.
Invite User
The "Invite User" feature allows users to invite others to participate in the impact analysis. Invited users must have an Author License with the necessary Meta-Write permission on the data object to perform any operation on the analysis.
Compare Versions
Author License users with Metawrite permissions can compare impacted and source objects by version. When they click the Compare Versions button, they are redirected to a new page where they can select versions and compare the impacted and source objects. Select the version number in the A list and the version number in the B list, then click compare.
When users click the "Compare" button, a job is triggered. The job status can be viewed by clicking the refresh button in the top right corner, and it will be updated automatically.
Present in Both: If the source or impacted object is in both versions, it appears in yellow.
Added: If the impacted object is in the current version but not in the previous one, it appears in green.
Removed: If the impacted object was in the previous version but not in the current one, it appears in red.
Source Object Comparison: The Source object will be compared according to the selected version, and the result is displayed under the Source Object Comparison tab.
View the source objects in the A list, followed by the source objects in the B list.
Impacted Object Comparison: The impacted object will be compared according to the selected version, and the result is displayed under the Impacted Object Comparison tab.
View the impacted objects in the A version list, followed by those in the B version list.
Download: Click the download icon at the bottom of the page to download the list of source objects and impacted objects compared between the two versions.
Impacted Objects
The Impacted Objects provide a detailed view of all the downstream objects that are affected by changes made to a specific data asset.
Impact Type
The "Analysis Type" field indicates the type of impact analysis performed, as specified during analysis execution. It could be categorized as Downstream, Upstream, Downstream with Association, or Upstream with Association, offering insights into the direction and scope of the impact.
Reviewed Status
This column features a checkbox allowing reviewers to mark objects as reviewed. Once the reviewer has completed the check, the system automatically populates the "Reviewed by" and "Reviewed date" columns with their information. This helps track the review status of impacted objects.
Impact Level
The "Impact Level" column showcases the position of the impacted object within the lineage. It provides a quick reference to understand the origin or destination of the object in the data lineage.
Version
The version tab shows impacted objects in each version. Users can select a version number from the drop-down list, with versions limited to 5 levels.
Show/Hide Columns
The "Show/Hide Columns" option allows users to customize the view by toggling the visibility of specific columns. This feature enhances flexibility, allowing users to focus on the most relevant information and hide less pertinent details for a streamlined analysis experience.
Operations on Impacted Objects
The following are the operations performed on an impacted object:
Add to Project: The “Add to Project” option adds impacted objects to the default project, efficiently organizing relevant impacted objects within the project. To do this, select the impacted objects, click the Nine-dots icon at the top right-hand corner of the screen, and click the “Add to Project” option.
Remove from Project: The "Remove from Projects" option excludes specific impacted objects from the default project.
Download Impacted Objects: The "Download Impacted Objects" option enables the download of information related to impacted objects. After clicking this, a pop-up window prompts a choice between two download options:
All: Download all impacted objects.
Custom Range: Specify a custom range, defined by lower and upper row numbers, to download a specific subset of impacted objects. This level of customization provides enhanced control over downloaded data, ensuring flexibility in data extraction customized to specific requirements.
Invite User: The Invite User feature allows users to invite others to participate in Impact Analysis. Invited users must hold an Author license and have the required Meta-Write permissions on the data object to perform operations within the analysis.
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