Primary, Secondary, and Tripwire Formula Tabs (Metrics Form)

Use the fields on these tabs to set up the primary, secondary, and tripwire formulas for the metric. Enable the fields on the Secondary and Tripwire tabs by selecting the check box next to the tab label.

Definitions

• Primary Formula — This is the formula used to calculate the primary result calculated in an Acumen analysis.
• Secondary Formula — (Optional) This is usually used to show the metric as a percentage.
• Tripwire Formula — (Optional) This is used to determine the individual exceptions that are listed in the Activity Browser.
• Tripwire Threshold — This is used to graphically show when a defined threshold is exceeded.

Inclusions

Use these top-level filters to exclude specific activities based on type, status, and time period.

Field/Option	Description
Copy from Primary Formula	This button displays on both the Secondary Formula and Tripwire tabs. Click to copy the Inclusion settings from the Primary Formula tab to the current tab.
Activity Status	Select the activity status: Planned, In Progress, Complete.
Activity Type	Select the activity type: Normal, Milestone, Summary, Level of Effort. Acumen determines level of effort using the IsLevelOfEffort field. For Primavera P6 projects, the IsLevelOfEffort field is mapped by default to Activity Type. For Open Plan, the IsLevelOfEffort field is mapped by default to Earned Value Technique. For Microsoft Project, you need to map a flag field in the project using the Fields tab. For other scheduling tools, you need to map an appropriate source field to a field in the project using the Fields tab.
Time Phase	This setting indicates the phase in which the Phase Analyzer will count the activity. All — The activity is counted in all periods that it spans. Start — The activity is only counted in the period in which it starts, even if it spans multiple periods. Finish — The activity is only counted in the period in which it ends, even if it spans multiple periods. Date Basis — Use this field to indicate which date to use to insert the activities into the phases. You can select from Scheduled (schedule start and finish; early dates), Late (late start/finish dates), or Baseline (baseline start/finish dates).
Prorating	Prorating affects how the Phase Analyzer views the activities. If Prorating is On, the Phase Analyzer on the S2 // Diagnostics tab takes time periods into account when it analyzes activities. If Prorating is Off, the Phase Analyzer ignores time periods when it analyzes activities. When you apply a metric filter to the matrix, Acumen doesn't prorate the filtered values when the data is analyzed. If you apply both a metric filter and formula, prorating will apply to the formula values but not the filter values. See Prorating Metrics for more information and an example. Tip: If you apply prorating on the Primary Formula tab, Deltek recommends that you also apply it on the Secondary Formula tab (if you are using a secondary formula).

Filters

You can create a filter-based metric that doesn't require a detailed formula definition, or use it in conjunction with the Formula area below.

Field/Option	Description
Add Button	Click this button to add a filter line.
Remove Button	Click this button to remove the selected filter line.
Copy from Primary Formula Button	This button displays on both the Secondary Formula and Tripwire tabs. Click it to copy the Filter settings from the Primary Formula tab to the current tab.
Field	Click the down-arrow and select the field that you want to use in the filter. This list includes applicable calculated fields and variables. In addition, Acumen includes some special fields (for example, IsOutOfSequence) for you to use.
Op	Click the down-arrow to select a different operator. The default is "=."
Field or Value	Type in a value or click the down-arrow to select a field to include in the metric filter.

Formula

Use this area to define a metric using a detailed formula. You can also use the Variables Form, Project Variables Form, and Calculated Fields Form to create variable values and fields that you can use in this formula area.

Field/Option	Description
Basic	Click this radio button if you want to create a filter-based metric that doesn't require a detailed formula definition. When this is selected, the Formula area is disabled.
Advanced	Click this radio button if you want to use detailed formulas to define the metric beyond a simple filter. This mode enables you to manually create inclusions, filters, and advanced functions that together return the required set of activities. If the required secondary formula is not a simple percentage of the primary formula, then set the mode on the Secondary Formula tab to Advanced and define the inclusions, filters and advanced formula manually.
Percentage of Primary Formula	This radio button only displays on the Secondary Formula tab. If the secondary formula represents a percentage of the primary formula, then you don't need to create complex formulas. Instead, select the relevant inclusions and filters (in order to define the population against which you are going to divide the primary formula in order to calculate the percentage) and then set the mode to Percentage of Primary Formula. A simple percentage secondary formula can be auto-calculated in this mode irrespective of whether the primary formula has been defined in basic or advanced mode.
Auto Calculated by Primary Formula	This radio button only displays on the Tripwire Formula tab. If the primary formula was created using the basic mode, you can opt to automatically create the tripwire formula without defining any inclusions, filters, or formulas for the tripwire definition. Instead, Acumen will automatically create a tripwire formula based on the inclusions and filters defined in the primary formula. When this option is selected, the tripwire inclusions and filters options are disabled because they are automatically inherited from the primary inclusions and filters. This mode can only be used if the primary formula was created in Basic mode. If you use an advanced formula on the Primary Formula tab, this option is disabled.
Formula	Use this area to add or edit a formula for the metric. Metric formulas are defined using standard MS Excel-based formula syntax. Primary and secondary formulas get applied to groupings of activities (depending on the ribbon, phase, or intersection context) whereas tripwire formulas get applied to each activity separately.
Formula Format	Select the format in which you want the formula to display, for example, Currency. This field only displays on the Primary and Secondary Formula tabs.
Check Formula Button	Click this button to validate the syntax of the formula when creating or editing a metric formula. The test calculation is applied to all activities within the workbook.
Insert Fields Button	Click this button to add fields and field values to the formula. When creating metric formulas, you can reference the following types of fields: Activity fields Project fields Workbook fields Dynamic fields Calculated fields Project variables The dialog box includes three tabs: Standard fields — This tab lists all of the available fields. Calculated fields — This tab lists all of the fields that apply. For example, if you are viewing this dialog box from the Control Account Metrics form, you will not see any of the control account calculated fields since they operate on activities and work packages. Project Variables — This tab lists all of the available project variables. For more information about these fields, see Types of Acumen Fields and Variables.