Skip to main content
All CollectionsGetting Started GuidesAs an Editor
Getting Started Guide - Managing Data
Getting Started Guide - Managing Data

This article will show you how to manage your data in ClearPoint.

F
Written by Fernando Montenegro
Updated over a year ago

Most organizations manage their data in the measure element. Measures are great for tracking performance data over time, creating calculations, establishing evaluation criteria, and building data visualizations.

All measures should be chosen carefully to ensure that they are relevant to the organization's goals and objectives.


Measure Data

Data is stored in the Measure Data table. In the Period column, you will see a list of reporting periods. These periods are determined by the measures reporting frequency allowing us to track data over time. Each column header in the data table represents a measure series.

Measure series allow you to track different quantitative data within a measure.

The measure data table works similarly to Excel, double-clicking to add in data by entering values or copying and pasting data from another source. Navigate between cells using keyboard shortcuts like Tab and Enter, the arrow keys, or, your mouse.

  • From your Control Panel click on Elements

  • Select Measures

    • Choose the measure you are going to be working with

  • Click on the Measure Data table

    • Double-click on the field you would like to edit

      • Enter your data, in this example, ‘$2,050.00.'

  • Click Save


Adding and Editing measures

By default new measures come with two series, Actual and Target, however, you can edit this series or easily add new series to the Data table.

Data type controls the number format. For example, Integer means that the series will display data without a decimal place while currency will display your account's default currency symbol.

To edit an existing series

  • Double-click the Series name on the Column header

  • In the Edit window, you can make changes to the Series Name or the Data Type

Control the visibility of this series

  • Hide series in Summary Reports and Data Tables

  • Hide series in Summary Reports

To Add a new measure series

  • Double-click on the Data Table

  • Click on the Add Series button

  • Under Name enter your new series name, for example, ‘Actual YTD.’

  • Select the Data Type from the dropdown menu


Calculations

Add Calculations to new or existing Measure series to help you save time in the reporting process.

  • Double-click on the Series

  • Navigate to the Calculations Tab

  • Choose a Calculation type from the dropdown menu

  • Choose Calculated Series to build a custom calculation using existing data in your account.

    • Use the dropdown menus to reference series data, other measures, and even other scorecards.

  • The Aggregation dropdown menu allows you to choose a time period for the calculation, you can choose current, other periods, or fiscal year-to-date

    calculations.

  • Click the Insert button to add the reference data to your calculation

    • You can also include addition, division, and parentheses icons or use the keys on your keyboard to build your calculation further.

  • Click the Test button to preview your calculation with existing data and make sure it's working as expected.

When you save your calculation you will see that data is automatically populated into the measured series, you won’t be able to enter data over a calculation to protect your data from unwanted changes.


Evaluations

By default, measures are manually evaluated meaning the status can be manually selected from the data table. Because measures track quantitative data, you can also use measures series to define evaluation criteria and automatically assign status indicators to your measure.

This helps save time in the reporting process and provides a more objective evaluation of performance. To automatically evaluate a measure you first need to define an evaluation criteria.

  • Double-click on a Measure series you would like to define criteria for

  • Navigate to the Evaluations tab

  • Establish the Evaluation Criteria for each status indicator

  • Check Use this series for overall element evaluation to set this evaluation criteria for the overall measure.

This example shows that if:

The ‘Actual’ is greater than or equal to the ‘Target’, it will be evaluated as Green or Above Target

The ‘Actual’ is 80% or higher of the ‘Target’ value, it will be evaluated as Yellow or Caution

If the ‘Actual’ is lower than 80% of the ‘Target’, it will be evaluated as Red or Below plan


Data Loader

For multiple organizations data is stored in multiple places, as you start to track and report in more measures, uploading this data to ClearPoint manually can become a time-consuming process.

ClearPoint offers several options for integrating with other systems and databases to automate data upload to save time.

One of the more popular options is the Data Loader. If you have a professional plan or above, the Data Loader can help you automate data uploads from SQL databases or Excel files. Once configured data uploads can be set on a schedule or pushed when changes are made to keep your ClearPoint account updated with the latest information.

To Download the Data Loader reach out to Support at clearpointstrategy.com.

Did this answer your question?