Custom Comparison with Same/Previous Period

Version

Application Scenario

In a component, if you want to compare indicators without dragging the date field into the dimension bar in the analysis area, you can use Custom Comparison with Same/Previous Period.

For example, you can use Custom Comparison with Same/Previous Period based on Contract Time to obtain values and growth rates of indicators compared with the previous period, as shown in the following figure.

Function Description

To use the function, the following requirements should be met.

• The data table contains (at least) one date dimension field, but you do not use the field(s) in the dimension bar in the component.

• The indicator used for Custom Comparison with Same/Previous Period calculations cannot be the calculation field.

1. Based on the period obtained by the date filter component, FineBI can quickly calculate the value, growth value, and growth rate of indicators compared with the same/previous period.

2. FineBI allows you to customize data comparison between any two periods, supporting comparisons by Dynamic Time, Fixed Date, and Fixed Date Range.

Download the example data: Office Supplies Data.xlsx and upload it to the analysis subject.

Scenario One: Data Comparison Between Any Two Fixed Periods

You can use custom comparison values to compare data between any two periods.

For example, a merchant held the same promotional activity in April 2019 and June 2020, respectively. The merchant wants to compare the sales in the two promotional months in 2019 and 2020, and calculate the growth rate of each product.

1. Drag Product Name and Sales into the Dimension bar and Indicator bar, respectively, click , and choose Quick Calculation > Comparison with Same Period/Comparison with Previous Period > Custom Comparison with Same/Previous Period, as shown in the following figure.

2. Since sales are calculated based on Contract Time, set Date Field to Contract Time. Set Calculation Type to Custom Comparison Value, and Time Type to Fixed Date Range (2019-04-01 to 2019-04-30), as shown in the following figure.

3. Modify the field name to Sales in April 2019, as shown in the following figure.

Calculating the Sales in April 2020

1. Copy Sales in the left to-be-analyzed area, rename the copied field Sales in June 2020, and drag the field into the component.

2. Similarly, set Custom Comparison with Same/Previous Period for the indicator, as shown in the following figure.

Calculating the Growth Value and Growth Rate

1. Copy the Sales field in the left to-be-analyzed area for two times, rename the copied fields Growth Value and Growth Rate, respectively, and drag the two fields into the component.

2. To calculate the growth value, set Custom Comparison with Same/Previous Period for Growth Value, set Calculation Type to Custom Growth Value, and set the comparison date range, as shown in the following figure.

3. To calculate the growth rate, set Custom Comparison with Same/Previous Period for Growth Rate, set Calculation Type to Custom Growth Rate, and set the comparison date range, as shown in the following figure.

Effect Display

Through the three calculation types (Custom Comparison Value, Custom Growth Value, and Custom Growth Rate), you can obtain the sales, growth values, and growth rates for the two promotional months, as shown in the following figure.

Scenario Two: Data Comparison Between Dynamic Periods

Through the dynamic time function, you can use custom comparison values to compare data between any two dynamic periods.

For example, you can compare the sales in last week with the same period three months ago to analyze quarterly data changes, as shown in the following figure.

Scenario Three: Custom Comparison with the Period Selected in the Filter Component

For example, after filtering for data ranging from 2020-05-07 to 2020-05-17, you want the system to automatically calculate the sales growth rate compared with the same period in the previous month (from 2020-04-07 to 2020-04-17), as shown in the following figure.

1. In Custom Comparison with Same/Previous Period, set Calculation Type to Custom Growth Rate and Time Type to Dynamic Time, as shown in the following figure.

2. Create a dashboard and add a Date Interval filter component to filter Contract Time, as shown in the following figure.

Note:

You need to bind the filter component to the same date field as that selected for Custom Comparison with Same/Previous Period. Otherwise, the filter component will not take effect.

3. Drag the filter component into the dashboard, select a date range, and you can obtain the growth rate of the same period in the previous month, as shown in the following figure.

Note:

When multiple time filter components in the dashboard take effect for this component, the system will automatically get the intersection of their date ranges before performing the custom comparison with the same/previous period.

You can use Custom Comparison with Same/Previous Period to directly obtain the comparison with the same/previous period returned by the date filter component. This approach is simpler and more convenient than custom comparison.

For example, in scenario three, the system automatically calculates the sales growth rate compared with the same period in the previous month. Logically, this is equivalent to calculating the month-over-month growth rate.

To directly obtain the same result, change Calculation Type to Growth Rate of Comparison with Same Period (Month) to reset the Growth Rate field, as shown in the following figure.

The calculated result is the same as that obtained in the "Scenario Three: Custom Comparison with the Period Selected in the Filter Component" section, as shown in the following figure.