Best practices

We recommend that everyone reads our advice below – whether you're an experienced user or just getting started.

  • Use the 'Undo/Redo' option. Where these options are available, any user action can be reverted and we recommend using these whenever required, especially when working with Workflows and Functions. Everyone makes a mistake every now and then!

  • Save rules in one Space and data in another. Separating the validation rules (by default stored in the DA360 Reference Space) from users who don't have the permissions to modify them, allows easier management of user access by restricting the data to only those who need it.

  • Use the 'Summary' and 'Description' fields when loading Datasets. This allows you to maintain a detailed list of Dataset metadata and is useful in understanding what each Dataset contains/what it's used for. You can always edit these fields later and amend as required when the list of Datasets grows.

  • Profile new Datasets before using them in Workflows. We strongly recommend that all new Datasets are evaluated using the Profile step in Data Studio, especially when you first upload a Metro2 file. This will allow you to highlight any data quality issues before a Workflow is processed, saving you time and effort.

  • Use 'Add to Workflow' from the Profile step. This simplifies the preparation of a Workflow and encourages the use of profiling of data. When a new Dataset is loaded, we recommend that you create a Workflow and set this new Dataset to be the Source and add a Profile step. You will then be able to use the 'Add to Workflow' option in the Profile step to add any required transformations for the profiled data.

  • Automate the re-start of the Data Studio service. We recommend re-starting the Data Studio service periodically to help maintain high performance. The automation setup is a one-off, so we highly recommend it.

  • Enable logging when troubleshooting. Enabling logging in Data Studio not only improves the escalation process but is also very likely to shorten the resolution time because the log files can be submitted to your local support team.

USA DataArc 360™

Consumer DataArc 360™ validation