Scope of impact
In the system, a data asset is often used in the data definition of another asset. For example, a tracked event property is used to create a custom event property, that custom event property is used to create a report, and that report is added to a dashboard. If the asset being used is called the upstream asset, the asset using it can be called the downstream asset. When an upstream asset is deleted or hidden, or its definition is modified, its downstream assets are affected.
In the system, all downstream assets of an asset together are called the asset's Scope of Impact, which represents all assets in the system affected by a change to that asset.
1. Impact validation
To improve data stability, every asset expects its upstream assets to change infrequently and expects to be notified promptly after a change so that it can be adjusted downstream. When an asset enters the deletion or modification process, the system automatically checks its Scope of Impact. If downstream assets already exist, the system shows the operator the details to help the asset manager decide whether to continue the deletion or modification. This process is called impact validation.
Currently, impact validation runs in these asset processes:
- Hiding, deleting, and modifying events, event properties, and user properties (the deletion and modification process for dimension table properties is not supported yet);
- Deleting and modifying tags;
- Deleting and modifying cohorts;
2. Scope of impact
The scope of impact of a typical asset is shown in the following table, which lists all downstream assets of the asset.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Impact type | The type of the downstream asset. Currently: dashboards, reports, alerts, cohorts, tags, custom properties (dimension table properties also belong to this type), custom events, AE tables (event table, user table, tag table, cohort table), temporary tables, tables, custom tables, and dimension tables. If the Engage module is deployed, there are also operation tasks, distributing properties, and operation channels. |
| Name/ID | The name or ID of the downstream asset, which uniquely identifies the asset, such as custom property name #vp@abc or report ID1122. If the viewer has view permission on the downstream asset, they can click the name to view the asset information. |
| Display name | The display name of the downstream asset, such as the tag display name or cohort display name. Not every asset has one configured. |
| Responsible person | The current owner responsible for managing the downstream asset, usually the asset's creator or the person it was handed over to. |
| Type | Some asset types provide business type information for easier viewing. For example, the business types of analyses include Events Analysis, business analysis, Composition Analysis, and so on. |
| Impact layers | The minimum number of reference layers between the queried asset and its downstream asset. For example, tracked property A is used to create custom property V, custom property V is used in report R, and report R is added to dashboard D. When you view the scope of impact from A, the impact layer of custom property V is 1, report R is 2, and dashboard D is 3. A larger number means more assets lie between the two assets. |
| Impact path | When the impact layer is more than 1 (indirect use), the operator may not be able to judge the impact quickly, so they can view the (shortest) usage path between the downstream asset and the queried asset. In the impact layer example above, when you view the scope of impact from A, the impact path of report R is: tracked property A->custom property V->report R. The usage path is displayed in the format [Impact type]Display name(Name/ID). Note that the usage path doesn't show all usage relationships, only the one with the fewest layers. |
Additional notes on some asset types:
| Impact type | Additional notes |
|---|---|
| Custom property | Both custom properties and dimension table properties belong to this type, including user custom properties, user dimension table properties, event custom properties, and event dimension table properties. |
| AE table | Includes the event table, user table, tag table, and cohort table. |
| Temporary table | Temporary tables saved in SQL IDE. |
| Custom table | Custom tables created with the developer tools. |
| Dimension table | Dimension tables generated by property-associated tables / dimension tables (before v3.8), found in Data > Management > User Properties, Event Properties. |
| Distributing Property | User properties that valid operation task pushes need to use. |