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Object documentationMoving Average Parameters Locate this document in the navigation structure

 

Use the Configure Moving Average Parameters screen to configure parameters specific to the Moving Average template. With this template, you can build queries that calculate the average values of selected measures based on specified time periods. You determine the time periods to be averaged, and you can use the result to analyze past or forecast future results. Typically, your forecasts are more accurate if you perform the average over larger time periods.

This can address business questions such as the following:

What are the average manufacturing costs of products A and B for Q2 and Q3, based on the previous four months?

Structure

The main sections and controls of this screen are listed in the following table:

Section

Control

Description

Calculate

Moving average of measure

Lists all measures in the cube on which the query is based.

Select the measure for which you want to display a moving average.

Based on number of periods

Enter the number of time periods on which to base the average.

For Members of

Dimension

Lists all dimensions in the cube on which the query is based.

Select the dimension that contains the hierarchy to display in the Hierarchy field.

Hierarchy

Lists all hierarchies in the currently selected dimension.

Select the hierarchy that contains the level to display in the Level field.

Level

Lists all levels in the currently selected hierarchy.

Select the level that contains the members you want to see in the query's result.

Display Date Range

Time dimension

Lists all the time dimensions in the cube on which the query is based.

Select the dimension that contains the hierarchy to display in the Hierarchy field.

Hierarchy

Lists all hierarchies in the currently selected dimension.

Select the hierarchy that contains the level to display in the Level field.

Period level

Lists all levels in the currently selected hierarchy.

Select the level that contains the time granularity upon which to base the date range display.

From

Lists all members in the currently selected level.

Select the start period of the date range to display.

To

Lists all members in the currently selected level.

Select the end period of the date range to display.

Example

You want to know the average manufacturing costs for March and April based on the previous four months. To create this query, configure the values on this screen in the following manner:

Calculate section:

  • Moving average of measure = Manufacturing Cost

  • Based on number of periods = 4

For Members of section:

  • Dimension = Product

  • Hierarchy = Product

  • Level = Product Name

Display Date Range section:

  • Time dimension = Time

  • Hierarchy = Time

  • Period level = Month

  • From = December

  • To = April

The data used to calculate the moving average, together with the result of this query (the shaded cells), are shown in the tables below:

Moving Average Query: Data Reference

Part

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

Part A

$25

$15

$10

$10

$5

Part B

$20

$10

$5

$5

$15

Part C

$5

$5

$5

$5

$5
Average Manufacturing Costs (Based on Previous Four Months)

Part

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

Part A

$15

$10

Part B

$10

$9

Part C

$5

$5

Each cell in the result shows the average of its own figure and the previous three months, since the Based on number of periods value is set to 4 months.