Description -
One feature of the Segment Builder is the ability to use existing segments when building out a new segment. I'll refer to this as a "reference segment".Once the reference segment is dragged into the Segment Builder it becomes "disconnected", and is more like a snapshot of what the reference segment looked like at the time. If an update is made to the reference segment this will not be reflected in any other segments that use it.
It would be nice to have an option to "anchor" the reference segment so that any updates made to it are also reflected in other segments. This would preclude the Adobe Analytics user from having to find and update every segment that used the reference segment, and would ensure that changes to the reference segment are immediately reflected across all reports. This feature can be limited to only public segments.
There are several risks associated with this idea.
- Uers may not be aware of how many segments use a particular reference segment as an "anchor", and thus may not truly understand the ripple effect caused by an update. Users would have to be provided with some sort of notification in the Segment Builder that shows both that a segment is being used as an "anchor" (think of a little icon next to the segment name) and which segments are using it as anchor. This option should require permission rights from an admin
- A change to the reference segment may break the segment logic of other segments, making them no longer work. This could happen if the container types in the reference segment were adjusted. One way to alleviate this would be to disallow the use of anchor segments in some cases, such as in sequential segments. Another option would be to not allow the anchor segment to update in a segment if the segment logic will be broken. The user would then have to be notified of the segments where this occurred so that he or she can make necessary adjustments
Why is this feature important to you -
My organization often uses several core segments for KPIs, and then creates more nuanced segments based off of these core segments. The number of segments that use the core segments are substantial, meaning that a small change made to a core segment requires updating a large multiple of other segments with the same small change.
How would you like the feature to work -
- When a reference segment is dragged into a new segment in the Segment Builder, a user can click on the gear option and select "Anchor Segment". Any updates made to this reference segment will automatically update this segment as well
- The Segment Builder page for the reference segment should indicate whether the segment is being used as an "Anchor Segments". This can be done using an icon or some similar call out
- The Segment Builder page for the reference segment should contain some sort of interface for showing which segments use this segment as an "Anchor Segment"
- A warning should appear when someone tries to update an "Anchor Segment", telling the user that updates to this segment will impact other segments
Current Behaviour -
Dragging an existing segment ("reference segment") into the Segment Builder creates a copy of the existing segment. The reference segment component of the new segment will not update if the reference segment is updated.
