In match and merge, survivorship rules promote information from exactly one source to exactly one target by comparing information from the source with information from the target and writing the relevant updates to the target.
- In the match and merge IIEP and match and merge web service endpoint, information is promoted from incoming entities to existing or newly created golden records.
- In the matching event processing and in the clerical review Web UI, information is promoted from non-surviving golden records to surviving golden records as those records are merged.
- In the unmerge Web UI actions, as the association between source records and golden records are changed, the content of the resulting golden records is resolved.
Keep in mind the difference between initial modifications of a golden record and an update to a golden record. An initial modification is when the source system supplies source records without knowing the golden record within STEP. This is an unconnected source, and it needs the normal trusted source priority to work. An update modification is when the source system supplies a source record while knowing which golden record to merge it with. This is a connected source, as it has picked up on a golden record feedback loop from STEP. In this case, these connected sources are treated equally.
Important: Survivorship on values for Externally Maintained Attributes (here) is not recommended since survivorship logic depends on revision traceability. Externally maintained values may not figure correctly in the traceability view in Web UI, may be survived wrongly, and in some cases, this can lead to errors in survivorship rules when writing the values.
For more information, refer to the Configuring Survivorship Rules topic here.