Time Hierarchies

You can create hierarchies so that they align with your planning and reporting needs, and shape the year so that it reflects your reporting structure.

The hierarchies you can build depend on the properties available in the date dimension. For user-managed dimensions, you must have at least one hierarchy.
Note
  • Within a hierarchy, the Month and Period semantic types correspond to the same level, and can't be used at the same time.
  • You can't use an ID property and a unique property at the same time.
Once all properties have a semantic type assigned, you can add them as levels within the hierachy. Make sure to follow these guidelines:
  • The hierarchy has the mandatory Year semantic type as the highest level.
  • The semantic types within the hierarchy are ordered from the biggest to the smallest time unit. For example, Month must be below Quarter, and above Week.
  • Each semantic type within the hierarchy is only used once, except for the Other semantic type.
  • If the hierarchy uses the semantic type Month, do not include the semantic type Period, and vice versa.
  • The lowest level of the hierarchy is the ID property if there is one. Otherwise, it must be a unique property.
  • Description properties cannot be used in the hierarchy.

You can model the hierarchies and shift quarters for example. Below is an example, where March rolls up to Q2, June rolls up to Q3, and September rolls up to Q4.

Month Standard Hierarchy Custom Hierarchy
January Q1 Q1
February Q1 Q1
March Q1 Q2
April Q2 Q2
May Q2 Q2
June Q2 Q3
July Q3 Q3
August Q3 Q3
September Q4 Q3
October Q4 Q4
November Q4 Q4
December Q4 Q4

Here’s another example with the same quarter shifts, and an additional period rolling up to Q4.

Month Custom Hierarchy
P1 Q1
P2 Q1
P3 Q2
P4 Q2
P5 Q2
P6 Q3
P7 Q3
P8 Q3
P9 Q3
P10 Q4
P11 Q4
P12 Q4
P13 Q4

Creating a Time Hierarchy

Context

You can create additional time hierarchies and have them reflect you reporting structure. Hierarchies you create can be reused later in stories. Make sure you follow these guidelines:
  • The hierarchy has the mandatory Year semantic type as the highest level.
  • The semantic types within the hierarchy are ordered from the biggest to the smallest time unit. For example, Month must be below Quarter, and above Week.
  • Each semantic type within the hierarchy is only used once, except for the Other semantic type.
  • If the hierarchy uses the semantic type Month, do not include the semantic type Period, and vice versa.
  • The lowest level of the hierarchy is the ID property if there is one. Otherwise, it must be a unique property.
  • Description properties cannot be used in the hierarchy.

Procedure

  1. In the Modeler, click a date dimension to access the Dimension Settings panel.
  2. Within the Dimension Settings panel, scroll down to the Hierarchies section and click .
  3. Give a unique ID and description to the property.
  4. Using the guidelines listed above, drag and drop the properties to the Levels section of the dialog to build the hierarchy.
    Tip
    By default, the application lists all properties available in the dimension. Use the Show eligible properties only toggle to filter on the properties that can be added to the hierarchy.
  5. When you're done, click OK, or click Create Hierarchy to add another hierarchy and repeat these steps.