Impact Analysis

Overview

Impact analysis uses graph traversal combined with LLM reasoning to determine what happens when a resource changes or fails. Instead of manual dependency mapping, Knowledge Tree automatically calculates blast radius, critical dependency chains, and generates natural language impact summaries.

Blast radius

When a resource is modified or becomes unhealthy, blast radius analysis answers: what else is affected?

• Upstream dependencies -- resources that depend on the affected resource
• Downstream dependencies -- resources that the affected resource depends on
• Transitive impact -- impact across multiple hops in the graph
• Critical path -- the shortest dependency chain to critical business services
• Scope boundary -- impact limited to the current scope or crossing into others

# Query blast radius via API
GET /api/v1/impact/blast-radius?id=i-abc123&depth=3

{
  "resource": { "id": "i-abc123", "type": "aws_ec2_instance" },
  "direct_dependents": 5,
  "total_affected": 12,
  "critical_services": ["payment-api", "user-auth"],
  "paths": [
    { "from": "i-abc123", "to": "payment-api", "hops": 3 }
  ]
}

Dependency chain

Dependency chains trace the full path from a resource to critical business services:

• Forward chain -- what does this resource enable?
• Backward chain -- what does this resource need to function?
• Circular detection -- identify circular dependencies that cause cascading failures
• Single point of failure -- resources with no redundancy in the dependency chain

What-if analysis

Simulate the impact of planned changes before executing them:

1. Select a resource -- choose the resource you plan to modify or remove
2. Define the change -- specify what changes (tag update, resize, deletion, etc.)
3. Run analysis -- Knowledge Tree traverses the graph and calculates impact
4. Review results -- natural language summary of affected resources and services
5. Proceed or adjust -- get approval or modify the change plan

Reporting

Impact analysis generates reports suitable for different audiences:

• Technical summary -- detailed resource-level impact with graph paths
• Executive summary -- business service impact with risk ratings
• Compliance context -- which compliance controls are affected by the change
• Historical trends -- how blast radius has changed over time