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Measures

In Akuko, Measures are the quantitative values you use to analyze and visualize your data effectively. They represent the metrics, calculations, or aggregations that provide valuable insights into your data. Measures are essential for creating meaningful and informative data stories.

Overview of Measures​

Measures are the numerical or quantitative aspects of your data that you want to explore and communicate. Whether you're analyzing revenue, sales, population, or any other metric, measures are the foundation of data-driven insights.

A Measure is not a column. It is an instruction for combining values across rows — so "how many records" and "average age" are both Measures, and one column can carry several of them.

Creating Measures​

Creating measures in Akuko is a straightforward process:

  1. Access Your Source: Start by logging in to your Akuko account and navigating to the "Sources" section.

  2. Select Your Source: Choose the Source where you want to create measures.

  3. Navigate to Measures: Inside your Source settings, locate the "Measures" section.

  4. Add Measure: Click the Add measure button at the bottom of the Measures panel.

  5. Define the Measure:

    • Measure Name: the measure's name as used in queries, for example measure_name. It must begin with a letter and cannot contain spaces — use underscores instead.
    • Label: the display label shown to viewers.
    • Type: how the values are aggregated — one of number, count, avg, min, max, sum, countDistinct, countDistinctApprox or runningTotal.
    • SQL: the expression to aggregate, for example count(${column_name}).
    • Format, Prefix, Suffix: optional display formatting.
note

Type is an aggregation, not a data type. There is no "Decimal" or "Currency" option — formatting a measure as currency is done with Format, Prefix and Suffix, which are separate from how the values are aggregated.

  1. Save: Click Save to save your new measure.

Generating measures in one step​

Rather than adding them one at a time, the Generate Measures button in the Measures panel header creates a standard set for you: for every dimension typed as a number, Akuko adds a Sum, an Average, a Minimum and a Maximum.

Generated measures are named after the dimension they came from — population__sum, population__avg, population__min, population__max — and titled from its label, as in Population Sum. Each one is tagged with an AUTO badge in the list, which is how you tell Akuko's measures from the ones you wrote.

They are ordinary measures once created: rename the label, change the aggregation, or delete the ones you do not want.

tip

Typing a dimension as a number is itself enough to get these. Changing a dimension's Type from string to number generates the same four measures for it, and changing it back removes them again. See Dimensions.

Editing Measures​

Each measure in the list is itself an editor. The row carries the measure's name, its Label and its Type; change either of the last two and a small tick button appears at the end of the row to save it. A measure's name is fixed once it exists — only new measures have an editable name.

Expand a measure to reach the rest of its settings:

  • Labels: one input per language the Source has, with the current display language ticked. The label shown throughout Akuko follows the Source's Display language. Choose Save labels to apply them.

  • SQL: the expression being aggregated.

  • Format, Prefix, Suffix: optional display formatting.

Choose Save to apply the changes in this section.

Deleting Measures​

To remove measures that are no longer needed:

  1. Access Your Source: Navigate to the "Sources" section and select your Source.

  2. Navigate to Measures: Inside your Source settings, find the "Measures" section.

  3. Delete Measure: Locate the measure you want to delete and choose the bin icon on its row.

caution

There is no confirmation step. The measure is removed as soon as you choose the bin icon, and the deletion cannot be undone. Check what is using the measure first — Posts built on this Source refer to it by name.

Using Measures in Components​

Measures are the quantitative values that give life to your data stories. You can use measures in various components, such as Charts, Tables, Maps, and more. Incorporating measures into components allows you to visualize, analyze, and communicate data-driven insights effectively.

Best Practices​

  • Clear Naming: Use descriptive and concise names for measures to enhance data comprehension.

  • The Right Aggregation: Make sure the Type matches the question being asked — a total and an average of the same column are different measures, not one measure formatted two ways.

  • Calculation Accuracy: Double-check the accuracy of your measure formulas and calculations.

  • Regular Review: Periodically review and update measures to keep them relevant to changing data needs.

  • Consistency: Maintain consistent measure definitions across different data sources and components.

By mastering the use of measures in Akuko, you can elevate your data storytelling, transforming data into actionable insights and engaging narratives.