Today, corporations invest significant time in standardizing, sharing, cleansing, and tracking product data across the supply chain.

This tutorial will assist business users and data stewards in using xDM for their daily tasks.

Learning outcomes

Background

If you have not already done so, click the button below to download resources such as images, helper files, and datasets used in this tutorial.

DOWNLOAD TUTORIAL RESOURCES

The sample data provided mirrors that of an apparel company. You will be managing data from a retail clothing store, including various clothing items from different brands.

By the end of this tutorial, you will gain insight into xDM's user-friendly interface, data management functionalities, and how its intelligent design streamlines everyday tasks, saving you time and effort.

Learning track

Before following this tutorial, you must set up Semarchy xDM. If you have not yet, complete one of the "Quick Install" tutorials available in the Tutorials menu.

GO TO TUTORIALS

This section will provide step-by-step instructions to help you efficiently set up and configure your environment. By the end of this section, you will possess the necessary skills to navigate the Application Builder with confidence, import data models, and ensure your environment is properly configured to facilitate efficient execution of various data management tasks.

Learning outcomes

Import the model

Before you begin exploring data, you first need to provide xDM with a data model. We have provided you with a demo data model that is ready to be imported.

The model is preconfigured and accessible in the tutorial resources within the demo-applications/product-retail/model directory. Alternatively, you can find it on GitHub (select the appropriate version of the model and download the XML file for later import).

Importing a data model is typically handled by a member of your IT team. Therefore, you will log in as SemAdmin, as this user has full administrative privileges in the xDM platform, including the ability to import the data model.

In this section, you will connect to xDM and configure the application and data location within the Application Builder.

  1. Open your web browser and connect to the URL where xDM is installed.
  1. Log in using the SemAdmin user credentials.
  1. If you have completed the Install Semarchy xDM on AWS or Install Semarchy xDM on Azure tutorial, you will be prompted to change your password. Enter the default password for datasteward in Current password, provide and confirm the New password, and then click Change.

  1. Open the Application Builder.
    This is where you will develop and manage your xDM models and applications.

  1. In the Design tab, click on New Model from import.

  1. Import the model that corresponds to your xDM version. ​Follow the instructions in the pop-up to upload the model.
  2. Once the import process is complete, click Finish.
    Your model should open.

For Oracle and SQL Server users

The model is set to use PostgreSQL by default. If you are using Oracle or SQL Server, you need to modify the model to use a different target database.

To do so:

  1. Double-click the root level of the model at ProductRetailDemo [0.0].

  1. Change the Target Database from PostgreSQL to your intended target database.

Now that your model is imported, the next step is to add roles and users before deployment.

Add roles

Data security is critical to any organization. xDM offers robust controls for managing access to data and platform functions. To restrict access within xDM, you will create:

To configure these roles in xDM:

  1. In the upper-right corner of the Application Builder, click on the arrow in the xDM toolbar to expand the user menu.
  2. Select Welcome page.

  1. A new tab will likely open to take you to the Welcome page. If you do not see the new tab open, adjust your browser settings to allow pop-ups.

  1. Click on Configuration on the Welcome page.

  1. Click Roles.

  1. Click the Add Role button.

  1. The Add Role dialog opens. Set the Name to DataSteward, leave all other fields unmodified, and then click Create.

  1. Select Add Role again to create another role.
  2. Set the Name to BusinessUser, leave all other fields unmodified, and then click Create.

Next, you will create users.

Add users

You will now create one user for each of the roles you have just created.

  1. Select Users in the navigation drawer of the Configuration module.

  1. Click the Add User button.

  1. Enter the following values:

  1. Click the chevron next to Authentication Settings to unfold the section.

  1. Select Enable Internal Authentication, set the Password to datasteward123 or any password of your choice, and then click Add another.

  1. Enter the following values and then click Create:

Next, you will create a datasource that you will use to deploy your model.

