The ECM+ Impact Agent classifies every analyzed change into one of four severity levels: CRITICAL, HIGH, MEDIUM, or LOW. Two configuration layers determine that severity, and they work together in a defined order of precedence.
The two layers are:
Impact thresholds - Baseline severity levels based on aggregate transaction metrics, such as total order value or the number of affected sales orders. Thresholds give every change a default classification.
Impact rules - Condition-based business rules that target specific transaction attributes, such as a VIP customer group or a single-source supplier. Rules encode nuanced business logic and can override the threshold-based severity.
The agent applies the layers in this order:
When one or more rules match the affected transactions, the rules take precedence over the thresholds, and the agent cites the applied rule in its explanation.
When several rules match, the rule with the lowest Priority number is applied, and its severity and warning message are used (see Configure impact rules).
When no rule matches, the agent falls back to the configured thresholds.
When several thresholds apply at different severity levels, the higher severity wins (CRITICAL > HIGH > MEDIUM > LOW). For more details, refer to Configure impact thresholds.
When neither rules nor thresholds are configured, the agent returns impact counts without a severity classification.
Note
Configure the thresholds first to establish a consistent baseline, and then add rules for the exceptions that your business priorities require.