Create a Measure Data Source

Measure Data Source

The Measure data source is ideal for tracking performance indicators with targets and actuals. It is also a pre-requisite to creating a Scorecard data source.

Steps to create a Measure Data Source

1. Navigate to Analytics -> Data Sources.
2. Click on New Data Source button.
3. Select Measure Type.
   
   
   
   

4. Name your data source by replacing the 'Untitled Data Source' with your data source name, this will make it easier for you to find it later. Tab or click anywhere outside the box to save your changes.
   
   

   
    

   By default, the first 3 mandatory columns are created for you: Period, Target, and Actual. You can add additional columns to the data source to track other data. An example is a budget variance column, using the formula data type. 

Tip
You can change the column names to one that is more suitable by clicking on each column.

Configuring the Measure Data Source

The following configuration options are unique to the Measure data source. Let's take a look: 

Use Estimate Column
An Estimate column uses a column type of Number. You will enable this column if you'd like to track numerical data that you wish to display in the scorecard, in addition to the three mandatory columns.  

Set Date Range, Period Start/End Date and Period Frequency
When enabled, the date interval that displays in the table is locked to the range of dates set in the Period Start and End dates, which in conjunction with the Period Frequency setting, determines the number of periods. If you wish to have your user enter the period manually, you can disable this field. 

Measure Columns
Measure columns refer to the three mandatory columns (Period, Target and Actual) and the Estimate column if enabled. The formatting options of Decimal Rounding, Thousand Separator, Prefix, and Suffix applies only to these columns.