Measurement Units

A measurement unit is what a benefit's, measure's, or goal's values are recorded in — a currency, a percentage, hours, customers, or anything else your organization tracks. Measurement units are created and maintained under Administration > Measurement Units, and chosen for each benefit or measure classification.

This article covers both the Advanced and Simple Models. Measurement units apply across the whole instance, and need administrator access, or an admin role with access to Measurement Units — see Admin Roles.

Unit settings

Each unit has these settings, in the order they appear on its form:

• Name — the unit's name, in the singular, such as Hour rather than Hours. Required.
• Description — what the unit measures. Required.
• Decimal Point Accuracy — how many decimal places values in this unit are usually recorded to, from 0 to 6. Users can't enter more decimal places than this, and calculated values for measures in this unit are rounded to it.
• This unit type is financial — marks the unit as a currency. Benefits and measures in a financial unit are included in financial calculations, such as return on investment (ROI) and net present value (NPV), and their values are shown with your currency symbol.
• This unit type is a percentage — marks the unit as a percentage. Users enter a whole number, and it's divided by 100 when used in a calculation — a user enters 40, and the calculation uses 0.4.
• Change Resolution By — how values are combined when they're shown at a less detailed cadence than they were recorded at, such as monthly values shown for a quarter:
  • Sum — adds the values together. Three monthly values of 10 hours show as 30 hours for the quarter. Use it for amounts that build up over time, such as money saved or hours spent. It's the default.
  • Reference — takes the value for the period, instead of adding. Use it for levels measured at a point in time, such as a percentage or a headcount, where adding three months together wouldn't make sense.

A unit can be financial or a percentage, not both. Checking one turns the other off.

How values are shown

• Financial units — with your currency symbol.
• Percentage units — with a percent sign.
• Units named Score, Number, or FTE — as a plain number.
• Any other unit — with the unit's name, such as 12 Hour.

The first financial unit is Amplify's default unit.

Creating a measurement unit

To create a measurement unit:

1. Navigate to Administration > Measurement Units. The list of units opens.
2. Click Create a New Unit. The New Unit page opens.
3. Enter a Name.
4. Enter a Description.
5. Enter the Decimal Point Accuracy.
6. Where the unit is a currency, check This unit type is financial.
7. Where the unit is a percentage, check This unit type is a percentage.
8. Choose Sum or Reference under Change Resolution By.
9. Click Create Unit.

The list shows each unit's name, description, accuracy, and whether it's financial or a percentage.

Editing a measurement unit

To edit a measurement unit:

1. Navigate to Administration > Measurement Units.
2. Click Edit next to the unit. The Edit Unit page opens.
3. Change the settings you need to.
4. Click Update Unit.

Deleting a measurement unit

A unit can only be deleted where no benefit, measure, or goal uses it. Where it's in use, Delete Unit isn't shown. To delete a measurement unit:

1. Navigate to Administration > Measurement Units.
2. Click Edit next to the unit.
3. Click Delete Unit.
4. Confirm.

For choosing a unit for a benefit or measure classification, see Configuring Benefit Classifications (Advanced Model), Configuring Benefit Classifications (Simple Model), and Configuring Measure Classifications (Advanced Model).