Informatica Product 360 Repository Analyzer
Posted by: Arvato Systems
The Informatica Product 360 Repository Analyzer allows rapid Excel based overview of customizings made to a PIM repository. Document the changes, uncover inconsistencies and establish a basis for a systematic repository further development in form of a field list.
Overview
During the design Phase within an Informatica PIM launch project usually a field list is used to support the data modelling process.
In this list, all relevant information is collected and put into a context where maximum overview is guaranteed.
The Excel format, its filtering and validating options as well as the separation of field-, attribute- and enumeration-content provide business consultants, customers and technicians with easy to gather information. Typically we observe a turning away from a consequent maintenance of this list when the launch project is transferred into the operating mode with smaller change requests and data model adaptions.
This leads to a hard to close gap between documentation and reality in case a redesign or a migration on a newer version of Informatica PIM is requested. Usually great effort is spend to close this gap by updating the field list retrospectively but this is accompanied with a substantial risk of error rate.
We have also experienced “freehand” attempts to customize the given Informatica PIM data model without the field list master plan. In this context the Repository-Analyzer introduced here can be easily used to keep records in retrospect.
Features
Intuitive, Fast and Agile Approach
- Generate an Excel list from a customized PIM-Repository-file and the corresponding file in delivery status in equal product version state
- Document the changes performed on a standard repository
- List the following information
- One Excel-Tab lists the fields which have changed or which are new compared with the delivery status of the repository
- One Excel-Tab lists new, or changed enumerations
- One Excel-Tab lists changed or new enumeration entries and links each with the corresponding enumeration
- Found and therefore possibly valid subentities, enumerations, etc. are deposited as options behind the listed fields in order to support modelling tasks. The Choice of values is supported by internal validation.
Benefits
- Rapid overview Extensive filtering functions assist analysis, debugging attempts and complete overview of the repository customizings
- Easy singular retrospectiv documentation
- Basis for an ongoing documentation process Integrate the Repository Analyzer into your build-processes and be able to generate a repository change log “diffing” the Excel results
- Find possible modelling failures and mistakes
- Support on cost estimation e.g. for migration on newer PIM-Versions
- Reliable basis for a systematic manual further development of your PIM data model
- Modelling assistance via default value and input validation
- All this in a „readable“ format not only for technicians
- Basis for an automated repository-generation tooling without the need to edit the repository.repository file manually. Maintain the field list and let a tool generate the repository.repository file. (note that this attempt demands a special generator-tool as prerequisite)
Outlook
- Future versions of the repository analyzer are supposed to contain repository validating functions that list errors, inconsistencies, etc. on a new tab.
Specifications:
How to use the Repository Analyzer for Informatica Product 360 / PIM:
- Copy the standard repository and property files in delivery status in a given folder
- Copy the customized repository and property files in a given folder
- Call the corresponding command file
- Find the resulting Excel file in a given folder
Support
Stefan Blömer
Phone No : +49(5242)91-4818
Headquaters
arvato Systems S4M GmbH
Ringstr. 16-20
D-33378 Rheda-Wiedenbrück
Germany