Concept: Data Change Tasks

A data change task is a Prism Analytics object that defines how to change the data in a Prism Analytics table using data from a specified source. You can save data change tasks and run them at any time.

Create a data change task to output the transformed data from a derived dataset into a table. Example: You have a base dataset with data from a custom report, and you have a derived dataset that transforms the data in the base dataset. You can create a data change task that uses data from the derived dataset and loads it into a table.

You specify a data operation type, such as insert or delete, that instructs how to use the data in the source to change the table rows. You can create 1 or more data change tasks per table.

You create, edit, and manage data change tasks from the Data Catalog. Access the

Data Change Tasks

tab on the

Data Catalog

report to view all data change tasks you have permission on.

To create, view, or edit a data change task for a specific table, you must have permission to modify data in that table. Example: To create a data change task on the Claims table using the upsert operation, you must have permission to insert and update data in the Claims table.

You can:

Run a data change task on a schedule, or manually on an ad hoc basis.

Edit the data change task, such as change the operation type or field mapping, before you run it.

Delete the data change task.

View the data change activities to see the number of rows affected by the data change task and to download any failed rows.

You can run data change tasks that use the insert operation into the same table concurrently when the source is any type except a dataset or table. Example: You can create multiple data change tasks that read data from a SFTP connection and insert data into the same table and create schedules for them that overlap.

You can use data change tasks to define these components:

Component	Description
Source	The object that contains the data that you want to load into the target table. Example: A custom report, a delimited file that you upload, a connection, or a Data Catalog object, such as a dataset. Depending on the source type, you might need to define additional source options, such as parsing options.
Target table	The table with the data you want to change using the source data. You can either: Create a table when you create a data change task. Use the Create Table from Source Schema button on the Target step of the data change task. The target table schema exactly matches the source schema of the data change task. Create a table before you create a data change task. Use the Create button on the Data Catalog .
Target operation	The data operation to perform on the target table using the source data. Workday lists the operations supported for the selected source type. You can specify: Insert Delete Truncate and Insert Update Upsert
Mapping	The specifications for matching source fields to the target table fields. You can match a source field to 1 or more target table fields.

Data Change Activities

When you run a data change task, Workday generates a data change activity. Each data change activity modifies the data in the table, based on the operation specified in the data change task and the data in the source.

You can view previously run data change activities on:

The

Data Change Activities

tab on the

Data Catalog

report. The

Data Change Activities

tab displays up to 5,000 data change task and table activities or all activities when you use the Last 24 Hours
filter.

The

Activities

tab on the

View Table Details

report. The Activities tab displays all activities for that table, both from data change activities and other data load activities. Example: You might have a different data load activity if you created the table from a file upload.

The

Prism Management Console

report. The report displays all activity for the last 180 days. For more information, see Concept: Prism Management Console.

Workday automatically retries each data change task up to 3 times when service is unavailable.

You can also execute a data change task as a native step within the business process framework. This allows automated data loads or transformations, such as SFTP loads or table-to-table transforms, to occur as synchronized steps within larger workflows, improving operational efficiency.

Workday doesn’t allow you to schedule or directly execute Data Change Tasks as automated business process steps if they use a direct file upload as a source. However, you can schedule Data Change Tasks that use an SFTP connection as a source. To prevent business processes from failing when running Data Change Tasks, verify that:

The user or delegate has permission to access the Data Change Task and all associated sources, such as reports or SFTP sites.

The Data Change Task configuration remains valid. Because configurations, including underlying data sources and pipelines, can change over time, invalid setups can cause failures during execution.

Impact of Source Report Schema Changes

When a custom report serves as the source for a data change task (DCT), Workday maintains a dependency between the report's output and the DCT internal field mappings. To ensure data integrity, the DCT definition must accurately reflect the schema of its source report.

System Desynchronization: Workday desynchronizes a DCT if you modify the source report schema, such as by adding or removing fields or changing a field data type. This occurs even if the altered fields are not mapped within the DCT or intended for use in Prism Analytics.

Execution Failures: A desynchronized DCT fails to execute or is skipped during scheduled runs. This behavior prevents Workday from processing data with mismatched schemas, which could lead to data errors.

Required Updates: To restore functionality, you must update the DCT configuration to re-establish consistency with the current state of the source report.

2021R2 What's New Post: Prism Analytics Data Management