Create a datasource

Before creating a data location and deploying your model, you must create a platform datasource to connect to the SEMARCHY_PRODUCT_RETAIL_MDM database schema that was created in the Quick Install tutorials.

  1. On the Welcome page, select Configuration.

  1. Scroll down to the Connections section and click Datasources.

  1. Click the Add datasource floating action button.

  1. Enter the following values and then click Create:

  1. Enter the following connection parameters in the editor:

  1. Enter the password of the database schema:

  1. Click Test this Datasource in the button bar above the editor.

  1. The "Datasource test successful" message should be displayed. Click OK.

If another message is displayed, identify the error and adjust your connection parameters accordingly.

  1. Click the Save and apply datasource modification button on the datasource editor.

  1. Open the user menu on the top-right corner and select All applications to go back to the Welcome page.

Create a data location

Now that you have imported the data model and created a datasource, it is time to deploy the model.

In this section, you will create the ProductRetailDemo data location and deploy your model into this data location. Deploying your model builds your application.

  1. Click the Management tab.

  1. Right-click Data Location and select New Data Location.

  1. Create a new data location and name it ProductRetailDemo.
  2. Follow the pop-up prompts and enter the following information:

  1. Click Finish and wait until the database tables and the application are deployed.

Next, you will import images that will be used in the application.

Import images

Images associated with metadata concepts like "Product" and "Product Family" are commonly stored within an image library. Conversely, images corresponding to user-definable data—such as the "Blackberry Slim Pencil Skirt" product or the "Women's clothing" product family—are typically stored externally or incorporated into the application during data authoring.

You are now going to upload the gs-retail.zip file to the xDM repository. Find the images library in the demo-applications/product-retail/image-library folder.

  1. Select Image Libraries in the navigation drawer of the Configuration module.

  1. Click the button Import Image Library in the upper-right corner.

  1. Select the gs-retail.zip file that comes in the folder image-library from your resource files, and then click OK.

  1. If you see new images added such as gs-retail/BrowseBrand.jpg and gs-retail/BrowseFamily.jpg, then you have successfully imported the metadata images from the gs-retail.zip file.

The images are now loaded into xDM.

Import dashboards

Dashboards are useful to any organization for visualizing their data. xDM offers built-in dashboards for profiling data during the data discovery phase. Moreover, xDM enables creating custom dashboards tailored to meet specific organizational needs. For further insights into dashboards and how to write queries and configure charts to render visualizations, see the Semarchy xDM documentation.

You are now going to import the Customer Metrics dashboard into xDM.

  1. In the user menu, select All applications.

  1. Click on Dashboard Builder on the Welcome page.

  1. Locate the + icon in the lower-right corner of the Dashboard Builder.
  2. Hover your mouse over the + icon until the Import application icon pops up.

  1. Click the Import dashboard button.

  1. Follow the instructions on the screen to import the gs-retaildemo-dashboard-02-2023.x.zip file.
  2. Click Create to finish importing the gs-retaildemo-dashboard-02-2023.x.zip file.

  1. If you see ProductRetailDashboard, you have successfully imported the dashboard. You will check whether the dashboard works in the next section after importing data.

For Oracle and SQL Server users

The dashboard is set to use PostgreSQL connections by default. If you are using Oracle or SQL Server, you need to modify the datasource to use a different connection.

  1. Click on ProductRetailDashboard.
  2. Click on Datasources.

  1. Click on each data source. If you modified the JNDI resource name in semarchy.xml from the default tutorial settings, make sure to reflect those changes and update the datasource with the correct Platform Datasource name. Also, verify and adjust the Database Type as necessary.

Congratulations!

You have successfully set up your application.

To summarize:

You are now ready to navigate to the application and start importing data. Access the application to verify that you have properly completed all the steps outlined in ② Set up the application.

