Add a Check

Alation Cloud Service Applies to Alation Cloud Service instances of Alation

1. Navigate to the Alation Data Quality application or catalog table page and click Add Monitor.

2. In Select Scope and Select Columns sections, choose the data source (or BI report) and columns for scanning. For more information, see Manage Monitors.

3. In the Configure Checks section:

   1. To apply checks on the entire table, click Add Table Check.

   2. Expand each table attribute and click Add Check.

   Note

   Click the YAML button to view and edit the underlying configuration code using a valid YAML file. This is useful for bulk copying checks or applying complex logic patterns quickly.

4. Choose a category type to apply checks:

   1. To add accuracy checks, see information in Accuracy Checks.

   2. To add completeness checks, see information in Completeness Checks.

   3. To add consistency checks, see information in Consistency Checks.

   4. To add uniqueness checks, see information in Uniqueness Checks.

   5. To add validity checks, see information in Validity Checks.

   6. To add timeliness checks, see information in Timeliness Checks.

   7. To add custom checks, see information in Custom Checks.

   8. To validate the number of rows in a table that meets specified criteria, such as being greater than, less than, or equal to a certain value, select Row Count. This is useful for monitoring data growth, ensuring data completeness, and detecting anomalies in data volume.

   9. To ensure a combination of values across multiple columns is unique within a table, select Composite Uniqueness. This is particularly useful for identifying duplicate records based on a set of attributes rather than a single column. For example, you may want to ensure that the combination of First Name, Last Name, and Date of Birth is unique in a customer database to prevent duplicate entries.

   10. To add reconciliation check, see information in Reconciliation Checks.

5. (Optional) To filter rows with a specific value to compare against a column, click Add Filters to select a column and add a comparative operator and a corresponding value. This helps find rows that match the filter, then executes the check on those rows. For example, you may wish to use a filter to support a use case in which Column A must be filled in for all rows that have value B in column C. For more information, see Row-Level Filtering.

   1. Select from available table columns.

   2. Select from available comparison operators:

      • Basic: =, !=, <, >, <=, >=.

      • List: IN, NOT IN.

      • Pattern: LIKE, NOT LIKE.

        Note

        The pattern-based filters LIKE and NOT LIKE are not supported in this release.

      • Null: IS NULL, IS NOT NULL.

   3. Enter filter values or value lists.

   4. Use AND / OR operators for multiple conditions.

   5. Test and validate filter logic before applying to checks.

6. Click Save.