About Using Calendars and Events in IPM Insights

When defining IPM insights, you can specify a calendar and events to associate with the insight definition.

Events are typically one-off or recurring events that historically led to spikes or declines in the data. You can choose to take these spikes or declines into consideration during insight analysis, so that historical spikes or declines are also reflected in future analyses. For example, a North American calendar might include an event for Christmas, or an APAC calendar might include an event for Diwali, when sales would typically spike. By including the historical data spikes in the analysis, you see the spikes in the insight data, so you can plan ahead for volume or to make use of the opportunity.

Without events, spikes or falls in data are normalized and distributed over the analysis period, potentially leading to less accurate analyses. Using events helps you plan ahead for the events and take advantage of opportunities by allowing you to see anticipated spikes and falls in the insight data for specific events. Using events with IPM Insights simplifies analysis and significantly improves the insight accuracy for complex and volume based industry verticals such as air travel, public transportation, retail, E-commerce, brick and mortar stores, FMCG, and automobiles.

Alternatively, you can choose to skip the historical data spikes or falls, so that the data for the event is completely excluded from the analysis.

To associate calendars and events with insight definitions, configure calendars and events first. See Configuring Calendars and Events.

To use calendars and events with IPM Insights:

  1. Define calendars.
  2. Define events.
  3. When configuring an IPM Insights job, associate a calendar with the insight. Then, select whether to include events in the analysis.

For details on these procedures, see Configuring Calendars and Events and Configuring IPM Insights.

Notes about calendars and events:

  • Defining events and calendars is optional.
  • Events are available only on the web, not in Oracle Smart View for Office.
  • You can use calendars with each insight type. Events are an option for the Anomaly insight job type.