  1. Click on All Applications from the profile button in the upper-right corner.

  1. On the Welcome page, you should see an application called Product Retail MDM.
  2. Click the Product Retail MDM icon to enter the Product Retail MDM application.

  1. If you see the Welcome pop-up in the Product Retail MDM application, you have successfully completed this part of the tutorial.

  1. Click Continue in the wizard.

You will now customize your user profile.

  1. Set up your profile with your name and email address.
    Other basic information has already been provided during the login process.
  2. To upload your profile picture, open the user menu in the upper-right corner.
  3. Click on your profile picture.
  4. Click on Profile.

  1. Click on the placeholder image to change your profile picture.

  1. Select the profile picture for your SemAdmin user (i.e., semadmin.jpg) in the product-retail/pictures folder of the tutorial resources.

The next section of the tutorial guides you through the process of importing data into the Customer B2C demo application as a data steward. This will facilitate the review of duplicate data and suggested matches.

We will now shift focus to the newly created Data Steward user, as we are now transitioning from development and administrative duties to data stewardship responsibilities.

First, log out the SemAdmin user account:

  1. In the upper-right corner of the application, click on the profile picture.

  1. In the user menu, select Logout.

Next, you will connect as Data Steward and import data into your application.

Congratulations!

You have successfully accessed the Product Retail MDM demo application.

To summarize:

Next, you will import, rectify, and delete data in the application.

Before you can start browsing data, you first need to import data into the application.

We have provided you with demo data that is ready to import, including:

Importing data is typically performed by a data steward. Therefore, we will connect as the Data Steward user, who has been granted the necessary privileges for data import within the ProductRetailDemo model.

To prepare for importing sample data, locate the sample data files we provided you in the folder demo-applications/product-retail/datasets that came with the tutorial resources. You should find seven Excel files:

As a data steward, you will also fix errors and delete some records after importing the datasets.

Connect as Data Steward

Begin by logging in to the application and setting up your data steward profile.

To get to the application:

  1. Log in using the Data Steward user credentials.
  1. If you followed the Install Semarchy xDM on AWS or the Install Semarchy xDM on Azure tutorial, you are prompted to change your password. Enter the default password for datasteward in Current password, provide and confirm the New password, and then click Change.

  1. On the Welcome page, click the Product Retail MDM icon to access the application.

  1. You have now accessed the Product Retail MDM application where data stewards and business users typically carry out their daily tasks.
  2. Complete your profile as Data Steward in the Welcome wizard.

  1. After adding your name and email address, proceed with the same steps as the SemAdmin user to edit your profile.
  2. Update your profile picture for the Data Steward user with the datasteward.jpg image in the product-retail/pictures folder.

You are now connected as a Data Steward.

Import data from Excel spreadsheets

You are now going to import the demo data from the resources you downloaded at the beginning of this tutorial.

To import data while logged in as Data Steward:

  1. Take a look at the navigation drawer.
    This is where you will find all the links and shortcuts within the application.

  1. Click on Start Here.

Import Brands

To import brand data, follow these steps:

  1. Click on Import Brands.
  2. Follow the prompts in the pop-up window.
    The data is located in the demo-applications/product-retail/datasets.
  3. Select the 3-import-data-1-brand.xlsx file.

  1. Click Continue.
  2. On the Define mappings step, make sure the columns from the Excel file are correctly mapped to the Brand columns.
  3. Click Continue. xDM provides a summary of the data to be imported.
  4. Click Finish. Your brand data is now imported into xDM, but it is visible only to you.
    The data you imported has not yet transitioned to golden data.
  5. Click Finish in the lower-right corner of the stepper to submit the imported data to the hub.

  1. Wait until the confirmation messages "New data submitted" and "Changes successfully applied" appear in the pop-up toaster menu located at the lower-left corner of your screen.

Import Families

To import product family data, repeat the process outlined in the previous Import Brands section, except this time:

  1. Click on Import Families.
  2. Select the 3-import-data-2-family.xlsx file.
  3. The Define mappings step should show a different column name, corresponding to the 3-import-data-2-family.xlsx Excel file.

