MDM Match and Merge Rules 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In Informatica MDM, what is a 'match path component' used for?
- To define the network route between the Hub Server and Match Server
- To specify the relationship traversal path when matching on related entity data (Correct answer)
- To configure the cleanse function applied before matching
- To set the column weight for trust calculations
Correct answer: To specify the relationship traversal path when matching on related entity data
Match path components define how MDM traverses foreign-key relationships to retrieve related data (e.g., address records) for use in cross-object match column comparisons.
Question 2: Which setting in an Informatica MDM match rule set defines the minimum score a record pair must achieve to be considered a potential duplicate?
- Auto-Merge Threshold
- Match Threshold (Correct answer)
- Trust Score Floor
- Minimum Match Weight
Correct answer: Match Threshold
The Match Threshold is the lower bound score; record pairs scoring at or above it are treated as potential duplicates and routed to either auto-merge or manual review.
Question 3: What is the effect of setting a match column's 'Null Match' property to 'Match on Null' in Informatica MDM?
- Records with null in that column are excluded from all match comparisons
- Two records both having null in that column are treated as matching on that column (Correct answer)
- The null value is replaced with a default before scoring
- Match processing fails with an error when a null is encountered
Correct answer: Two records both having null in that column are treated as matching on that column
When 'Match on Null' is configured, two null values in the same match column are treated as equivalent, contributing positively to the match score.
Question 4: In Informatica MDM, what is an 'exclusive match rule'?
- A rule that only runs during batch match, never real-time
- A rule that, when satisfied, prevents the matched records from being merged regardless of score (Correct answer)
- A rule that overrides all other rules in the rule set
- A rule that applies only when the match key is unique
Correct answer: A rule that, when satisfied, prevents the matched records from being merged regardless of score
An exclusive match rule, when its criteria are met, excludes the record pair from being merged — useful for records that share attributes but must remain distinct (e.g., same-name family members at the same address).
Question 5: During an Informatica MDM batch match job, what is the purpose of the 'tokenize' stage?
- To encrypt records before they are compared for security compliance
- To generate match key tokens from record data used to retrieve match candidates (Correct answer)
- To split long text fields into individual words for cleansing
- To assign interim unique identifiers to records pending merge
Correct answer: To generate match key tokens from record data used to retrieve match candidates
The tokenize stage generates match key tokens (e.g., phonetic or exact keys) and stores them in match key tables so candidates can be efficiently retrieved during the match stage.
Question 6: What does the Informatica MDM 'Unmerge' operation accomplish?
- Permanently deletes all cross-reference records associated with a golden record
- Separates a previously merged record, restoring contributing records as independent base object entries (Correct answer)
- Moves a record from the base object to a quarantine table
- Resets all trust scores to their initial source-system defaults
Correct answer: Separates a previously merged record, restoring contributing records as independent base object entries
Unmerge reverses a prior merge by detaching the cross-reference records from the golden record and promoting them back to independent base object records with their own ROWIDs.
Question 7: In Informatica MDM match configuration, what does increasing the 'Match Column Weight' of a column achieve?
- It increases the maximum possible match score contribution from that column relative to others (Correct answer)
- It forces the column to be evaluated first regardless of primary column settings
- It requires an exact match on that column before any other columns are scored
- It disables fuzzy matching and enforces exact comparison for that column
Correct answer: It increases the maximum possible match score contribution from that column relative to others
A higher weight for a match column means that column contributes more to the total match score, making it more influential in determining whether two records are duplicates.
MDM Match and Merge Rules 3
In Informatica MDM, what is a 'match path component' used for?