What is Undermatching in Informatica MDM?

 What is Undermatching in Informatica MDM?

Undermatching is a situation in which two or more records in a master data management (MDM) system do not match, even though they should.

This can happen for a variety of reasons, such as:

• The records have different values for some of the key attributes.
• The records have been created by different systems or applications.
• The records have been corrupted or incorrectly entered.

Undermatching can lead to a number of problems, such as:

• Inaccurate data analysis.
• Duplicate data.
• Poor decision-making.

How to Identify Undermatching

There are a number of ways to identify undermatching in an MDM system. One common approach is to use SQL queries to compare the records in different tables. For example, if the match rule contains both parent (Party) and child (Address) table fuzzy columns. Then try to write sql statement with all the match columns and make sure duplicate records are not returning.

In sql below, we made the assumption that First Name, Last Name from Party table and Address Line 1, Country from Address table are match rule columns.

SQL

select sub1.*, sub2.* from 
(SELECT c.Rowid_object, c.First_Name, c.Last_Name, c.Display_Name, a.Address_Line_1, a.Country, a.State
FROM Customer c
LEFT JOIN Address a
ON c.rowid_object = a.Party_Rowid) sub1,

(SELECT c.Rowid_object, c.First_Name, c.Last_Name, c.Display_Name, a.Address_Line_1, a.Country, a.State
FROM Customer c
LEFT JOIN Address a
ON c.rowid_object = a.Party_Rowid) sub2
WHERE sub1.ROWID_OBJECT <> sub2.ROWID_OBJECT
and sub1.First_Name = sub2.First_Name
and sub1.Last_Name = sub2.Last_Name
and sub1.Address_Line_1 = sub2.Address_Line_1
and sub1.Country = sub2.Country

This query will return a list of all records that are present in the Customer table but found duplicates of those. These records are likely to be undermatched.

Another way to identify undermatching is to use a data profiling tool. Data profiling tools can analyze the data in an MDM system and identify a variety of problems, including undermatching.

How to Fix Undermatching

Once undermatching has been identified, it can be fixed in a number of ways. One common approach is to manually merge the unmatched records. This can be a time-consuming and error-prone process, but it is often the only option when the undermatching is caused by human error.

Another approach is to use automated matching algorithms. These algorithms can compare the records in different tables and identify the ones that are most likely to be matches. Once the matches have been identified, they can be merged automatically.

The best approach to fixing undermatching will depend on the specific situation. However, it is important to fix undermatching as soon as possible to avoid the problems that it can cause.

Learn more about Match process in Informatica MDM here