Import Subfamilies

To import product subfamily data, repeat the process outlined in the previous sections, except this time:

  1. Click on Import Subfamilies.
  2. Select the 3-import-data-3-subfamily.xlsx file.
  3. The Define mappings step should show a different column name, corresponding to the 3-import-data-3-subfamily.xlsx Excel file.

Import Sizes

To import product subfamily data, repeat the process outlined in the previous sections, except this time:

  1. Click on Import Sizes.
  2. Select the 3-import-data-4-size.xlsx file.
  3. The Define mappings step should show a different column name, corresponding to the 3-import-data-4-size.xlsx Excel file.

Import Products

To import product subfamily data, repeat the process outlined in the previous sections, except this time:

  1. Click on Import Products.
  2. Select the 3-import-data-5-product.xlsx file.
  3. The Define mappings step should show a different column name, corresponding to the 3-import-data-5-product.xlsx Excel file.

  1. Click Finish in the lower-right corner.
  2. You will encounter a Found data validation issues pop-up that alerts you to errors in the recently imported spreadsheet. Click Proceed anyway to close the window and save the records.

  1. Wait until the confirmation messages "New data submitted" and "Changes successfully applied" appear in the pop-up toaster menu located at the lower-left corner of your screen.

Import Items

To import product item data, repeat the process outlined in the previous sections, except this time:

  1. Click on Import Items.
  2. Select the 3-import-data-6-item.xlsx file.
  3. The Define mappings step should show a different column name, corresponding to the 3-import-data-6-item.xlsx Excel file.

Import Item Images

To import item image data, repeat the process outlined in the previous sections, except this time:

  1. Click on Import Item Images.
  2. Select the 3-import-data-7-image.xlsx file.
  3. The Define mappings step should show a different column name, corresponding to the 3-import-data-7-image.xlsx Excel file.

Check data

You are now going to verify that all the Excel files were successfully imported.

  1. In the navigation drawer, find the Browse Data section.
  2. Click on Product Catalog.

  1. Click on All Item Images.
  2. If you see records in Item Images, you have successfully imported all seven Excel files.

If you do not see any item images, something went wrong.
Review the previous import steps and try again.

Explore dashboards

Once your data import is complete, you can review the dashboards you imported into the Dashboard Builder.

  1. In the Dashboards section of the navigation drawer, click on Customer Metrics.

  1. If you see the Customer Metrics dashboard, you have successfully imported the dashboard files and the associated data.

Use the dashboard

Here is a quick overview of how to use the Customer Metrics dashboard.

  1. In the Customer Metrics tab, locate the Items By Brand bar chart.
  2. Click on the "Air Strides" bar.

  1. Observe the drill-down feature in action, which reveals the underlying data that constitute the "Air Strides" bar.

  1. Open the More menu in any row of the Items By Brand table.
    This menu presents the drill-through options, which allow you to examine the data behind the chart.
  2. Select the Item ID Drill Through option to explore the item record that you saw in the dashboard.
  3. Navigate to the top of the dashboard and select the Data quality tab to access charts related to data quality.
    This tab presents various charts designed to analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) concerning the quality of customer data stored within the MDM hub.

  1. Return to the top of the dashboard and select the Integration job metrics tab to view the status of integration loads (i.e., data loading into xDM) and integration batches (i.e., xDM processing data to generate golden records). These charts provide valuable insights for business users and data stewards to view the status of jobs within xDM, particularly if they do not have access to the Application Builder.

The prebuilt charts and dashboards in this section provide insight into the capabilities of xDM. To dive deeper into dashboards and the Dashboard Builder, see the Semarchy xDM documentation.

Congratulations!

You have successfully loaded data in the Product Retail MDM application, browsed the data, and examined the dashboards.

You are ready to address errors and delete customer records.

