Dimensions

Typical dimensions a cube might contain are time, versions, regions, products, departments, measures. A member is an item in a dimension, so in a time dimension, you can have months, years, quarters. Each month, year, and quarter is a member.

Dimensions can be a simple list with all members at the same level, or a dimension can be structured with members at different levels and with multiple hierarchies. How a dimension is structured depends on how you want the data to be represented. You might want to have a simple time dimension that just contains a list of the months, or you might want a time dimension that is grouped by years, quarters, and months, as shown in the following list.

• 2017
  • Q1-2017
    • Jan-2017
    • Feb-2017
    • Mar-2017
  • Q2-2017
    • Apr-2017
    • May-2017
    • Jun-2017
  • Q3-2017
    • Jul-2017
    • Aug-2017
    • Sep-2017
  • Q4-2017
    • Oct-2017
    • Nov-2017
    • Dec-2017

Levels define the way data is grouped in dimensions. A dimension can have a number of levels relative to their hierarchical structure, and these levels are automatically named Level000, Level001, Level002, Level003 and so on. For a dimension with a single level, the level is named Level000.

If you have a dimension that is structured with multiple levels, you can choose to show the members at a particular level. For example, you could show the leaf level, which is just the months, or you could show just the quarters, or the years. To select a level, in a cube view, click the dimension tile and then select the level.

Typically, cubes contain a measures dimension. A measures dimension contains the measures that you want to track in your business analysis. Examples of measures include sales amounts, units sold, expenses, acquisition values, and campaign costs.

You can define hierarchies for dimensions. Every dimension in IBM® Planning Analytics Workspace has at least one hierarchy. You can define alternative hierarchies so that you can roll up a hierarchy in different ways without having to add extra dimensions. To find out more, see Hierarchies.

You can define attributes for dimension members. Attributes help to explain or describe a dimension member, and could be something like color, size, or type. You can create hierarchies from attributes by right-clicking an attribute in a dimension and clicking Create Hierarchy.