Configure a subject area
A subject area is the layer between raw tables and the questions users ask. It groups related tables, defines how they join, applies business-friendly labels, and becomes the surface Athena queries against. This procedure walks through creating one in Data Management.
⚠ Procedure steps below need UI capture against the staging platform. The shape is in place; the actual click-paths and screenshots are TBD.
Before you start
- A ConverSight account with the Data Administrator role.
- At least one data connection already registered (see Connect Sage Intacct or another connector).
- A clear picture of the business concept the subject area should represent (e.g., "Sales by customer" — what tables, what joins, what columns matter).
Steps
- Step one — what to click and what to see.
- Step two.
- Step three.
Verify
The subject area shows up under Athena's data picker. A user with the right role can pick it and ask a question against it; the response cites the right columns from the registered tables.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Athena can't answer common questions against the subject area | Missing column labels or synonyms | Add synonyms in the column configuration |
| Joins return duplicated rows | Wrong cardinality on the join definition | Re-check the join type (one-to-many vs many-to-many) |
| Subject area not visible to operators | RLS rule mis-scopes the dataset | Verify the role's RLS scope in Users & Roles |
Related
- Feature: Data Management
- Next step: Configure row-level security so users only see their slice of the data
- Persona: Data Analyst