Definition and Purpose of Metrics
Metrics play a crucial role in inputting or calculating data, serving as key dimensions within a system. Each metric must be unique and can take on various data types based on its intended use. The available data types for metrics include numeric, percentage, integer, currency, text, date, list, document, data status, and any other dimensions relevant to the workspace.
Metrics can be utilized in two primary ways: as input directly entered by users or as formulas that manipulate values from other metrics based on defined logic. Users can restrict inputs to metrics through validation rules, and data can be entered in numeric, textual, list-based selections, or via file uploads. Permissions to update metric inputs can be controlled using data status metrics, which allow specific rules to govern who can modify what.
Types of Metrics
Input Metrics
This is the default metric type created when a sheet is initiated. Users can add or clear data within these metrics, which can be entered manually, selected from a dropdown list, or uploaded as files. Input metrics can validate data based on standard conditions, such as less than, greater than, or between specific values. They can support numeric, text, list, or dimension types. For numeric inputs, validation is possible, while textual inputs are free-form. Custom lists or existing dimensions can be used for dropdown selections in input cells. Input metrics can also serve as the basis for calculations in calculated metrics.
Apart from the usual manual input, some important input metric types include:
Document: This metric type allows uploading files.
List: This type allows the creation of custom allowed values that can be selected from a dropdown.
Data Status: This special type of input metric designates the current workflow state of a metric. Each status can be restricted to specific rules and user teams using Data Status configurations.
Formula Metrics
Formula metrics automatically calculate values based on underlying logic without allowing direct user input. Any changes to the input metrics used in the calculation will instantly reflect in the formula metric. Users can create calculation logic using standard Excel functions and can pull metrics from the same or different sheets and functional areas. When formulating calculations, logic can be influenced by various parameters, including dimension properties. If creating a formula metric using metrics from different sheets, users can configure mismatches in dimensions using metric parameters.
A formula metric contains a user-defined formula and displays the computed value based on that formula.
Parent Metrics
Parent metrics aggregate other metrics within the same sheet, establishing a hierarchy between metrics similar to dimensions and enabling multi-layered logic. The source data for a parent metric can include input metrics, formula metrics, linked metrics, or other parent metrics within the same sheet. The signage for each metric can be assigned as + or - from the metric section of Metric Details.
Summary Metrics
Summary metrics perform calculations at the reporting level, applying the same formula to all members regardless of their position in the dimension hierarchy, no matter whether whether they are leaf or parent members. In contrast, formula metrics apply calculation logic to leaf members only and simply summarize the values for non-leaf members according to the summary type, with parent metrics representing an aggregation of their child metrics.
Linked Metrics
Linked metrics are metrics imported from a source sheet into a target sheet, enabling data reuse and avoiding redundancy. The source and target sheets can contain different dimensions. In the target sheet, the linked metric can be renamed, and input can be enabled via the Allow Input option in Metric Details, allowing for synchronization of input values between the source and target sheets. However, the metric type, data type, and summary method can only be updated in the source sheet. Linked metrics are displayed as SheetName.MetricName in the metrics section and the metric list.