The output quality depends on your Data Model

When building reports with OWOX AI assistance, getting the right data isn't just about using the correct fields. It's also about how these fields are combined across different data marts in your model. This article explains why checking the results of your reports is essential — and how to verify that they make sense.

Why You Should Always Validate Your Report Output

Even if your report looks technically correct — the numbers are there, the fields are matched, and the chart is rendered — it doesn’t mean the data is trustworthy.

The truth is, that incorrect logic during data blending can silently break your metrics. Without understanding how your data was joined, you risk making decisions based on misleading insights.

This is why every report generated by the OWOX AI assistant includes a step-by-step blending path — the exact sequence of how data was joined between different data marts in your model.

Always ask yourself:

• Does the blending logic reflect the real-world relationships between your data sets?
• Are your metrics inflated or filtered unintentionally due to the wrong join path?

Let’s explore this with a real example.

Example: Same Data Marts, Different Results

Imagine you have the following data marts in your conceptual model:

• Ad Costs — stores ad spend by campaign and date.
• Sessions — stores website visits by campaign and date.
• Transactions — stores revenue and order details by session ID and date.

Now let’s say you ask the assistant to show: “Ad cost per transaction by campaign”

To calculate this, the assistant needs to combine all three data marts. But here’s the catch: there’s more than one way to blend them.

Option 1: Cost → Sessions → Transactions

This path starts from Ad Costs and joins Sessions first, then Transactions. Blending logic:

1. Match Ad Costs to Sessions by campaign and date.
2. Match Sessions to Transactions by session ID.

🚨 Potential issue: If the same campaign appears in multiple sessions that lead to multiple transactions, costs might be duplicated in the final calculation.

Option 2: Transactions → Sessions → Ad Costs

This path starts from Transactions and traces back to the cost. Blending logic:

1. Match Transactions to Sessions by session ID.
2. Match Sessions to Ad Costs by campaign and date.

✅ Better option: This approach limits the scope to transactions only and avoids counting unrelated sessions and campaign costs. It gives a more accurate "cost per transaction" metric.

Key Takeaway

Your data model enables the AI assistant to understand relationships — but the order of these relationships (blending path) determines the accuracy of your report.

Always check:

• The blending path suggested by the AI assistant.
• Whether it matches your business logic.
• If needed, refine your prompt or data model to guide the assistant correctly.

You might be interested in...

• Read how to build strong conceptual data models that help both AI and humans make sense of your data

Need help validating your report logic? Reach out to us at bi@owox.com