Architectural Overview

The WaveAnalyticAssetCollection metadata type manages Collections within Salesforce CRM Analytics (formerly Tableau CRM / Einstein Analytics). In complex enterprises, analytics assets are naturally dispersed across multiple departmental Wave applications—such as Sales Performance, Service Operations, and Marketing Attribution. Executives and cross-functional leaders require a unified pane of glass without navigating across disparate analytics folders.

WaveAnalyticAssetCollection allows architects and analytics developers to curate related dashboards, lenses, and datasets into logical collections without duplicating underlying assets or altering existing application security boundaries. By storing these curated collections as version-controlled metadata, teams can automate their deployment through CI/CD pipelines alongside core CRM dashboards.

WaveAnalyticAssetCollection: Executive_Cockpit Dashboard: Pipeline Summary (Sales App) Dashboard: CSAT Metrics (Service App) Lens: Campaign ROI (Marketing App) Unified Executive Briefing View

Directory and File Conventions

In Salesforce DX project structures, WaveAnalyticAssetCollection definitions reside within the waveAnalyticAssetCollections/ directory.

Property Value
Metadata Type Name WaveAnalyticAssetCollection
SFDX Folder force-app/main/default/waveAnalyticAssetCollections/
File Suffix .waveAnalyticAssetCollection-meta.xml

Key Metadata Fields

The XML schema for WaveAnalyticAssetCollection defines the following properties:

Field Name Field Type Required Architectural Description
masterLabel string Yes Human-readable title displayed in the CRM Analytics Studio Collections tab.
developerName string Yes Programmatic API name referenced across analytics configurations.
description string No Architectural description outlining intended audience and included assets.
accessType string Yes Governs visibility, typically Private, Shared, or Public.
assetList string[] No Array of developer names for included Wave Dashboards, Lenses, and Datasets.

Note

All dashboards and lenses referenced within assetList must exist in the target org or be included in the same deployment package.

Declarative XML and Package Manifest Examples

Below is a declarative XML definition assembling an executive operations collection:

force-app/main/default/waveAnalyticAssetCollections/Executive_Operations_Collection.waveAnalyticAssetCollection-meta.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<WaveAnalyticAssetCollection xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <accessType>Shared</accessType>
    <description>Curated operational metrics spanning global revenue and customer escalations.</description>
    <developerName>Executive_Operations_Collection</developerName>
    <masterLabel>Executive Operations Collection</masterLabel>
</WaveAnalyticAssetCollection>

Manifest Definition (package.xml)

manifest/package.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Package xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <types>
        <members>Executive_Operations_Collection</members>
        <name>WaveAnalyticAssetCollection</name>
    </types>
    <version>68.0</version>
</Package>

CLI Retrieval and Deployment Commands

Retrieve and deploy WaveAnalyticAssetCollection using standard Salesforce CLI commands:

Terminal
# Retrieve all asset collections
sf project retrieve start --metadata WaveAnalyticAssetCollection

# Retrieve a specific collection definition
sf project retrieve start --metadata WaveAnalyticAssetCollection:Executive_Operations_Collection

# Deploy collection to a staging sandbox
sf project deploy start --metadata WaveAnalyticAssetCollection:Executive_Operations_Collection --target-org analytics-dev

Architect Best Practices and Gotchas

  • Dependency Sequencing in CI/CD: Deploy all underlying WaveApplication, WaveDashboard, and WaveLens components before or alongside WaveAnalyticAssetCollection to prevent broken reference errors.
  • Granular Sharing Strategies: Set collection accessType according to target role hierarchies so confidential revenue metrics are restricted to executive stakeholders.
  • Governance Across Release Branches: Maintain collection definitions in source control to ensure curated home screens remain consistent when refreshing developer sandboxes from production.

Tip

Pin critical collections to the CRM Analytics home screen to drive executive adoption and eliminate manual dashboard searching.

Frequently asked questions

What is a WaveAnalyticAssetCollection in CRM Analytics?

It is a metadata entity that curates and groups related dashboards, lenses, and datasets from different analytics apps into a unified collection view for business users.

How do you retrieve WaveAnalyticAssetCollection using Salesforce CLI?

Run sf project retrieve start with the metadata flag set to WaveAnalyticAssetCollection to download all collection definitions into your local project.

Do asset collections duplicate the underlying analytics files?

No, asset collections store metadata references to existing dashboards and datasets, preserving single copies of underlying data while providing flexible grouping.

Can access to a WaveAnalyticAssetCollection be managed independently?

Yes, collections support independent sharing settings allowing administrators to share curated views with specific users, roles, or public groups.

Comments

Questions, corrections and tips are welcome. Comments are GitHub Discussions, so you sign in with GitHub.