You are now ready to browse, search, and filter data in the application. These tasks are usually performed by business users like project managers, product managers, HR managers, and finance managers. Data stewards and business analysts also use xDM to search and filter data for specific purposes, such as reviewing match suggestions, updating information, and exporting data.

Our focus will be on searching data to address errors and delete specific records.

Browse the error queue

Remember the errors we introduced when importing product records in ④ Import data? While xDM permitted you to bypass these errors during customer data import, validation rules directed these erroneous records into an error queue, often referred to as an exception view. We are now going to explore the error queue and observe how xDM manages errors.

  1. In the More section of the navigation drawer, select Browse Errors. The 3-import-data-5-product.xlsx Excel file introduced some errors that have been routed into an error queue to prevent them from impacting downstream processes and polluting your systems. The error queue also identifies the erroneous records so that you can take action, such as rectifying them and resubmitting them to xDM for reprocessing.
  2. Take a look at the error queue that captured the erroneous customer data.

  1. Click on Product Errors.

  1. Click the first product record in the list, Airstrides Contrails Speedy Cross-trainers.
  2. Click on the tab Error details tab to view the reason this customer record was rejected. The error message, "Brand MANDATORY", indicates that this customer record is missing a brand.

Rectify errors

Some organizations choose not to allow edits within xDM and instead require rectification in the source systems, especially when dealing with large data volumes. However, this Product Retail MDM demo application is configured to allow you, as a data steward, to edit the record and fix the error.

  1. Open the Options menu in the upper-right corner.

  1. Select Edit to modify the Airstrides Contrails Speedy Cross-trainer erroneous record.

  1. A stepper interface opens and provides step-by-step guidance for editing the customer record.
  2. Locate the Brand attribute.
  3. Click on the picker icon.
    The Select Brand pop-up window appears and displays all available brands.

brand picker

  1. Choose the first option, Air Strides.

air strides

  1. Click Continue.
  2. On the Additional Attributes step, click Finish.

  1. When the toaster message in the lower-left corner pops up with the message "New data submitted" and "Changes successfully applied," click Click to refresh.
  2. Return to the Product Errors view to observe the update in effect.
  3. You should notice fewer errors in the list, as one has been corrected. The Airstrides Contrails Speedy Cross-trainers product record has disappeared from the Product Errors list and should appear in the regular Products view with the rest of the correct product records. You have successfully rectified a brand error and resubmitted the record to xDM.
  4. Repeat the process to rectify other erroneous records using the information below:
  1. Navigate back to Browse Errors > Product Errors.
    You should see fewer errors now.

Delete records

In addition to browsing errors and correcting erroneous data, you can also delete records in xDM.

We created two incorrect sizes in the 3-import-data-4-size.xlsx Excel file. You will discover how to delete those two sizes.

  1. In the More section of the navigation drawer, click on Reference Data.
  2. Click on Sizes.

  1. Select the first two sizes under the Boys clothing product family.
    Sizes 00 and 0 are not valid.

delete sizes

  1. Open the Options menu.

  1. Select the Delete option.
    A confirmation message will appear, reminding you that this action cannot be undone once completed.

  1. Click Delete.

  1. You will receive a confirmation toaster message in the lower-left corner stating "2 record(s) sent for deletion."
  2. Open the Options menu and select Refresh to refresh the data.

refresh

You have successfully deleted two product sizes from xDM.

Congratulations!

You have successfully completed common tasks of a data steward, which include:

You will now connect as Business User to perform browsing, searching, and authoring tasks.

You are now ready to browse and search data within the application. These are typical tasks for business users such as project managers, product managers, or finance managers. Business users usually utilize xDM to search for products, update information, and export data.

To achieve these tasks, we are going to connect as Business User, as this user has been granted the necessary privileges to browse and search data in the application, including:

Connect as Business User

Begin by logging in to the application and setting up your profile.

