Updating Effective Templates And Products
Category rules and product records do not change at the same instant.
Actualog separates the process into two controlled steps:
- Update the Effective Template for the product-level category.
- Synchronize existing products with that new template when product data actually needs attention.
This separation is intentional. It lets experts improve a category model without silently rewriting product data.
What the Effective Template is
The Effective Template is the active product-facing template for a product-level category.
It is built from:
- direct category attributes;
- inherited attributes from parent categories;
- Universal Category attributes;
- category-level unit overrides;
- required, filter, variant-axis, identity, and name-template rules.
When any of those sources changes, Actualog can build a pending Effective Template and compare it with the active one.
Reviewing the change
The comparison page shows only what changed between the active template and the pending template.
Typical changes include:
- an attribute was added;
- an attribute was removed;
- required or optional status changed;
- allowed values changed;
- a measure or unit rule changed;
- Product Name Template or identity inputs changed;
- variant-axis rules changed.
If the page says No product processing required, updating the Effective Template only saves the new category rules. Existing product values do not need to be rewritten.
If product processing is required, Actualog creates a Product Synchronization operation after the new template version is activated.
Where to work with it
Start from Expert Categories when you need a work queue.
Use the Template sync filter:
- Needs template update finds Product-level categories whose Effective Template needs initial activation or review.
- Needs product sync finds Product-level categories whose current active Effective Template has Product Synchronization work that is queued, running, failed, conflicted, or technically stale.
On a category row, Effective template needs update opens the review/comparison page. The comparison page is where an expert decides whether to activate the pending template. Use Update Effective Template there to save the new active version.
If Product Synchronization is created, the product badge links to the Product Synchronization result page. That result page is where stewards inspect applied, skipped, conflict, and failed product targets.
What happens when the template is updated
When a user clicks Update effective template, Actualog saves a new active Effective Template version.
New products use the new version immediately.
Existing products keep their current product data. They are interpreted safely until they are synchronized. Actualog does not rewrite values inside the template-update request.
If products need processing, Actualog queues a Product Synchronization operation in the same activation flow. The operation stores a recipe and freezes the affected product targets. A background worker then applies the recipe. That operation has its own result page and Action Log evidence.
If products do not need processing, Actualog activates the Effective Template without creating a Product Synchronization operation.
Reading the badges
Effective Template and Product actualization are separate status axes.
The Effective Template badge answers: "Does the active template version match the current category and attribute sources?"
- Initial effective template activation required means there is no active Effective Template version yet.
- Effective template needs update means there is an active version, but category or attribute sources have changed and a pending template should be reviewed.
- Effective template current means the active template matches the current sources.
The Product actualization badge answers: "What is the state of Product Synchronization for the current active template version?"
- Product actualization not required means no durable Product Synchronization operation is required for the current active template. This can happen when there are no affected products, when the active-template change has no product-data effect, or before a pending template is activated.
- Products queued means a Product Synchronization operation exists and is waiting for the worker.
- Products updating means the worker is processing the queued product targets.
- Products actualized means the latest durable Product Synchronization operation completed for the active template.
- Products need attention means synchronization failed, found conflicts, or found stale product stamps without a clean completed operation.
If a category shows Effective template needs update and Products actualized, Product actualization is complete only for the currently active template. It does not mean the products have already been checked against the pending template. Activate the pending template first; then Actualog can decide whether a Product Synchronization operation is needed for the new active version.
Product Synchronization
Product Synchronization processes affected products in the background.
For each product, Actualog can:
- stamp the product with the new Effective Template version;
- run Check data;
- remove obsolete attribute values only when the change is explicitly safe;
- apply an approved Attribute Governance value move before removing the old attribute;
- recalculate generated names when name rules changed;
- recalculate identity when identity inputs changed;
- mark conflicts instead of guessing;
- update product quality status;
- record the target result for audit.
The operation result page shows applied, skipped, conflict, and failed targets.
Attribute replacements
When Attribute Governance replaces one attribute with another, the category template changes first.
Product and variant-group values are not moved during the template edit itself. They are moved only by Product Synchronization, and only when the replacement has an approved value-move plan.
For the safe exact-copy case, Actualog may move a source attribute value to the target attribute before the source is removed from the product payload.
For advanced changes, such as unit conversion or list value mapping, Actualog needs an explicit conversion plan. If there is no approved plan, the synchronization must report a conflict or leave the product for review. Actualog must not invent a mapping.
What if an existing value is not allowed anymore?
If an existing product has a value that is not valid under the new template, Actualog does not silently choose a new value.
Examples:
- the old attribute value is not present in the target list;
- a list value has the same label but a different internal value or reference item;
- a numeric value is outside the new range;
- the old unit is unknown or incompatible;
- the target attribute already has a different value on the same product.
In these cases, the product is marked for review, conflict, invalid, or incomplete depending on the exact check. The old information remains visible through the synchronization result and audit trail so a steward can correct it deliberately.
Statuses and notifications
Template and product work have separate statuses.
The category can show that the Effective Template needs activation. After activation, the category can show that product synchronization is required or already running.
Product Synchronization targets can finish as applied, skipped, conflict, or failed. Product quality can then be ready, incomplete, invalid, or conflict according to the normal Product Governance rules.
Actualog records the operation in Action Log. It also sends notifications to the actor and eligible category experts when template review or product synchronization work is created or completed. Product owners and product-data managers receive synchronization result notices when their records require attention or when the operation produced material product effects.
No-op updates do not need to notify every product owner. This keeps notifications useful instead of noisy.
Current limits
Actualog already supports governed exact-compatible attribute replacement through Product Synchronization.
Advanced value conversion is deliberately stricter:
- manual list mapping requires an approved mapping plan;
- unit conversion requires a preserved source unit and a supported converter;
- variant-group shared values need coordinated group-level handling;
- identity, variant-axis, filter, logistics, and name-template conflicts must be previewed before apply.
If Actualog cannot prove that a value can be moved safely, it blocks the automatic change and asks for review.
Key idea
Updating an Effective Template updates the rules. Product Synchronization updates or checks existing products.
Actualog keeps those steps separate so category governance can move quickly while product data remains safe.