Get started with multisource signal configurations

What is a multisource signal configuration?

A multisource signal configuration enables you to view safety data from multiple data sets side by side in a single configuration. A multisource signal configuration extends an existing interactive signal configuration by adding data from one or more secondary signal configurations, enabling the following capabilities:

• Align data and results from multiple safety datasets in one view on the Signal Review page.
• Use existing view capabilities, display scores, and case counts, and enable drill-down from all sources per Product-Event-Combination (PEC).
• Define Alerting logic across sources.

Understanding the lead and secondary configurations

When planning the setup of your multisource signal configuration, you assign one interactive signal configuration to be the lead configuration with up to two secondary configurations. Your multisource signal configuration only displays the products from the lead with data from the secondary configuration(s) that apply to those products.

When choosing the lead configuration, select the interactive signal configuration that contains all the monitored products you wish to include in your multisource signal configuration. Adding a secondary configuration will combine results from the secondary data set to match across those products.

Understanding shared and independent features

The lead configuration is linked with the multisource signal configuration. When you create a multisource signal configuration, the following information is populated from the lead configuration:

• Current period.
• Alert types with Active in next refresh = Yes.
• Product fields.
• Comment types.
• Default signal view.
• Topic work-flow configuration.
• Topic product field.
• Disable default view.
• Disable private comment.

Some features share information between them, while others are independent.

Shared features

Changes to shared features are synced between the multisource signal configuration and the lead configuration. This means that when you are working in the multisource signal configuration, any changes you make are reflected in the underlying configuration and vice versa.

The following areas share both the multisource signal configuration and the lead configuration:

• TWC and Topic product field assignment.
• Products.
• Product properties.
• Reference data (TME, DME, Listed, Reviewers, Custom Terms).
• Comment types.

Independent features

Changes to independent features only affect the configuration in which they are made.

The following areas are originally copied from the lead configuration but are independent.

• Active Alert Types.
• Views.

Understanding connected configurations

A signal configuration may be included as the lead configuration in multiple multisource signal configurations. The lead configuration and any multisource configurations that refer to the lead are connected configurations. Changes to a shared feature impact all connected configurations.

For example, if you delete a product from a multisource signal configuration, that product is also deleted from the following configurations:

• The lead configuration.
• All other multisource signal configurations referencing the same configuration as the lead.
• Changes are prevented in the configuration if any connected configurations are undergoing a refresh.

Ensuring your products match across lead and secondary configurations

To establish the connection between the configurations, the multisource signal configuration refers to the lead configuration's Product name field. The Product name field is used to join the PEC rows from the underlying configurations.

Review the product names in each configuration and decide which ones you would like to have matched. You may need to rename the product, particularly in the secondary configurations, so that the name matches. If you do rename products, you also need to refresh the configurations before creating your multisource signal configuration in order for the rename to be in effect.

What to expect when creating a multisource signal configuration

Requirements for setting up a multisource signal configuration

• You can only select an interactive signal configuration as the lead configuration in a multisource signal configuration.
• You cannot change the lead configuration once your multisource signal configuration is created.
• You can select interactive or scripted signal configurations as a secondary configuration.
• You can include up to two secondary configurations in a multisource signal configuration.
• You can change the secondary configuration however, doing so changes the structure of the underlying multisource signal configuration tables. Be sure to follow the steps at Change a secondary configuration in a multisource signal configuration to avoid unexpected results.
• Signal configurations must be refreshed in Oracle Empirica Signal version 9.2.2 before using as the lead configuration in a multisource signal configuration.

Planning your configuration

1. Determine the signal configuration that includes the products you wish to monitor. This configuration will be the lead configuration in the multisource signal configuration.
2. Determine the configuration(s) containing the additional data sources you would like to add for the products in your lead configuration. These configurations will be the secondary configurations in the multisource signal configuration.
3. Review all the configurations. Ensure the Product name fields for the products you wish to monitor match. If necessary, rename the products in the secondary configurations and refresh any configurations that required a name change.
4. Plan the alert types and views for the multisource signal configuration. You will set these up after creating the multisource signal configuration.

Best practices for creating and maintaining your multisource configuration

Once you have planned your configuration, follow the steps below to create and maintain your multisource configuration.

• Create the multisource configuration.
• Refresh the multisource configuration, without calculating alerts.
• Set up the alert types and views for the multisource configuration.
• Refresh the multisource configuration, enabling your configured alerts to be calculated.
• Be aware of the refresh cadence of all connected configurations, as you work with the multisource configuration.
  • When you refresh any underlying configurations, no changes get saved.
  • Refresh the multisource configuration when necessary.
  • After making the changes in the multisource configuration, you must often refresh the underlying lead configuration for the changes to take effect in the multisource configuration.

Recommendations

• After creating a multisource configuration, unpublish the lead configuration. Once setting the lead configuration in a multisource configuration, unpublishing the lead will prevent unintended changes to the underlying data.
• Manage the connected configurations. You can include a signal configuration as the lead configuration in multiple multisource signal configurations. Any changes to the underlying lead configuration affect all configurations that refer to it.
  For example, if you delete a product from a multisource signal configuration, that product is also deleted from the following configurations:

  • The lead configuration.
  • All other multisource signal configurations referencing the same configuration as the lead.