Facts
The Facts tab of the RMD screen holds the catalog of facts — the countable values that measures are calculated from. Each row of the table is one fact. The tab is edited as a spreadsheet — see the Working with RMD tables page.
Types of facts
| Fact type | Description | How the values are defined |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | The fact corresponds directly to a column of a fact table in the database | Connected source — the database column the values are read from |
| Derived | The fact is calculated from other facts | Formula |
| Constant | A fixed value is used for the fact | Formula |
The two ways of defining values exclude each other: for a primary fact the formula is not used, and for a derived or constant one the connected source is not used.
The formula of a derived or constant fact must not be an aggregated calculation — aggregation belongs to measures. The formula syntax is described on the Formula syntax page.
Columns in the RMD table with facts
| Column name | Column description | Column type | Required column |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group | A text field to specify the high-level category the fact belongs to (e.g., "Finance", "Marketing", "Sales", etc.) | Text | No |
| Block | A text field for grouping facts by functional blocks within a group (e.g., "Expenses", "Revenue", "KPI", etc.) | Text | No |
| Fact name | A text field for the business name of the fact | Text | Yes |
| Fact description | A text field for a short description of the fact's purpose and meaning | Text | Yes |
| Original source type | A text field for the type of source system (e.g., "Database", "CRM", "ERP", "API", "File") | Text | No |
| Original source | A text field to specify the particular instance of the data source (e.g., "PostgreSQL Prod", "Microsoft Dynamics 365") | Text | No |
| Original object | A text field to specify the name of the object in the source system (e.g., table name and field name or API method and parameter name) | Text | No |
| Source data type | An automatically populated field with data type obtained from the data source for the field in Connected source (e.g. "text", "int4", "uuid", "numeric(15, 3)", etc.) | Text | Yes |
| Fact type | A dropdown list to select the fact's type, which indicates whether the fact requires additional transformations ("Primary" – the fact directly corresponds to a specific field in the database; "Derived" – the fact is calculated based on other primary facts; "Constant" – a specified fixed value is used for the fact) | Select | Yes |
| Formula | A text field for entering the calculation formula (relevant for derived and constant facts) | Formula | Yes |
| Connected source | A dropdown list to select the exact database table column (field) from which the values for this fact are taken (relevant for primary facts) | Select from DB | Yes |
| Report for verification | A link or name of the report used to validate the quality and accuracy of the data | Text | No |
| Comment | A text field for additional comments and notes about fact's usage | Text | No |
| Status | A dropdown list to select the fact's status (e.g., "In progress", "Active", "Archived", etc.) | Select | No |
| Relevance | A checkbox to indicate if the fact is currently relevant | Checkbox | No |
| Required | A checkbox to mark whether the fact is mandatory | Checkbox | No |
| Visibility | A checkbox to indicate whether the fact's values will be displayed in reports | Checkbox | No |
| Responsible for the data | A text field to specify the role, employee, or department responsible for the provision, quality, and accuracy of the fact data | Text | No |
Notes:
- The fact name identifies the row and must be unique within the project version. Renaming a fact automatically updates every formula, fact table, and data mart that refers to it
- Required columns cannot be hidden, and an empty required cell is outlined in red
- Only the Archived status marks a fact as an error. The In progress status and custom statuses have no special restrictions and are treated like an empty status
- A warning icon in the Fact type cell means that the description is incomplete: a primary fact without a connected source, or a derived or constant one without a formula
- The same set of columns is shown for a single fact in the Details from RMD dialog, where it can also be edited