Metrics

Introduction

Metrics are used to define a calculation once and reuse it in the entire app. For example, you can make a metric to calculate the number of invoices , or a metric to calculate the average amount. You can further reuse these metrics in different charts.

Note:

You cannot preview or publish the app when adding or editing metrics.

Editing metrics

Follow these steps to edit a metric.

1. In the Data Manager panel, locate the metric you want to edit and select the Edit icon.

   The Edit KPI window is displayed.

2. Edit the display name for the metric in the Metric name field and/or configure the rules for the metric.

3. If applicable, add or change context metrics.

4. Select Save.

Adding metrics

If the metric you want to use is not available by default, you can create new metrics that can be used in your dashboards.

Follow these steps to add a new metric.

1. In the Data Manager panel, select +New metric.

   The Create KPI dialog is displayed.

2. Enter a descriptive name for the new metric in the Metric name field.

   Tip:

   It is a good practice to refer to the type of function you use to calculate the metric.

3. Configure the rules that define the metric.

   Tip:

   A preview of the metric calculation is displayed in the Create KPI panel.

4. If applicable, select one or more context metrics.

5. Select Save.

The metric is added to the list of metrics in the Data Manager.

Context metrics

You can add context metrics to provide a better understanding of the main metric displayed on the chart. Context metrics are displayed as tooltips on charts.

The following illustration shows a chart with the main metric Average amount and Number of cases as a context metric.

Depending on the calculation of the main metric, different contexts may be useful to explain the main metric. For example, if the main metric is defined as Average amount, useful context is Number of cases for which the average amount is calculated. This also applies when you main metric is defined as Total amount. In this case, also Number of cases for which the sum is calculated is a useful context.

When your main metric is defined as a percentage, for example Cases with tag (%), useful contexts can be Number of cases with tag and Total number of cases.

The following table shows some examples of main metrics with relevant context metrics.

	Main metric	Context metric 1	Context metric 2
Count	Number of cases 112	-	-
Average	Average amount € 61,43	Cases 112	-
Sum	Total amount € 123.555,00	Cases 112	-
Percentage	Cases with tag %​ 60%	Cases with tag 600	Total cases 1000

Rules

Elements of a rule

Below is a description of the elements of a rule that defines a metric.

Element	Description
Aggregation type	The type of the function that is used to calculate the metric. For example, SUM is used to calculate a Total value, AVERAGE is used to calculate an Average value.
Field used for aggregation	The field that is used to calculate the metric.

Aggregation type

Below is an overview of the aggregation types available for configuring a rule.

Aggregation type	Returns	Field types allowed
Group	N/A	all
Input value	a constant	number, currency, percentage
Distinct count	the number of unique values for the selected field	all
Count	the number of values for the selected field	all
Case average	the sum of all values for selected field divided by the number of cases	number, duration , currency
Average	the sum of all values for selected field divided by the number of records in the table of the selected field	number, duration
Min	the smallest value for the selected field	number, duration , currency
Max	the largest value for the selected field	number, duration , currency
Percentage	the percentage of TRUE values for the selected field	boolean
Sum	the sum of all values for the selected field	number, duration , currency
Percentile	the k-th percentile of the values for the given field	number, duration , currency
Median	the median of the values for the given field.	number, duration , currency

Using static values

In stead of an aggregation type, you can select to use a constant value to calculate the metric. If you select the Input value option from the list of aggregations, you can enter a value and select the field type.

Configuring rules

Follow these steps to configure a rule.

1. Select the function that you want to use to calculate the metric from the Aggregation types list.

   Tip:

   You can start typing the aggregation type and select Enter.

   
2. Select the field that you want to use to calculate the metric from the Field used for aggregation drop-down list.
   Note:

   The Field used for aggregation drop-down list only contains fields that are applicable for the selected aggregation type.

3. If desired, apply filters to the values that should be considered for the evaluation of the aggregation used for the metric.

4. Select Save in the Create KPI panel.

Repeat these steps if you want to add another aggregation for the rule.

Note:

You can add up to two aggregations to define the rule. If you define two aggregations for the rule these will be evaluated as a division. In this case, you can select to display the results as a percentage value.

Using multiple aggregations in a rule

You can add up to two aggregations to define the rule. If you define two aggregations for the rule, you can select the operator to be used to evaluate the rule. Below is an overview of the available operators.

Operator	Description
+	addition
-	subtraction
x	multiplication
/	division*

*) In case of a division, you can select to display the results as a percentage value.

The result type of the rule depends on the type of the input aggregations. Below is an overview of the supported input formats for the operators.

Operator	Rule	Result type
Addition	numeric + numeric	numeric
	duration + duration	duration
	currency + currency	currency
	percentage + percentage	percentage
	timestamp + duration	timestamp
Subtraction	numeric - numeric	numeric
	duration - duration	duration
	currency - currency	currency
	percentage - percentage	percentage
	timestamp - duration	timestamp
	timestamp - timestamp	duration
Multiplication	numeric x numeric	numeric
	duration x numeric	duration
	currency x numeric	currency
	percentage x numeric	percentage
	percentage x percentage	percentage
	numeric x percentage	numeric
	duration x percentage	duration
	currency x percentage	currency
Division	numeric / numeric	numeric
	duration / duration	numeric
	currency / currency	numeric
	percentage / numeric	percentage
	duration / numeric	duration
	currency / numeric	currency
Percentage	numeric / numeric	percentage
	duration / duration	percentage
	currency / currency	percentage

Grouping aggregations

In stead of a single aggregation type, you can select to use a Group aggregation to calculate the metric. This allows you to define the sequence of operations. Select the Group option from the list of aggregations, to create a group comprising two aggregations.

Tip:

Given that a Group aggregation can contain two aggregations, and you are allowed to add up to two aggregations, you can create a rule that incorporates a total of four aggregations.

Null handling

X / 0 will return null

null / X will return null

X / null will return null

Applying filters to an aggregation

Follow these steps to apply filters to an aggregation.

1. Select the aggregation for which to you want to apply filters.

2. Select Add filter in the Create KPI panel.

3. Define the filters as desired.

The icon is displayed next to the aggregation indicating that filters are applied for the aggregation.

Tip:

You can select the icon to see a preview of the applied filters.

Removing an aggregation

Follow this step to remove an aggregation from a rule.

1. Locate the aggregation you want to remove and select the icon.

Note:

The aggregation is removed without any notification.

Deleting metrics

To keep your process app clean, you can delete metrics that are not used anymore. Follow these steps to delete a metric.

1. In the Data Manager panel, locate the metric you want to delete.

2. Hover over the metric name and select the Delete metric icon.

   A confirmation message is displayed.

3. Select Delete.

   See the illustration below.

   
   

   

   
   
   Note: You can only delete user-created metrics. Metrics that are used in charts can not be deleted.

Viewing metric references

If you want to delete a metric that is used in charts, you must first delete the metric references. When you hover over the Delete metric icon, a popup is displayed indicating which dashboards and charts the metric is used in.