Walkthrough: Defining KPIs for a Cube

Article
07/17/2013

Important

This content is archived and is not being updated. For the latest documentation, see Microsoft Dynamics 365 product documentation. For the latest release plans, see Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform release plans.

Applies To: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Feature Pack, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a business metric that can be displayed in places like reports and role center pages. For more information, see Cube Overview.

Prerequisites

To complete this walkthrough, you will need:

Microsoft Dynamics AX with sample data
The SalesAnalysis cube from Walkthrough: Creating a Cube.
SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) or SQL Server Data Tools
Configure Analysis Services by running the Microsoft Dynamics AX Setup wizard

Defining a KPI for Inventory Quantity

To display your KPI in a Business Overview web part on a role center, you must define value, goal, status, and trend expressions for the KPI. If you exclude one of the expressions, the KPI will not display properly.

To create a KPI for Inventory Quantity

In BIDS, open the Analysis Services project that contains the Sales analysis cube, and then double-click SalesAnalysis.cube.
Click the KPIs tab.
On the toolbar for the KPIs tab, click New KPI. A form displays that allows you to define the KPI.
For the Name field, type Customer sales.
For the Value Expression field, type the following expression.
```
[Measures].[Total customer sales Count]
```
This expression retrieves the quantity in inventory units.

Note

You can drag measures from the Metadata tab of the Calculation Tools pane to help you create expressions.
For the Goal Expression field, type the following expression.
```
7500
```
This expression identifies the goal for the inventory quantity.
For the Status indicator field, select Gauge from the drop-down list.
For the Status expression field, type the following expression.
```
Case
    When
        [Measures].[Total customer sales Count] >= 7500
    Then 1
    When
        [Measures].[Total customer sales Count] < 7500
    AND
        [Measures].[Total customer sales Count] > 6500
    Then 0
    Else-1
End
```
This expression provides a basis to evaluate progress toward meeting the goal. The graphic that displays for status of the KPI depends on what value this expression evaluates to.
For the Trend indicator field, select Standard arrow from the drop-down list.
For the Trend expression field, type the following expression.
```
Case
    When
        [Measures].[Total customer sales Count] >= 3000
    Then 1
    When
        [Measures].[Total customer sales Count] < 3000

    Then -1
End
```
This expression provides a basis to evaluate the status in some historical context. The graphic that displays for the trend of the KPI depends on what value this expression evaluates to. Typically, the trend expression would evaluate the current status relative to a previous status.

To view the KPI

On the Build menu, click Deploy Dynamics AX SalesAnalysis.

Note

The name of the database may vary.
On the toolbar for the KPIs tab, click Browser View. The KPI displays in the list.

Next Steps

For more advanced KPI examples, see the templates that are available in the Templates tab of the Calculation Tools pane.

After you have defined KPIs for a cube, you can display the KPIs in a Business Overview web part. For more information, see Walkthrough: Displaying KPIs in a Role Center.

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