BIAnalytix Tip Summary: Logarithmic Rate Analysis for BI

Expanding on the idea from our last tip called Minimum Rate Analysis for BI of using a rate card dimension for efficient and accurate minimum and maximum value analysis, a common practice in building a BI rate card cube dimension is to use a pseudo logarithmic scaling in the dimension’s values. The rate dimension has a finite set of members where all sales facts have their rates rounded to map to one of the rate dimension members. To allow the most accurate analysis for the largest majority of the sales rates, the logarithmic scaling’s granularity is clustered so that the granularity is finer where there is a larger set of sales rates and the granularity is less where there is a smaller set of sales rates. The advantage to this approach is to allow a more precise analysis where there is a larger portion of your data while also reducing the size of your dimension and corresponding aggregations.


For example, following a linear scale with a granularity of $0.01, there will be 100,000 records in the rate dimension to encompass all rates up to $1,000. This approach will allow the most accurate analysis but cube performance will fall outside of acceptable parameters. Following a linear scale with a granularity of $1.00, there will be only 1,000 records in the rate dimension to encompass all rates up to $1,000. This approach will allow the fastest cube performance however the analysis for the lower rates will be rounded excessively. If, for example we use $.01 increments up to $10, $.10 increments up to $100 and $1 increments up to $1000, there will be only 2,800 records in the rate dimension to encompass all rates up to $1,000. Using a pseudo logarithmic rate card dimension provides a high level of accuracy in analyzing rate card rates while at the same time staying within acceptable cube performance parameters.

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