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dbt-activity-schema

A dbt package to query the Activity Schema data modelling framework, based on the relationships.

Table of Contents

Overview

This dbt package includes macros to simplify the querying of an Activity Stream, the primary table in the Activity Schema data modelling framework.

Note: Use this package to query an Activity Stream model that is already defined in a dbt project. It is not intended to create an Activity Stream model in a dbt project.

It relies on the Activity Schema V2 Specification.

It leverages and extends the relationships defined in that spec to self-join activities in the Activity Stream.

Install

Include in packages.yml:

packages:
  - package: tnightengale/dbt_activity_schema
    version: 0.4.1

For latest release, see https://github.com/tnightengale/dbt-activity-schema/releases.

Usage

Create a Dataset

Use the dataset macro to self-join an Activity Stream using relationships.

The dataset macro will compile based on the provided activity macros and the relationship macros. It can then be nested in a CTE in a dbt-Core model. Eg:

// my_first_dataset.sql

with

dataset_cte as (
    {{ dbt_activity_schema.dataset(
        activity_stream = ref("example__activity_stream"),

        primary_activity = dbt_activity_schema.activity(
            dbt_activity_schema.all_ever(), "bought something"),

        appended_activities = [
          dbt_activity_schema.activity(
              dbt_activity_schema.first_before(), "visited page"),
           dbt_activity_schema.activity(
              dbt_activity_schema.first_after(), "bought item"),
        ]
    ) }}
)

select * from dataset_cte

Note: This package does not contain macros to create the Activity Stream model. It generates the SQL to self-join an existing Activity Stream model.

Required Columns

This package conforms to the Activity Schema V2 Specification and requires the following columns to function:

  • activity: A string or ID that identifies the action or fact attributable to the customer.
  • customer: The UUID of the entity or customer. Must be used across activities.
  • ts: The timestamp at which the activity occurred.
  • activity_repeated_at: The timestamp of the next activity, per customer. Create using a lead window function, partitioned by activity and customer.
  • activity_occurrence: The running count of the activity per customer. Create using a rank window function, partitioned by activity and customer.

Vars

This package can be configured with the following project variables. All project vars can be scoped globally or to the dbt_activity_schema package.

Column Mappings (optional)

The column_mappings project variable can be used to alias columns in Activity Stream. If the required columns exist conceptually under different names, they can be mapped to their names in the V2 Specification. Eg:

# dbt_project.yml
...

vars:
  dbt_activity_schema:
    column_mappings:
      # Activity Stream with required column names that
      # differ from the V2 spec, mapped from their spec name.
      customer: entity_uuid
      ts: activity_occurred_at

...

Included Columns (optional)

The included_columns project variable can be set to indicate the default columns to be included in each activity passed to dataset. Eg:

# dbt_project.yml
...

vars:
  dbt_activity_schema:
    # List columns from the Activity Schema to include in the Dataset
    included_columns:
      - activity_id
      - entity_uuid
      - activity_occurred_at
      - revenue_impact

...

If it is not set, all the columns from the V2 Specification will be included, based on the columns macro.

These defaults can be overridden on a per-activity basis by passing a list of column names to the included_columns argument in the activity macro.

Macros

Dataset (source)

Generate the SQL for self-joining the Activity Stream.

args:

  • activity_stream (required) : ref | str

    The dbt ref() or a CTE name that contains the required columns.

  • primary_activity (required) : activity

    The primary activity of the derived dataset.

  • appended_activities (optional) : List [ activity ]

    The list of appended activities to self-join to the primary activity. All appended activities and their relationship are with respect to the primary activity.

Activity (source)

Represents either the primary activity or one of the appended activities in a dataset.

args:

  • relationship (required) : relationship

    The relationship that defines how the activity is filtered or joined, depending on if it is provided to the primary_activity or appended_activities argument in the dataset macro.

  • activity_name (required) : str

    The string identifier of the activity in the Activity Stream. Should match the value in the activity column.

  • included_columns (optional) : List [ str ]

    List of columns to include for the activity. Setting this overrides the defaults configured by the default_dataset_columns project var. If a column specified is not identified as any of the columns (or their project-specific aliases) from the Activity Schema spec, the column is assumed to be contained in the corresponding activity's feature_json and will be extracted.

