Let's discover how it's done!
You can create basic calculations in the SSR dashboard to measure key metrics, such as Time Spent per Job. You’d use these calculations in SSR when you want to turn raw data into practical insights, rather than just looking at start and end times.
Getting There
You can create calculations via the Business Intelligence menu and selecting Self Service.
From here:
Click the Create button.
Select Create Dashboard.
Choose the Blank Dashboard option.
Click the Create button at the bottom right.
The Create a visualisation window will now appear.
Create a Dashboard
You have two options to begin creating your dashboard:
Option 1: Select a data model and a data set from the popup window.
Option 2: Click the “X” on the popup window and manually select a data visualisation tool.
Create a Visualisation via Drag and Drop (Option 1)
Click the Add button.
In the Choose Data window, check the box for the Service Geeni Standard Data Model.
Click OK.
Expand the JobTimings data set using the > arrow.
Check the following fields:
JobNumber
StartTime
EndTime
This automatically creates a recommended visualisation based on your selection. You can explore different chart types from the Recommendations panel on the right.
Create a Visualisation Using a Data Table (Option 2)
From the left toolbox, click Data Visualisation.
Drag the Data Table (located under the Charts section) onto the dashboard.
Click Add on the right panel.
In the Choose Data window:
Check the Service Geeni Standard Data Model.
Click OK.
Expand JobTimings, then drag and drop the following fields into the Columns section:
JobNumber
StartTime
EndTime
Pro Tip: To show the full date and time in one column, click the gear icon next to StartTime and EndTime, and select Exact Date. This prevents splitting the datetime into Year/Month/Day columns.
Add a Calculated Column (Time Spent)
We’ll now calculate the time spent on each job by finding the difference between EndTime and StartTime.
Click the gear icon next to the JobTimings data set.
Select Add Calculated Column.
In the popup window:
Enter the name TimeSpent.
In the Expression box, use the DateDiff function.
To construct the formula:
Type DateDiff(
Add the fields: 'JobTimings'[StartTime], 'JobTimings'[EndTime],
Add the interval: MINUTE
Close the expression: )
Final Expression: DateDiff('JobTimings'[StartTime], 'JobTimings'[EndTime], MINUTE).
Click OK to create the calculated column.
Use the Calculated Column in Your Visualisation
You will now see the TimeSpent field listed under the JobTimings data set.
Drag and drop TimeSpent into the Columns section of your data table.
Click the Preview button at the top of the screen to view your updated dashboard.
You should now see a table displaying each job’s number, start and end times, and the calculated Time Spent in minutes.
This basic calculation is a great way to start leveraging SSR dashboards in Service Geeni for custom insights.
You have successfully created a basic calculation!