AO Constant Key Advanced

Overview

AO Constant Key Advanced builds and maintains a constant record key, performing all of the functions of AO Constant Key and more. It is designed to deal with the complexities of household automatic split/merge in a changing data environment, especially in financial customer-master-maintenance applications where households are fairly dynamic.

AO Constant Key Advanced works by maintaining a "Head of Household" (HOH) for all match groups. The HOH is usually the member of the household with the highest priority, or it may be assigned externally using custom business logic. AO Constant Key Advanced requires that the HOH be maintained, and also requires that each record has a persistent unique record ID that tracks individual over time.

During a match update process, this macro compares the existing constant key (for example, household ID), the existing HOH, the new match groups, and the new HOH of each group. It is able to detect and adjust to the following events:

Split of existing groups (such as divorce or child going to college).
Merge of existing groups (such as marriage).
New members added to groups (such as a birth).

While we talk about typical individual/family events in describing this macro, it is not limited to only these situations, and works for businesses and other entities as well as individuals.

The macro accepts a single input connection (usually from a database or matching process) and produces two outputs: "D" output containing the updated data, and "H" output containing the update history for the data.

To see an example of this Advanced Object in action, open the AO Matching/Samples folder and then choose the Constant Key Sample project.

AO Constant Key Advanced configuration parameters

AO Constant Key Advanced has two sets of configuration parameters in addition to the standard execution options: Input and Output.

AO Constant Key Advanced Input tab

Parameter	Definition
Unique record ID	(Required) New unique record identifier. Appended to the History output to the life cycle of any record as it changes over time. Default: blank
Existing constant key	(Required) Existing unique record identifier from input data. This is used for "update" processes where the previously-matched master records will contain constant key values, but the new "update" source records will contain null values. Default: blank
Max existing key	(Required) Highest currently assigned constant key. This is usually computed by AO Max ID or by query from the master relational database. Leave this mapping blank for the initial "build", but populate it for "update". Default: blank
Match ID	(Required) The match ID produced by the matching process. Must be null for unique records. These values are unrelated to the existing constant keys. Default: blank
Priority	(Required) Used to determine the master record (head-of-household) of each match group. The master record will be the record in each group with the lowest priority number. You will normally use the "group order" result from AO Match Append Info, as it will assign priority to the master/HOH. Otherwise this may be defined using AO Define Source or your custom business rule. Default: PRIORITY
Existing HOH flag	(Required) Field containing Y/N flag identifying master record of a group on the basis of match rank priority value. Typically assigned by AO Match Append Info. Existing records (from master database) must have either a Y or N assigned. New records with an empty value in this field will be initially assigned default value N. Default: blank

AO Constant Key Advanced Output tab

Output "D"

All input data is maintained, and the following fields are added. Output results are sent to Output "D" (Data).

Record outputs

Field

Description

New constant key

(Required) Field for unique record identifier. This result combines the existing constant keys (if any) with the new matches to produce.

Default: NEW_CONSTANT_KEY

New HOH flag

Assign new head-of-household flag (Y/N) as appropriate. For unchanged match groups, the same record will be the head-of-household.

Default: NEW_HOH_FLAG

Move flag

This is set to "Y" for any record whose constant key was changed and "N" otherwise. Records whose Existing Constant Key is null will always receive "N" for this output.

Default: MOVE_FLAG

Group outputs

Field	Description
Household change flag	Set to Y to indicate the household (match group) containing this record was changed. This happens when records are added to or removed from the household, or if the head-of-household changes. Default: HH_CHANGE_FLAG
Gain flag	This is set to "Y" when the household (match group) containing this record gains new members. Default: GAIN_FLAG
Loss flag	This is set to "Y" when the household (match group) containing this records loses members to another household. Default: LOSS_FLAG
Join flag	This is set to "Y" when a new household (match group) is formed from members of more than one previous household (for example, the new match group contains records with more than one Existing Constant Key value). Default: JOIN_FLAG
HOH change flag	Set to true if the group's head of household changed or was created. Default: HOH_CHANGE_FLAG
Time stamp	Date and time stamp of time the project was run. All output records will be assigned the same value. Default: HH_CHANGE_TIMESTAMP

Output H (Historical Information)

Records are sent to this output if they already had constant keys (for example, in master database), and the constant key changed.

Field	Description
Record identifier	Unique record identifier. Appended to the History output to the life cycle of any record as it changes over time. This has the same field name as was mapped on input. Default: blank
Old constant key	The existing constant key that was mapped into the macro. Default: OLD_CONSTANT_KEY
New constant key	Household ID (may be original or new value). A value of Null or -1 means the record is not included in the Historical Information output. Default: NEW_CONSTANT_KEY
Old HOH flag	The existing head of household that was mapped into the macro. Default: OLD_HOH_FLAG
New HOH flag	Assigned the new head-of-household flag (Y/N). Default: NEW_HOH_FLAG
Change timestamp	Date/time stamp for records added to the Historical Information output. Aids in tracking auto-joins and auto-splits over time—allows for reversion to previous household. All output records will be assigned the same value. Default: CHANGE_TIMESTAMP

Configure AO Constant Key Advanced

To configure AO Constant Key Advanced:

Select the AO Constant Key Advanced icon.
Go the Input tab on the Properties pane.
Select Unique record ID and choose the field containing the new unique record identifier.
Select Existing constant key and choose the field containing the existing unique record identifier from input data.
Select Max existing key and choose the field containing the highest currently assigned constant key.
Select Match ID and choose the field containing the match ID produced by the upstream matching process. This must be null for unique records.
Select Priority and choose the field containing the "group order" result from AO Match Append Info or another source.
Select Existing HOH flag and choose the field containing Y/N flag identifying the master record of a group. This is typically assigned using AO Match Append Info.
Optionally, select the Output tab and specify alternative output field names for the fields appended to the "D" output data stream.
Optionally, go to the Execution tab, and then set Web service options.