  • additional_join_condition (optional) : str

    A valid sql boolean expression that is added to the join condition of the appended activity. The expression is an and with the condition created by the relationship.

    The expression can optionally contain either or both of the {{ primary() }} and {{ appended() }} macros, which are used to alias the primary and appended activities respectively. If using these aliases in the expression, it must be first assigned to a set block. Eg:

    // my_second_dataset.sql

{% set join_condition %}
json_extract({{ dbt_activity_schema.primary() }}.feature_json, 'type')
= json_extract({{ dbt_activity_schema.appended() }}.feature_json, 'type')
{% endset %}


{{
    dbt_activity_schema.dataset(
        ref("activity_schema"),
        dbt_activity_schema.activity(
            dbt_activity_schema.all_ever(),
            "signed up"
        ),
        [
            dbt_activity_schema.activity(
                dbt_activity_schema.first_after(),
                "visit page",
                additional_join_condition=join_condition
            )
        ]
    )
}}

    The {{ primary() }} and {{ appended() }} placeholders are constants for the aliases used in the joins of the dataset macro. Columns used in the expression must be fully qualified with these aliases.

    In the above example, the value of the type key in the feature_json of the primary activity feature_json must match the value of the type key in the feature_json of the appended activity, in addition to the relationship join conditions.

Relationships

In the Activity Schema framework, relationships define how an activity is joined/appended to the primary activity in a self-joining query of the Activity Stream.

This package contains relationship macros for each relationship defined in the Activity Schema.

In the Activity Schema framework, a relationship encapsulates the logic for self-joining an activity.

This package extends the relationships defined in the Activity Schema V2 Specification in two ways:

  1. Some relationships can be applied to the Primary Activity and Appended Activities, whereas others can only be applied to the Appended Activities.
    • These are denoted with ✅, ❌ in the Dataset Usage section of each relationship below.
  2. Relationships that are not in the spec can be defined and contributed to this project. These are denoted below with the (Custom) tag.

All Ever (source) (Custom)

Include all occurrences of the activity in the dataset.

Dataset Usage:

  • primary_activity: ✅
  • appended_activity: ✅

Example Usage:

For every 'visited_website' append All Ever 'called_us'. This will result in a cross join of the activities. Therefore, this relationship, while it can be used for an Appended Activity is usually applied to a Primary Activity.

Nth Ever (source) (Custom)

Include the nth occurrence of the activity in the dataset.

args:

  • nth_occurrence (required) : int

    The occurrence of the activity to include.

Dataset Usage:

  • primary_activity: ✅
  • appended_activity: ✅

Example Usage:

For every 'visited_website' append Nth Ever 'called_us'. This will add the customer's Nth time calling on every row, regardless of when it happened.

First Ever (source)

Include the first ever occurrence of the activity in the dataset.

Dataset Usage:

  • primary_activity: ✅
  • appended_activity: ✅

Example Usage:

For every 'visited_website' append First Ever 'called_us'. This will add the customer's first time calling to every row, regardless of whether it happened before or after visiting the website.

Last Ever (source)

Include the last ever occurrence of the activity in the dataset.

Dataset Usage:

  • primary_activity: ✅
  • appended_activity: ✅

Example Usage:

For every 'visited_website' append Last Ever 'called_us'. This will add the customer's last time calling on every row, regardless of when it happened.

First Before (source)

Append the first activity to occur before the primary activity.

Dataset Usage:

  • primary_activity: ❌
  • appended_activity: ✅

Example Usage:

For every 'visited_website' append First Before 'opened_email'. This will add the the first email that the customer opened before their first visit.

Last Before (source)

Append the last activity to occur before the primary activity.

Dataset Usage:

  • primary_activity: ❌
  • appended_activity: ✅

Example Usage:

For every 'visited_website' append Last Before 'updated_opportunity_stage'. This will add the stage of the customer at the moment they visited the website. (ideal for slowly changing dimensions)

First After (source)

Append the first activity to occur after the primary activity.

Dataset Usage:

  • primary_activity: ❌
  • appended_activity: ✅

Example Usage:

For the First Ever 'visited_website' append First After 'signed_up'. For each customer add whether or not they converted any time after their first visit to the site.

Note: Be cautious when using this with All Ever for the primary activity. It will result in adding the same First After activity to multiple primary activity records, if the appended activity occurred after multiple primary activities. Consider using First In Between instead.

