Scope and specificity
Lesson 4 of 25 6 min read
How Supply Lens chooses between a shared base, an organisation's own map or profile, and one for a single integration.
Several maps or profiles can exist for the same job. When a message arrives, Supply Lens has to pick one. Knowing the rule it uses lets you predict what will run, and lets you change one customer's behaviour without touching anyone else's.
The three scopes
Every map or profile has a scope: how far it reaches.
| Scope | Shows as | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| One integration | One integration | One integration of one organisation. It wins over the two below. |
| One organisation | This organisation | All integrations of that type in the organisation. It wins over a shared base. |
| All organisations | Shared base | All organisations. Used only when nothing more specific is published. |
The rule: most specific published wins
When a message arrives, Supply Lens uses the most specific published map or profile for that kind, integration type and document type.
Two words in that rule matter:
- Published. Drafts are never used. A draft that is more specific than the shared base still loses to it, because it does not count.
- Most specific. There is no priority number to set. Scope alone decides.
What you can and cannot create
- Shared bases come with each Supply Lens release. You cannot create or edit them on these screens. To change one for one organisation, publish an overlay onto it (you will learn overlays next).
- The screens can create maps and profiles for one organisation only. They cannot create one for a single integration, even though that scope exists.
- An organisation can have only one published map or profile for each kind, integration type and document type.
Scopes you will see but not create
You may see One integration in a list or in What actually runs, because Supply Lens supports it. You just cannot create one from these screens. If you need one, log it with the platform team.
Specificity as a safe rollout
Because the most specific published definition wins, an organisation-scoped definition is also a safe way to try a change on one customer first. Only that customer picks it up; everyone else stays on the shared base. Taking it away is a matter of archiving it, and the customer falls back to the shared base.
Promoting a trial change
The developer notes point out a trap. If a change you trialled for one organisation later goes into the shared base, the organisation's own definition still wins. Promoting the change means updating the base and retiring the organisation's definition, or that customer may have the change applied twice or miss later base fixes.
Predict what runs
Acme API has a shared base create map for warehouse orders, version 3. Three organisations use Acme API:
- Hilltop Coffee has its own published create map for Acme API warehouse orders. Hilltop's own map runs.
- Riverside Teas has a draft create map, nothing published. The shared base runs, because drafts never count.
- Moorland Candles has nothing of its own. The shared base runs.
Recap
- Scope is One integration, This organisation or Shared base.
- Supply Lens uses the most specific published map or profile for the kind, integration type and document type.
- Drafts are never used, however specific.
- Shared bases ship with releases; you change them for one organisation with an overlay.
- The screens create organisation-scoped definitions only, and an organisation can publish only one of each.
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