To get to the application:

  1. Log in using the Business User credentials.
  1. If you followed the Install Semarchy xDM on AWS or the Install Semarchy xDM on Azure tutorial, you are prompted to change your password. Enter the default password for businessuser in Current password, provide and confirm the New password, and then click Change.

  1. On the Welcome page, click the Product Retail MDM B2C icon to access the application.
  2. Complete your profile as Business User in the Welcome wizard.
  3. Edit your profile and update the profile picture with the businessuser.jpg image in the product-retail/pictures folder.

You are now connected as Business User.

Browse and search data

Picture yourself as a fashion buyer working for a clothing retailer. You are interested in the current popularity of pencil skirts. You know your company carries products in this category, so you turn to xDM to locate existing products. Leveraging xDM's browsing and search capabilities, your goal is to gather information on the range of available skirts and dresses.

Global Search

Upon logging in as Business User, you will typically land on the Global Search homepage.

If you are already in the Product Retail MDM application, you can access the Global Search in two ways:

You are now going to use the Global Search to find products.

  1. Type pencil in the Search text field.

  1. Click the Search button.
    You should see one result.

  1. Select the result, Blackberry Slim Pencil Skirt, to learn more about this product.
  2. Examine the product details, including:

  1. Click on the Items tab to view the variety of sizes and colors in which the product is offered.

Now that you know how to use the Global Search, feel free to search other keywords and navigate the application on your own to learn how the Global Search feature works.

Search Filters

In addition to the Global Search, you can also browse and search for products using custom views and search filters.

  1. In the Quick Access section of the navigation drawer, click on All Products.
    This is a custom business view designed to help you quickly browse all products in the Product Retail MDM application.

  1. Click on the Filter icon in the upper-right corner of the application to reveal all skirts available in the company's inventory.
    The filter menu appears. By default, a new filter will be created.

  1. Keep the default Search type on Full-text.
  2. In the Search Text field, type skirt.

  1. Click Apply at the top of the filter to execute the search.
    The search should return six product records: these are products associated with the keyword skirt.

  1. Click on Save as in the lower-right corner of the filter menu to save this search filter for future use or to share it with coworkers.
  2. In the Save filter as field, enter Skirt.
  3. After clicking Save, xDM takes you to the Filters menu where you can see all the saved filters you or your coworkers created previously and shared with you.

  1. To share the Skirt filter and make it available to your coworkers, click on the Options button next to the Skirt filter.

filter menu

  1. Select Share.
    You should see the confirmation message "Filter ‘Skirt' is now shared with all users." Now, your coworkers will be able to access this filter if they need to perform the same search.

You are now going to create a second filter and learn how to chain filters together.

  1. Click New filter. This is the same tab previously used to create the Skirt filter.
  2. In the Search Text field, type casual.
  3. Press Enter on your keyboard.
    The filter should be applied and the search should return only one record called Leslie Styles Women Contrast Color Stripes T-shirt, because both the Skirt and casual filters are enabled.

  1. Save this new filter with the name Casual.
    In the Filters tab, you can now click the filter toggles to the on or off position.

  1. Disable the Skirt filter and click Apply.
    You should observe that only the product results from the Casual filter are displayed.

Custom search filters

In addition to saving search filters during ad hoc searches, you can create custom search filters within your model. These preconfigured filters facilitate common searches for business users.

The ProductRetailDemo model includes predefined custom search filters. You can find these filters in the Search type drop-down menu.

Here is a preview of the predefined search filters in the ProductRetailDemo model:

Browse hierarchies

Using the search feature proves valuable and efficient for targeted inquiries with specific keywords, but browsing data using hierarchies offers an intuitive way to explore broader categories or relationships within the dataset, which can be more efficient in certain scenarios.

xDM facilitates the creation of different views so that business users can quickly access frequently used data. For instance, we have designed hierarchy views to facilitate browsing by product families and brands.

