Creating a virtual data rule

System administrators create virtual data rules to define how source data populates measures in a virtual data account.

About this task

A virtual data rule includes the following parts:

Measures: Measures are the individual components or fields of data types that contain data that is accumulated monthly. Most consumption data types contain at least a consumption measure and a cost measure. The list of available measures depends on the account styles that are enabled for your organization. When you select a data rule for a measure, your selection is filtered to the associated data rules. The first measure under each data type in the Rule Editor is the primary measure.
Aggregation method: If the variable in the target account is populated by multiple accounts or meters, you can set the aggregation method. Depending on your selection, the monthly data from several sources can be summed, averaged, or use the maximum or minimum value of those values that are supplied. Typically, for accumulative data types, a sum is selected, whereas for instantaneous data types, such as floor space, an average is selected.
Operators: The basic math operators that help you define the formula. They include operators such as plus, minus, multiply, and divide.
Attributes: Attributes for various entities can be used in your formula if the attribute is numeric. Attribute exists at various levels of the organization hierarchy. For example, you might use an organization level attribute or meter level attribute in your formula.
Value: You can use the value field to insert a number into your formula.
Tip: Rename each value variable to the number that is captured by it in the formula. The user can understand the formula from the formula summary and does not need to interrogate individual variables. For example, if the value you are using in your formula is 0.1 or 10%, rename the value variable '10 percent'.

Note: Special characters such as +,-,*,/,%,#,$,@ and others are not allowed in variable names. If you need to include any of these for clarity, write out the word such as 'percent' instead of the % symbol.

A formula preview is available to validate that the formula does not use special characters and that if follows a proper order of operations. It provides a clear way to visualize the rule before you save it. The formula is also validated by the Rule Editor as you build it. If errors exist in the formula, you cannot save the rule.

You can edit a virtual data rule after you create it. If the virtual data rule is in use by a virtual account, you can only edit the name and behavior of existing variables. You cannot add new variables or delete variables. You can create a new virtual data rule if you need to add or remove new variables.

Procedure

As a system administrator, from the main menu, click Admin > Virtual Data Rules.
Click Create New to open the Virtual Data Rule Editor.

General Info tab

Assign a name to the rule and add a description.
Set the destination scope.
Set the data type of the destination account.
Set the destination measure, for example, total cost.

Rule Formula tab

Define the rule.
1. Click the + icon to select a measure.
2. Click the pencil icon to configure the behavior of the variable.
3. Optional: Update the measure name.
4. Set an aggregation method if multiple data sources populate the target variable.
5. Optional: Select the checkbox to require all data sources to have data for a month for the variable to be used in the formula.
  If the destination measure is populated from multiple sources and one of the sources does not yet have data, the destination measure is not populated until all data sources have data for the corresponding month.
6. Define the formula to populate the variable by using operators, attributes, and values.
Preview the formula to review its structure and to confirm that it does not contain any special characters.
Click Save.

What to do next

Associate the virtual data rule to a virtual account to populate data into account measures.