---
title: "Impact severity classification"
slug: "impact-severity-classification"
description: "The ECM+ Impact Agent classifies changes by severity levels using impact thresholds and rules, ensuring precise transaction management for your business."
tags: ["ECM Impact Agent", "Concept", "ECM plus"]
updated: 2026-08-18T08:34:03Z
published: 2026-08-18T08:34:03Z
canonical: "docs.staedean.com/impact-severity-classification"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.staedean.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Impact severity classification

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](/manufacturing/docs/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](/manufacturing/docs/configure-impact-thresholds).
- When neither rules nor thresholds are configured, the agent returns impact counts without a severity classification.

> [!NOTE]
> Note
> 
> Configure the thresholds first to establish a consistent baseline, and then add rules for the exceptions that your business priorities require.