impact-analysis

Impact Analysis & Connections

Analyze what's affected by changes and map component connections using NavGator MCP tools. This skill covers impact analysis, connection viewing, and dataflow tracing.

When to Activate

• User asks what's affected by changing a component or file
• User wants to see dependencies before refactoring
• User asks about upstream/downstream connections
• Before major changes to shared components
• User wants to trace how data flows through the system

Impact Analysis

Use the navgator impact MCP tool with the component name to analyze blast radius.

Input: Component name (e.g., "express", "prisma", "/api/users")

Returns:

• Component's name, type, and layer
• Incoming connections: Components/files that USE this component (may need changes)
• Outgoing connections: Components this one depends on
• Severity assessment (critical/high/medium/low based on dependent count)
• Specific file paths and line numbers for each connection

File-Based Impact

If the user provides a file path instead of a component name:

1. The tool resolves the file to its parent component automatically via file map lookup
2. If no component found, suggest running a scan to refresh architecture data

Connection Mapping

Use the navgator connections MCP tool to show all connections for a component.

Input: Component name (required), direction (optional: "in", "out", or "both")

Returns:

• All incoming connections (what connects TO this component)
• All outgoing connections (what this component connects TO)
• File paths and line numbers for each connection

Dataflow Tracing

Use the navgator trace MCP tool to follow data flow through the architecture.

Input: Component name (required), direction (optional: "forward", "backward", or "both")

Returns:

• Data flow path through components
• Layer crossings (e.g., frontend → backend → database)
• Dependency chains with depth

Decision Tree

User Intent	MCP Tool	Notes
"What breaks if I change X?"	navgator impact	Full blast radius
"Show connections for X"	navgator connections	All connections
"What depends on X?"	navgator connections (direction: "in")	Incoming only
"What does X use?"	navgator connections (direction: "out")	Outgoing only
"Trace data flow from X"	navgator trace	Forward/backward/both
"Is it safe to modify X?"	navgator impact	Check severity

After Analysis

Present results clearly:

1. Severity level and summary
2. Direct dependents (most important to review)
3. Transitive dependents (may be affected)
4. Recommendation: which files to review before making changes

navgator — architecture tracker