Step 3: Defining Category Properties

Category properties include:

• Data Type: value, indicator or both.
• Value Type: integer, float, text, date, value list and user.
• Validation: defines the confines for the selected value type. There are different validation options for different value types. For more information on validation refer to Category Validation
• Value Unit: e.g. currency types.
• Reference Value: the value of another category that is used as a reference for the new category.

To define the new category's properties:

1. In the New Category Wizard, click Next. The Properties step of the New Category Wizard appears.
2. Select the data type for the new category. Data can be displayed as values, indicators, or both values and indicators. For more information on values and indicators see Values and Indicators.

   Note:

   Once the category data type is selected and you click Finish to save the settings, the data type cannot be changed.

3. In the Value Type field, select the new category's value type from the drop-list that includes the following options:
   • Integer: A numeric value that is a whole number. For example, 1, -2, 45 and so on.
   • Float: A numeric value that includes a decimal point. For example, 1.50, .8999 and so on. If you select Float as the value type for the new category, an additional field appears in which you select the maximum number of decimal points to be displayed in the scorecard and saved in the database.
   • Text: Alphanumeric content, such as words or phrases.
   • Date: A calendar date value indicating when an event occurs (e.g., May 10, 2012).
   • Value List: Defined lists of values used to rate a category. For example, a value list may be named Quality and the values in the list may be high, medium and low. If you select Value List as the value type for the new category, you need to define which value list to use (either existing or new) and whether the value list is to be filtered.

     Note:

     To create a new value list, click on the arrow next to the Name field. The Select Value List dialog box opens with New Value List as the top-most option. Select this option to access the Value List Wizard, in order to create a new value list. For more information on value lists, refer to Entering General Value List Information in Configuring the System Components.

   • User: A user. For example, a category called Technical Consultant would have a user as its value.
     • Filtered By: Select None or Custom from the list to create a list of users with a specific role. For more details, see Filtering Users.
4. Define (or copy) the Validation parameters for the selected Value Type. For more information on validation refer to Category Validation.
5. In the Value Units field, enter the type of units, if applicable. Examples of unit types are percentages, currencies, or time units.

   Note:

   Value units are displayed to the right of the value in some graphic modes.

6. From the Reference Value drop-down list, select a reference value for the new category, as required. A reference value is the value of another category, which supplies additional information and improves the visibility of the current category's data. For example, if the category is Actual Length of Current Phase, a reasonable reference value could be the Planned Length of the Current Phase. The displayed value is in the form Actual Time/Planned Time, such as 40/20, enabling the user to easily discern that the allocated time for the phase has been seriously exceeded.
7. Click Next to proceed to the next step of the New Category Wizard, where you enter scheduling information for the new category.