You are now going to learn how to navigate the hierarchy within the Product Retail MDM application.

  1. In the Quick Access section of the navigation drawer, click on By Family.
    You will see product data categorized by product families using a hierarchy view.
  2. Click on the Men's shoes product family in the tree view.
    You will find the subfamily categories listed under this product family.

  1. Click on the arrow icon next to Men's shoes to expand the hierarchy.

  1. Continue to drill down the Sub Families hierarchy.
  2. Expand the Business node. You see a list of all the men's business shoes.
  3. Select the product called Murphy's Classic Leather Shoe in the tree view.
    This action opens a detailed form view for this product. You can examine it the same way as you did with the Blackberry Slim Pencil Skirt record.

treeview by family murphys

  1. Click on the Items icon.
    You will see a list of the different sizes the Murphy's Classic Leather Shoe product comes in.

items

  1. Click on the Items tab.
  2. Click on the item with a size 6.
    You can see the item information for this particular size of the Murphy's Classic Leather Shoe.

  1. Click on the Images tab.
    You will find three images associated with this item. Feel free to browse through these item images to view different perspectives of the Murphy's Classic Leather Shoe in size 6.

Explore the graph view

When you need to search data without having any specific keywords in mind, or when your data is not structured in a clear hierarchy, being able to visualize relationships between data can prove very helpful. Unlike traditional methods such as keyword searching and browsing hierarchies, graph views offer a visual representation of intricate connections within the data hub.

For instance, when examining a shoe product record, a graph view will let you visually explore other clothing items by the same brand, extend beyond shoes, and display products from other brands in the same size.

In this section, you will select a product and explore its graph view.

  1. In the Quick Access section of the navigation drawer, click on All Products.

  1. Click on the second column's header, which should be labeled ID, until the arrow is pointing upwards to sort the records by ascending order based on their ID number.

  1. Click on the first product in the table, which should be Simmi Professional Suits from the brand Giorgio for Men.
  2. Open the Options menu in the upper-right corner of the application.
  3. Select Graph View.

graph view

  1. Observe the graph that has been generated by xDM.

graph

  1. To reposition the graph, hover over it until your pointer cursor changes into the move cursor.
  2. Click and drag the graph to the desired location.
  3. Use your mouse's scroll wheel to zoom in and out of the graph.
  4. To move items within the graph, position your mouse cursor over the left side of the label where there are white or black dots over a colored background.

  1. Click on the tile and drag it. You will notice the item moves along with your mouse, and the arrow pointing to the tile follows it.
  2. Release the mouse button, and the item will readjust itself to its new position.
  3. The graph indicates that Simmi Professional Suits comprises multiple items because there are different sizes available under the Giorgio for Men brand.
  4. Expand the Mens Clothing family tile to find other products in this family.

  1. Expand more nodes in the graph to gain a more comprehensive view of the relationships surrounding this product.

graph mens clothing

Congratulations!

You have explored several browsing capabilities of xDM, including:

Next, you will act as a business user and author product data. This will give you firsthand experience of how xDM guides users through the data authoring process.

Authoring data in xDM is designed to be as simple as possible, as this is a daily task for business users. The process is designed to provide step-by-step guidance, making it easy to create product data effortlessly.

In this part of the tutorial, you will learn how to create a new product along with its associated items and images. We have designed a two-step data entry process: first, the business user enters the data, and then the workflow is assigned to the data steward for review. Finally, the data is submitted to xDM. This process demonstrates how teams can collaborate using workflows and how permissions can be managed.

Follow the two-step data entry process: first, enter the data as Business User, and then review and save it to xDM as Data Steward.

Create a product record

You are going to add a new product under the brand Rainbow Scout. The Add Product workflow will guide you through the process of adding the new product, along with its corresponding items and item images, providing detailed guidance at each step. You can input the data manually or copy and paste it into the Product Retail MDM application.

