impact-analysis - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: impact-analysis description: 'Analyze what breaks if an object, field, or procedure changes. Use when: approving risky changes in review, before refactoring, evaluating design trade-offs. Builds dependency tree and identifies transitive risk.'

Impact Analysis

Structured procedure to answer: "What breaks if I change this?"

When to Use

CodeReviewer: Before approving changes to shared objects (tables, interfaces, events)
ALCoder: Before refactoring or renaming anything with external consumers
SolutionDesigner: Evaluating trade-offs between extending vs. creating new objects

Input

Provide one or more of:

Object name (table, codeunit, page, enum)
Field name (with parent table)
Procedure/event name (with parent codeunit)
Interface name

Procedure

Step 1: Find Direct References

Run: al-mcp-server/al_find_references
Target: the object/field/procedure being changed

Record all direct consumers:

Table extensions referencing the table
Pages showing the field
Codeunits calling the procedure
Event subscribers
Permission sets granting access

Step 2: Build Dependency Tree

For each direct consumer found in Step 1:

Is it also consumed by others? (check one level deeper)
Is it part of a published app (vs. same project)?
Is it in a test app (lower risk) or production app (higher risk)?

Categorize:

Same-project — you control it, can fix it
Cross-project dependency — breaking change requires coordination
External/AppSource — cannot fix; must maintain backward compatibility

Step 3: Diagnostics on Affected Files

Run: ms-dynamics-smb.al/al_getdiagnostics
Scope: files identified as direct consumers in Step 1

Check: would the proposed change introduce errors in these files?

Step 4: Test Coverage Check

Search for test codeunits that reference the target:

Run: al-mcp-server/al_find_references
Target: same object, filtered to Test* files

Or:

Run: ms-dynamics-smb.al/al_symbolsearch
Query: "Test" + object name

Flag: objects with zero test coverage that will be affected.

Output Format

## Impact Analysis: [Object/Field/Procedure Name]

### Direct Consumers ([count])
| Consumer | Type | Project | Risk |
|----------|------|---------|------|
| ... | TableExt/Page/Codeunit | Same/Cross/External | Low/Med/High |

### Transitive Risk
- [objects one level deeper that may break]

### Breaking Change? YES / NO / CONDITIONAL
- YES: [what breaks and why]
- CONDITIONAL: [breaks only if X property changes]
- NO: [change is additive/safe]

### Test Coverage
- Covered: [count] test codeunits
- Uncovered consumers: [list]

### Recommendation
- [Proceed / Proceed with caution / Coordinate with dependent teams / Do not change]

Edge Cases

No references found: The object may be unused (candidate for removal) or references may be in unpublished symbols. State this explicitly.
Circular references: Flag the cycle, don't recurse infinitely.
Interface changes: Always HIGH risk — all implementations must be updated simultaneously.