Cross-Domain conflicts
Find metrics that share a name but carry different definitions across domains, and resolve them so Orion answers consistently.
When to use it — When Orion gives inconsistent answers for the same metric, or when your Context Health score is being dragged down by conflicts.
Where to find it — Context Studio → Quality group → Cross-Domain (
/context-studio).Who can use it — Luminary and Weaver.
A metric name like "Revenue" should mean one thing in your workspace. When two domains each define their own "Revenue" with different descriptions, Orion has no clean way to pick the right one — and the answer it gives depends on which domain it happens to resolve. The Cross-Domain tab finds every such collision so you can fix it at the source.
Each conflict is displayed once per name, with every conflicting definition laid out next to its domain, description, and certified status. From there you decide which definition is canonical, or rename the metrics so the ambiguity disappears.
Overview
The Cross-Domain tab loads every metric (reveal) in your workspace, then keeps only the ones flagged as conflicting. A conflict exists when two reveals share the same name (case-insensitive), live in different domains, and have different descriptions. Reveals with the same name and identical descriptions are not a conflict — they are just the same definition reused.
Conflicting metrics are grouped by name. Each group is rendered as a red-bordered card with the metric name, a "N definitions" badge, and one panel per conflicting definition. Every panel shows:
- The domain the definition belongs to, with a colored dot.
- A certified badge if that definition has been certified.
- The metric description (or "No description" when none is set).
- An Edit in Forge → link that opens that domain in Forge.
When there are no conflicts, the tab shows a green confirmation: "No conflicts found — all metric names are unique across domains. Orion can answer consistently." The sidebar entry also carries a red alert dot whenever the conflict count is above zero, so you can spot problems without opening the tab.
When to use it
- Orion returns different numbers for the same metric depending on how a question is phrased or which domain it touches.
- Your Context Health score has dropped and you want to find what is penalising it — conflicts count against it.
- You have just merged or imported a domain and want to check it does not redefine names that already exist.
- You are doing a periodic semantic hygiene pass and want a single view of every duplicated metric name.
Concepts
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Conflict | Two or more reveals with the same name, in different domains, with different descriptions. |
| Definition | A single reveal: one domain's version of the metric, with its own description and certification. |
| Canonical definition | The one definition you choose as authoritative for a given name across the workspace. |
| Qualified name | A renamed metric that carries its context, e.g. "Revenue (Retail)" vs "Revenue (Wholesale)", so two valid definitions stop colliding. |
| Certified | A definition that has been reviewed and marked trustworthy. The certified badge appears on the panel. |
Getting started
You need the Luminary or Weaver role to open Context Studio. To resolve a conflict you will also edit domain definitions in Forge, which is available to the same roles.
Open Context Studio
Go to Context Studio (/context-studio).
Select the Cross-Domain tab
In the left sidebar, under the Quality group, click Cross-Domain. A red dot next to the entry means conflicts are present.
Review the count
The section subtitle tells you how many metric names are defined differently in multiple domains, or confirms there are none.
Step-by-step
Open a conflict card
Each red-bordered card is one metric name. The header shows the name and a "N definitions" badge telling you how many conflicting versions exist.
Compare the definitions side by side
Read each panel: the domain name, the certified badge (if present), and the description. Identify which description is correct, or whether both are valid in different contexts.
Pick a resolution strategy
Decide between a canonical definition (make all domains agree on one meaning) or qualified names (rename so each domain keeps its own valid meaning without colliding).
Edit the definition in Forge
Click Edit in Forge → on the panel you need to change. This opens that domain in Forge, where you update the metric's description (or rename it) in the domain's CML.
Save and re-certify
Save your change through Forge's Check & Save gate. If the definition was certified, re-certify it after the edit so the certified badge reflects the corrected version.
Confirm the conflict is gone
Return to the Cross-Domain tab. Once the descriptions match (canonical) or the names differ (qualified), the card disappears and the count drops.
Examples
Suppose two domains each define a metric named Revenue:
- Sales domain: "Net revenue after discounts and returns."
- Finance domain: "Gross revenue recognised in the period, before adjustments."
These share a name, sit in different domains, and have different descriptions, so the Cross-Domain tab shows a "Revenue — 2 definitions" card.
Option A — canonical definition. If both teams should mean the same thing, agree on one wording and apply it to both domains. After editing the Finance domain in Forge so its description matches Sales:reveals:
- name: Revenue
description: Net revenue after discounts and returns.
# ...measure definition unchanged
Once both descriptions are identical, the collision is no longer flagged.
Option B — qualified names. If both definitions are genuinely valid in their own context, rename them so they stop colliding:reveals:
- name: Revenue (Net)
description: Net revenue after discounts and returns.
reveals:
- name: Revenue (Gross)
description: Gross revenue recognised in the period, before adjustments.
Because the names now differ, the conflict resolves and Orion can answer for each precisely.
Best practices
- Resolve conflicts at the source in Forge, not by editing data — every future row should inherit the corrected definition.
- Prefer a canonical definition when a single meaning is correct; reserve qualified names for cases where both meanings are genuinely needed.
- When you certify a definition, make sure it is the correct one — certifying the right reveal (and removing or renaming the wrong one) resolves a conflict cleanly.
- Keep metric descriptions specific. A vague or empty description makes conflicts harder to judge and weakens Orion's grounding.
- Treat the Cross-Domain tab as a gate after any domain import or merge, so duplicated names never reach end users.
Tips
If both definitions are valid in different contexts, add a qualifier to the name — e.g. "Revenue (Retail)" vs "Revenue (Wholesale)" — instead of forcing them into one. Conflicts are penalised in your Context Health score, so clearing them directly improves it.
Common mistakes
- Leaving a description blank. A definition with no description still conflicts and is harder to compare. Always write a clear description.
- Editing the same metric in two places to "agree" but with slightly different wording. The check is exact on description — near-matches still count as a conflict. Make the canonical descriptions identical.
- Certifying both conflicting definitions. Certification does not resolve a conflict; you still need matching descriptions or distinct names.
- Fixing the data instead of the definition. The conflict is about the semantic model, not the rows. Edit the domain in Forge.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| "Loading conflicts…" never resolves | The metrics request did not complete | Reload the page; confirm you have Luminary or Weaver access to Context Studio. |
| A card shows "No description" on a panel | That domain's reveal has no description set | Open Edit in Forge → and add a description; this also makes the conflict easy to judge. |
| You edited a description but the card still appears | The two descriptions are not exactly identical, or the change has not saved | Re-open both domains in Forge, make the descriptions match exactly, and save through Check & Save. |
| Same name in two domains but no conflict shown | The descriptions are already identical, so it is not flagged | Nothing to fix — identical definitions are not a conflict. |
| Sidebar shows a red dot on Cross-Domain | One or more conflicts exist | Open the tab and resolve each red-bordered card. |
| The card persists after renaming | The rename has not propagated, or both reveals were not saved | Confirm each domain's reveal name is distinct and that both edits were saved in Forge. |