Last After (source)

Append the last activity to occur after the primary activity.

Dataset Usage:

  • primary_activity: ❌
  • appended_activity: ✅

Example Usage:

For the First Ever 'visited_website' append Last After 'returned_item. The most recent time a customer returned an item after their first visit.

Note: Be cautious when using this with All Ever for the primary activity. It will result in adding the same Last After activity to multiple primary activity records, if the appended activity occurred after multiple primary activities. Consider using Last In Between instead.

First In Between (source)

Append the first activity to occur after each occurrence of the primary activity, but before the next occurrence of the primary activity.

Dataset Usage:

  • primary_activity: ❌
  • appended_activity: ✅

Example Usage:

For All Ever 'visited_website' append First In Between 'completed_order'. On every website visit, did the customer order before the next visit. (generally used for event-based conversion)

Note: The appended activity will also be added to the row of the final occurrence of the primary activity, even though it is not technically in between another occurrence of the primary activity. The generated SQL for the dataset can be filtered further if desired, to remove those rows.

Last In Between (source)

Append the last activity that occurred after each occurrence of the primary activity and before the next occurrence of the primary activity.

Dataset Usage:

  • primary_activity: ❌
  • appended_activity: ✅

Example Usage:

For All Ever 'visited_website' append Last In Between 'viewed_page'. On every website visit, what was the last page that they viewed before leaving.

Note: The appended activity will also be added to the row of the final occurrence of the primary activity, even though it is not technically in between another occurrence of the primary activity. The generated SQL for the dataset can be filtered further if desired, to remove those rows.

Aggregate All Ever (source) (Custom)

Append a count of all activities that occurred that can be linked by the customer required column to a primary activity.

args:

  • aggregation_func (optional) : aggregation

    The aggregation macro to use on the columns passed to the activity. See aggregations for details on how to create a custom aggregation to pass here.

Dataset Usage:

  • primary_activity: ❌
  • appended_activity: ✅

Example Usage:

For every 'sign up' append Aggregate All Ever Completed Order. On every verified/signed up account, get the count of total orders placed.

Aggregate After (source) (Custom)

Append a count of all activities that occurred after each occurrence of the primary activity.

args:

  • aggregation_func (optional) : aggregation

    The aggregation macro to use on the columns passed to the activity. See aggregations for details on how to create a custom aggregation to pass here.

Dataset Usage:

  • primary_activity: ❌
  • appended_activity: ✅

Example Usage:

For every 'visited_website' append Aggregate After Completed Order. On every website visit, sum the revenue that was spent on completed orders after this visit.

Aggregate Before (source)

Append a count of all activities that occurred before each occurrence of the primary activity.

args:

  • aggregation_func (optional) : aggregation

    The aggregation macro to use on the columns passed to the activity. See aggregations for details on how to create a custom aggregation to pass here.

Dataset Usage:

  • primary_activity: ❌
  • appended_activity: ✅

Example Usage:

For every 'visited_website' append Aggregate Before Completed Order. On every website visit, sum the revenue that was spent on completed orders before this visit.

Aggregate In Between (source)

Append a count of all activities that occurred after each occurrence of the primary activity, but before the next occurrence of the primary activity.

args:

  • aggregation_func (optional) : aggregation

    The aggregation macro to use on the columns passed to the activity. See aggregations for details on how to create a custom aggregation to pass here.

Dataset Usage:

  • primary_activity: ❌
  • appended_activity: ✅

Example Usage:

For every 'visited_website' append Aggregate In Between 'viewed_page'. On every website visit, count the number of pages before the next visit.

Aggregations

Each of the relationships relies on an aggregation function, located here.

These aggregations use the call function of Jinja Templates, to allow complex expressions to be passed into the function.

Custom Aggregations

To create a custom aggregation, simply define a valid SQL aggregation function in a macro and pass it to any of the aggregation relationships. Eg:

{% macro custom_agg() %}

sum(
  case
    when {{ caller }} is not null
      then 10
    else 1
  end
)

{% endmacro %}

In the example above {{ caller() }} will be replaced with each of the columns passed to the activity.

Warehouses

To the best of the author's knowledge, this package is compatible with all dbt adapters.

Contributions

Contributions and feedback are welcome. Please create an issue if you'd like to contribute.