Simulate the impact of a change

At a glance

Use simulation scenarios to evaluate the impact of a modification before applying it. Test additions, modifications, or deletions of entities and relations in an isolated environment, then compare with the current state.

What you'll do

• Create a simulation scenario
• Add virtual mutations (add, modify, delete)
• Calculate the impact on related entities
• Compare the scenario with the current state
• Apply or discard the changes

Prerequisites

• An ontology with entities and relations already created
• Editor role or higher on the workspace

Step 1: Create a scenario

1. Navigate to Simulation > Scenarios in the sidebar.
2. Click New scenario.
3. Give the scenario a descriptive name (e.g. "Remove supplier ACME").
4. Add an optional description explaining the purpose of the simulation.
5. Click Create.

The scenario is created with a virtual copy of the current state of your ontology.

Step 2: Add mutations

Within your scenario, add the modifications you want to evaluate:

Action	Description	Example
Add	Create a new virtual entity or relation	Add a new "Partner" type
Modify	Change the properties of an existing entity	Set a supplier's status to "inactive"
Delete	Remove an entity or relation	Remove the "delivers to" relation between a supplier and a warehouse

Each mutation is recorded in the scenario without modifying the actual data.

Step 3: Calculate the impact

1. Click Analyze impact in the scenario toolbar.
2. The system calculates the entities affected by your mutations:
   • Directly modified entities
   • Entities linked by relations (indirect impact)
   • Potential orphaned relations
3. The results are displayed as a graph with color coding:
   • Green: addition
   • Orange: modification
   • Red: deletion

Step 4: Compare with the current state

Use the comparison view to visualize side by side:

• Current state: your ontology as it is today
• Simulated state: your ontology after applying the mutations

This view highlights the differences and makes decision-making easier.

Step 5: Apply or discard

Based on your analysis:

• Apply the scenario: the virtual mutations become real modifications in your ontology. This action is irreversible.
• Discard the scenario: no modifications are applied. The scenario is archived for reference.

Tip: if an approval policy is active, applying the scenario may generate approval requests for the affected operations.

Expected outcome

You have simulated a change in an isolated environment, analyzed its impact on related entities, compared the before and after states, and made an informed decision: apply or discard the modifications.

Next steps

• Simulation overview — Discover all simulation features
• Scenario management — Learn more about creating and managing scenarios

Need help?

Contact us: Support and contact.