Docs/Context Studio/Impact Analysis

Impact Analysis

Pick a semantic node and see what changing it would affect — impacted mosaics, active users, and every downstream object — before you make the change.

LuminaryWeaverUpdated June 2026 · 5 min read

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In this section

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Tip

What it is: A "blast-radius" check that shows what would be affected if you change a semantic node — impacted mosaics, active users in the last 30 days, and the full list of downstream objects that depend on the node.
When to use it: Right before you edit, rename, or delete a node — so a quick change doesn't silently break a dashboard or an Orion answer.
Where to find it: Context Studio → Governance → Impact Analysis.
Who can use it: Luminary and Weaver.

Editing a semantic node rarely affects only that node. A reveal can be pinned to several mosaics, referenced by topics and AI analysts, and queried by people every day. Impact Analysis answers one question before you touch anything: if I change this node, what else changes?

It is the safety-check companion to Lineage. Lineage maps the dependency graph in both directions so you can understand how a node fits together. Impact Analysis takes the downstream side of that same graph and turns it into a focused "before you change it" summary, with counts you can act on.

Overview

You pick one node from a dropdown and click Analyse impact. Context Studio walks the knowledge graph from that node and returns three things:

Impacted mosaics — how many dashboards include a tile built on this node.
Active users (30d) — recent usage, so you can gauge how visible the change will be.
Downstream objects — every object that depends on the node, each labelled with its object type and the relationship that connects it.

The graph walk follows dependency edges several hops out, so it surfaces indirect dependents too — not just the objects wired directly to the node. The result is read-only: Impact Analysis tells you what is at risk; it never changes anything.

When to use it

Run an impact check whenever a change could ripple beyond the node itself:

Before renaming or deleting a reveal — to confirm which mosaics and downstream objects reference it.
Before changing a metric's definition or calculation — to see who relies on the current numbers.
During clean-up — to confirm a node is genuinely unused before you remove it.
When scoping a change — to decide whether it is a quiet fix or one that needs a heads-up to the people who use the affected dashboards.

If you instead want to trace where a node's data comes from (its upstream sources), use Lineage.

Concepts

Term	What it means here
Node	A semantic object in your workspace — typically a reveal (a named metric or dimension). You select one node to analyse. See Nodes.
Downstream object	Anything that depends on the selected node and would be affected if it changes. Each is shown with its object type and relationship type.
Object type	The kind of dependent object — for example a mosaic, topic, AI analyst, decision, or prism.
Relationship type	The label on the graph edge that connects the dependent object to the node (how it depends on it).
Impacted mosaics	The count of dashboards that contain a tile built on the selected node.
Active users (30d)	A usage signal for recent activity related to the node, over the last 30 days.

Getting started

Prerequisites

You are signed in as a Luminary or Weaver.
Your workspace has a populated knowledge graph (nodes and the edges between them). If you have built reveals, mosaics, and topics, the graph is already populated. See Knowledge Graph.

Open Impact Analysis

Go to Context Studio.
In the left navigation, open the Governance group.
Click Impact Analysis.

Step-by-step

Open Impact Analysis

In Context Studio, under Governance, click Impact Analysis. You will see the header "Impact Analysis — See what would be affected if a node changes" and a node selector. Before you pick anything, the panel reads "Select a node to analyse its impact."

Select the node

Open the Select node dropdown and choose the node you are about to change. The dropdown lists the nodes in your workspace by name.

Analyse impact

Click Analyse impact. The button shows "Loading…" while Context Studio walks the graph from your node.

Read the summary cards

Three cards appear at the top: Impacted mosaics, Active users (30d), and Downstream objects. Use these to gauge the size of the change at a glance.

Review the affected objects

Below the cards, the Affected objects list shows every downstream object. Each row has a badge for its object type, the object's id, and — on the right — its relationship type. Scan this list to know exactly what to re-check after your change.

Decide and act

If the impact is small, proceed with your edit. If mosaics or users are affected, plan the change, re-validate the affected mosaics afterward, and notify the people who rely on them.

Examples

Suppose you are about to redefine the Net Revenue reveal and want to know what depends on it.

Open Context Studio → Governance → Impact Analysis.
In Select node, choose Net Revenue.
Click Analyse impact.

A typical result:

Impacted mosaics      4
Active users (30d)    37
Downstream objects    6

Affected objects
  [mosaic]    Executive Overview        pinned_to
  [mosaic]    Finance Weekly            pinned_to
  [topic]     Revenue & Margin          references
  [analyst]   Revenue Analyst           uses
  [decision]  Q2 Pricing Review         references
  [prism]     Margin Deep-Dive          references

The read here: four dashboards and a handful of downstream objects depend on Net Revenue, and people have used it recently. That is a change worth coordinating — re-check the two named mosaics after you edit the reveal, and confirm the Revenue Analyst still answers correctly.

If the Downstream objects count is 0 and no objects are listed, the node is safe to change with little risk to other objects.

Best practices

Make impact analysis a habit before destructive edits. Renames and deletes are exactly where silent breakage happens — check first, every time.
Pair it with Lineage. Use Lineage to understand the full dependency picture (upstream and downstream); use Impact Analysis to get the actionable downstream summary right before you change something.
Re-validate the named mosaics after the change. The list tells you precisely which dashboards to open and confirm — don't skip them.
Treat "Active users (30d)" as a signal to communicate. A node with recent usage means people will notice the change; give them a heads-up.
Re-run after the edit. Confirm the affected objects still resolve as expected.

Tips

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Tip

The relationship type on each row tells you how the object depends on the node, not just that it does. A "pinned_to" mosaic relationship means a tile is built directly on the node, so it is the most likely to break — review those rows first.

Common mistakes

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Warning

Skipping the check on a "tiny" rename. Renaming a reveal can orphan tiles that reference it by name. Analyse impact first.

Assuming an empty list means nothing uses it. An empty result means nothing is wired into the knowledge graph for that node — but always confirm the node you selected is the one you are about to change.

Forgetting indirect dependents. Impact Analysis walks several hops, so an object can appear even if it isn't directly attached to the node. Don't dismiss a downstream object just because you didn't wire it up yourself.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Fix
"Select a node to analyse its impact." stays on screen	No node has been selected yet, or the analysis hasn't been run	Choose a node in Select node and click Analyse impact.
The Analyse impact button is disabled	No node is selected, or an analysis is already loading	Pick a node from the dropdown; wait for any in-progress load to finish.
The node dropdown is empty	No nodes exist in the workspace yet	Build reveals and other semantic objects in Forge so the Knowledge Graph is populated.
Downstream objects is `0` and no objects are listed	Nothing in the graph depends on the selected node	This is a valid result — the node is safe to change. Double-check you selected the intended node.
A mosaic you expected isn't listed	Its tile isn't connected to this node in the graph, or it references a different reveal	Confirm the mosaic's tile is built on this node; cross-check with Lineage.

Lineage — trace a node's upstream sources and downstream consumers across the dependency graph.
Knowledge Graph — the graph of nodes and relationships that Impact Analysis walks.
Nodes — the semantic objects you select and analyse.
Mosaics — the dashboards that appear as impacted objects.