Glossary
Impact analysis
Working out everything that depends on a thing before, or as soon as, that thing changes.
Impact analysis answers one question: if this changes, what else is affected? For a business definition, the answer includes other terms calculated from it, reports that use it, documents that explain it and work items that implement it.
Why relationship type matters
Only some connections carry a change. If “net revenue” is calculated from “gross revenue”, a change to gross revenue affects net revenue. If the two are merely filed under the same heading, it does not. Impact analysis that treats every link as a dependency overstates the reach of a change, and any cost figure built on it.
Why history matters
Auditors often ask what depended on a definition at the time a past decision was made, not today. Impact analysis that keeps history can answer that. One that only holds the current state cannot.
Impact analysis is the step between detecting definition drift and calculating its rework cost.