Components of a metric

The pieces, or components, of a metric include such things as the metric's mathematical formula, the business context in which to calculate the formula, and so on. When you define the components that make up a metric and then adjust any specific settings for the metric, you create a definition for that metric.

A metric definition contains some components that are required, and some components that are optional. The components you decide to include in the metric's definition are based on the calculations you want to be performed on the data in your data source, and thus the results to be displayed when that metric is placed on a report and the report is executed.