FAQ
Frequently asked MDM questions from the end-user perspective, including status handling, checks, and substitutions.
FAQ Why can’t I edit a released relation directly? Released relations are intentionally protected so that productive rules are not changed without control.
Released relations form the productive rule base in MDM and should therefore not be changed unnoticed. When a business rule has to be adjusted, the relation is brought back into an editable status and released again only after another review. For the broader context, see the process catalog.
FAQ When is release without update the right business choice? This action is intended only for deliberately limited changes and should not be the default release path.
Release without update is appropriate when a relation should be released again without retroactively redistributing already changed records to the target companies. This can be acceptable for clearly scoped rule adjustments, but it should be a deliberate decision because otherwise open business changes will not be carried forward in the target context.
FAQ Why are there still open tasks after substitution changes? Substitutions first change the rule set; the actual follow-up processing can still require an update.
Changed substitutions do not automatically update all already affected records. Open entries in the change log and a possible update indicate that the business rule has been adjusted, but the operational follow-up processing is still pending. The practical classification is also covered on the work aids for daily work page.
FAQ When should I apply DSR filters to existing data? This action is useful when changed DSR rules should apply not only to new records, but also to records that already exist.
Use this action when changed DSR logic should also be rolled out to records that already exist. The critical decision is whether only default and automatic decisions should be updated or whether manual decisions may also be overwritten. The business classification of this action is explained on the DSR and Distribution Matrix page.
FAQ What do errors in consistency checks actually mean? Check errors show a deviation between the expected and actual target state, not automatically a technical defect.
At first, a consistency error only means that MDM found a different state in the target context than the one expected from the relation and rule set. The cause can be a missing relation, incomplete rules, an intentional business deviation, or actually incorrect data. Because of that, review entries should always be assessed together with the relation, the source and target company, and the concrete field context.
FAQ Why doesn’t the missing-relations suggestion always provide usable proposals? Suggestions depend on the existing relation landscape and the business relationship between tables.
The suggestion functions can only derive relationships that are meaningfully visible from the current table and relation context. If the base relations are too narrow, incomplete, or not yet clearly scoped from a business perspective, the proposal space stays limited as well. Review the existing setup first on the master data and relation maintenance page.
FAQ How do I narrow the field view down to the really relevant information? Field views help distinguish between the full table structure and the fields that are actively used for synchronization.
In daily review work, not every available field is relevant. Views such as active fields and all fields help users focus either on the actually synchronized fields or on the full table structure. This is especially useful when review results or rule changes have to be classified from a business perspective.