Skip to content

Data Reviewer Workflow

Review data changes in pull requests using Recce. Your admin set up Recce for your team - here's how to use it as a reviewer.

Goal: Review and approve data changes in PRs with confidence.

Prerequisites

  • Recce Cloud account (via team invitation)
  • Access to the project in Cloud
  • PR with Recce validation results

Reviewing a PR

1. Find the Data Review Summary

When a PR modifies dbt models, the Recce Agent posts a summary comment:

  1. Open the PR in GitHub/GitLab
  2. Scroll to the Recce bot comment
  3. Review the summary sections

Expected result: Summary shows change overview, impact analysis, and validation results.

2. Understand the Summary

The summary includes:

Section What It Shows
Change Overview Which models changed and the type of change
Impact Analysis Downstream models affected by the changes
Validation Results Schema diffs, row counts, and check outcomes
Recommendations Suggested actions based on findings

3. Explore in Cloud

For deeper investigation:

  1. Click Launch Recce in the PR comment (or go to Cloud)
  2. Select the PR session from the list
  3. Explore the changes interactively

What you can do:

  • View lineage diff to see affected models
  • Drill into schema changes per model
  • Run additional data diffs (row count, profile, value)
  • Execute custom queries to investigate specific concerns

4. Review Validation Results

Check each validation result:

  • Pass - Change validated successfully
  • Warning - Review recommended but not blocking
  • Fail - Issue detected that needs attention

For failures, click through to see: - What was compared - Expected vs actual results - Specific differences found

5. Approve or Request Changes

Based on your review:

Approve the PR:

  • Validation results meet expectations
  • Impact scope is understood and acceptable
  • No unexpected data changes

Request changes:

  • Validation failures need investigation
  • Impact scope is broader than expected
  • Questions about specific changes

Leave comments referencing specific validation results to help the developer address issues.

Common Review Scenarios

Schema Changes

When columns are added, removed, or modified:

  1. Check if downstream models are affected
  2. Verify the change is intentional
  3. Confirm breaking changes are coordinated

Row Count Differences

When record counts change:

  1. Determine if the change is expected
  2. Check if filters or joins were modified
  3. Verify the magnitude is reasonable

Performance Impact

When models are refactored:

  1. Compare query complexity
  2. Check for unintended full table scans
  3. Review impact on downstream refresh times

Verification

Confirm you can review PRs:

  1. Open a PR with Recce validation results
  2. Find the Recce bot comment
  3. Click Launch Recce to open the session
  4. Navigate the lineage and view a diff result

Next Steps