  1. In the Quick Access section of the navigation drawer, click Add Product.
    xDM takes you to the Add Product workflow which guides you through the process of authoring product data.

  1. Enter the following data on the General Information step:

  1. Click Next.
  2. On the Additional Attributes step, enter the following data:
  1. Click Next.

The stepper guides you through entering item and image data. You are now going to add the sizes and colors available for the Polka Power product.

  1. On the Item step, enter the following data:

  1. Click Next.

Now, you are going to add the image information to the Polka Power in size 6 item.

  1. On the Item Image step, enter the following data:

  1. Click Go to list to save this item and image information.
    You are now back to the list of images.

Now, add a second item to the Polka Power product.

  1. On the Items step, click Add another.

  1. Enter the following data for the second item:
  1. Click Next.

Now, add the image information to the Polka Power in size 8 item.

  1. On the Item Image step, enter the following data:
  1. Click Go to list.
    The item image you just added is now saved, and you will be redirected to the Items step.
  2. Click Go to list again.
    The item information is now saved, and you will be redirected to the Products step.

  1. Click Send to review.
    In the transition dialog, you can customize the description of your workflow instance, set a priority for your request, and add further comments or attachments.
  2. Make any modifications you deem necessary, then click OK to send the workflow to the Data Steward user for review and approval.

  1. Wait until the confirmation message "User task completed" appears in the pop-up toaster menu located at the lower-left corner of your screen. Additionally, a wait dialog will appear, indicating that the workflow is processing the next steps.


You have successfully submitted a product creation request to the data steward. Since the next step is to be handled by another user, the stepper will close. You will receive a toaster notification indicating that the workflow is in progress.

As a final step in this tutorial, you will transition back to the Data Steward user to approve the new product.

To log out the Business User account:

  1. In the upper-right corner of the application, click on the profile picture.

  1. In the user menu, select Logout.

Next, you will connect as Data Steward to review the newly created product record.

Review product data

As the Data Steward user, your task is to review the product data added by the business user. You are now going to approve and save the new product to xDM. Follow these steps to review and submit the data:

  1. Connect as the Data Steward user.
    For tips on the Data Steward user credentials, see ④ Import data.
  2. Click My Tasks in the navigation drawer.

  1. Under the To Do category, notice there is one pending Approve Product workflow that is assigned to you.

  1. Select the checkbox next to the task in the table view, then select Start from the action menu to initiate the workflow.
    You can now proceed with approving the newly added product.

  1. Make any edits you deem necessary.
  2. Click Continue to proceed to the next step of the stepper.
  3. On the last step of the stepper, you can choose to approve the product, send it back to the initiator for corrections, discard the product, save it for later, or release the record so that it may be completed by a teammate. All of these options are preconfigured by the workflow designer can be tailored to suit your business requirements.

  1. Click the Save to xDM button once you are ready to save and publish this new product to the hub.
  2. (Optional) On the final screen, enter any comments you have regarding the task you have just completed. You can also provide attachments if necessary.

  1. Click OK.
    The wait dialog reappears as the system sends data to xDM.
  2. Wait until you see a toaster notification in the bottom-left corner of the screen indicating that the workflow is complete.

You have successfully submitted the product data to the hub. This product is now available to all users who are authorized to view it.

This authoring process demonstrates how teams can collaborate effectively using workflows and how permissions can be configured to ensure smooth data management operations.

Congratulations!

You have learned how to author data in xDM, using workflows and steppers. You are now equipped with the skills to collaborate effectively and navigate the application confidently.

Well done! You have completed this product data management project with Semarchy xDM.

Learning recap

Next steps

xDM is designed to handle various data types, including customer data, location data, reference data, organizational data, supplier data, and other domains.

To learn how to harness the capabilities of xDM, you could now pursue two distinct paths:

Go back to the Tutorials menu to find these resources.

GO TO TUTORIALS

Thank you for completing this tutorial.