First, the system looks at the Date column that you defined in your data table indicator's mapping. (This is part of why we require the date column in data tables!)
Based on that date, the system checks the start and end dates for reporting periods in your system:
- If it only finds a single reporting period that the data fits in, it puts it there.
- If it finds multiple reporting periods that the data fits in, it will check the overall length of the reporting periods and put the data in the shortest reporting period.
If that doesn't make sense, let's consider a couple examples:
Sample Data
Let's say that I have a really simple data table set up to track people I've trained:
| First Name | Last Name | Sex | Training Date | Location | Training Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob | Partner | Male | 15 January 2015 | Client Site A | Administrator |
| Bob | Partner | Male | 22 January 2015 | Client Site A | Trainer |
| Ophelia | Williams | Female | 15 April 2015 | Client Site B | Administrator |
| Bernard | Doe | Male | 15 April 2015 | Client Site B | Administrator |
| Jane | Doe | Female | 1 July 2015 | Client Site C | Trainer |
| John | Doe | Male | 1 July 2015 | Client Site C | Trainer |
I have one data table indicator set up that is doing a Count Unique against the combination of First Name + Last Name: # of people trained in DevResults.
Example 1: Consecutive Reporting Periods
First, let's suppose that I have these reporting periods:
| Title | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 Semi-Annual 1 | 1 January 2015 | 30 June 2015 |
| 2015 Semi-Annual 2 | 1 July 2015 | 31 December 2015 |
Notice that these reporting periods have no overlap in dates; they are consecutive: where one ends, the next begins.
In this scenario, since there's no overlap in reporting period dates, there's really no question about where my data goes:
- 2015 Semi-Annual 1: 3 people trained
- 2015 Semi-Annual 2: 2 people trained
Example 2: Overlapping Reporting Periods
Now, let's assume the exact same data table rows and indicator, but these reporting periods:
| Title | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 Q1 | 1 January 2015 | 31 March 2015 |
| 2015 Q2 | 1 April 2015 | 30 June 2015 |
| 2015 Q3 | 1 July 2015 | 30 September 2015 |
| 2015 Q4 | 1 October 2015 | 31 December 2015 |
| 2015 Semi-Annual 1 | 1 January 2015 | 30 June 2015 |
| 2015 Semi-Annual 2 | 1 July 2015 | 31 December 2015 |
Note that there are overlaps in the dates here: 2015 Semi-Annual 1 dates include dates for 2015 Q1 and 2015 Q2.
In this scenario, since the reporting periods have overlapping dates, the system looks at overall length. Here, my quarterly reporting periods are the shortest, and so my data will be displayed there:
- 2015 Q1: 1 person trained
- 2015 Q2: 2 people trained
- 2015 Q3: 2 people trained
Didn't answer your question? Please email us at help@devresults.com.