Used with fuzzy-match base objects only. When you configure a match rule set, you define a

search level

that instructs

Informatica MDM Hub

on how stringently and thoroughly to search for candidate matches.

The goal of the match process is to find the optimal number of matches for your data:

not too few (called
undermatching
), which misses relevant matches, or
not too many (called
overmatching
), which generates too many matches, including matches that are not relevant

For any name or address in a fuzzy match key,

Informatica MDM Hub

uses the defined search level to generate different key ranges for the purpose of determining which records are possible match candidates—and to which records the match column rules will be applied.

You can choose one of the following search levels:

The search level you choose should be determined by the size of your data set, your time constraints, and how critical the matches are. Depending on your circumstances and requirements, it is sometimes more appropriate to undermatch, while at other times, it is more appropriate to overmatch. Implementations dealing with relatively reliable and complete data can use the Narrow level, while implementations dealing with less reliable data or with more critical problems should use Exhaustive or Extreme.

The search level might also differ depending on the phase of a project. It might be necessary to have a looser level (exhaustive or extreme) for initial matching, and tighten as the data is deduplicated.