Every asset type has an assignment. The assignment of an asset type defines the specifications of the assets of that type, within a given scope (global or scoped). By linking a collection of governance elements to the asset type, an asset type assignment controls how assets of that type function. This ensures consistency and adherence to organizational policies.
What an assignment includes
An asset type assignment reflects the elements, such as attributes, relations, and complex relations, that you can configure for an asset of that type. It includes the following elements.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Characteristic types | Attribute types, relation types, and complex relation types that can be assigned to the asset type. |
| Domain types | Domain types to which the domains of the assets can belong. |
| Lifecycle statuses |
Statuses that the assets can have. For more information, go to About Lifecycle management. |
| Articulation score rules | Rules that contribute to measuring the completeness of the assets. |
|
Data quality rules (quality score aggregations) |
Rules that contribute to the quality of the assets. |
| Validation rules | Rules that evaluate the validity of the assets. |
Global and scoped assignments
An asset type can have the following types of assignments:
- Global assignment: Applies to all assets whose communities and domains belong to the Default scope.
- Scoped assignment: Applies to only those assets whose communities and domains belong to a specific scope.
The following table compares global and scoped assignments.
| Comparison point | Global assignment | Scoped assignment |
|---|---|---|
| Applies to | All assets that don't belong to a scope. | Only assets that belong to a scope. |
| Prerequisites | None. | An asset type must have a global assignment before you can add a scoped assignment. |
| Limit | An asset type can have only one global assignment. | An asset type can have multiple scoped assignments. |
| How to add | Click Add global assignment on the asset type page. |
Click Add assignment on the asset type page. |
Note Some global assignments have system-managed attribute types, relation types, and statuses that are necessary for the proper functioning of Collibra Platform and can't be removed. For example, in the global assignment of the Column asset type, you can't remove the relation type that links it to a table.
When to use scoped assignments
You can use scoped assignments to apply specialized rules to a subset of data without impacting the rest of the organization. Scoped assignments are particularly useful when a single asset type requires different configurations based on its ownership or location.
Suppose that your organization uses the Report asset type across all communities, but one specific team, Finance, has unique regulatory requirements.
- Global setup: By default, you have a global assignment for the Report asset type that applies basic rules to all Report assets.
- Problem: The Finance team needs to track specific metadata and enforce strict data quality rules for their reports—but only for the data that they manage. You want to avoid cluttering the asset pages of other communities, such as Human Resources or Marketing, with Finance-specific characteristic types or irrelevant data quality rules.
- Solution: Scoped assignment.
- Result: When a Report asset is created within the Finance community, the rules you defined in the scoped assignment are applied to the asset. The Finance team sees their required attributes and data quality dashboards. Meanwhile, Report assets that are created within the Human Resources or Marketing communities (which remain in the default scope) follow the global assignment.
When an asset type inherits assignments
Assignments follow rules of inheritance. If an asset type doesn't have any assignment configured, it automatically inherits the assignments from its immediate parent asset type. Inherited assignments aren't explicitly shown on the asset type page.
When you create an assignment for the asset type, the inheritance is broken, meaning that the asset type no longer inherits assignments from its parent.