SIMULATION FOR A MULTI-DIMENSIONAL ANALYTICAL SYSTEM
A method and system to conduct multi-dimensional data analysis. A parameter value is applied to a first layer of a multi-dimensional data set. A simulation is conducted to evaluate the effect of the parameter value at the first layer. The effect at the first layer is automatically propagated to a second layer where a further simulation permits visualization of the effect at a different level of granularity as well as the effect of orthogonal data.
1 . A method comprising:
applying a parameter value to a first layer of a multi-dimensional data set within a processor;
evaluating an effect of the parameter at the first layer; and
automatically propagating the effect to a second layer to permit visualization of the effect at a different granularity.
2 . The method of claim 1 wherein automatically propagating comprises:
aggregating the effect from a plurality of members of the first layer.
3 . The method of claim 1 wherein automatically propagating comprises:
distributing the effect from the first layer among a plurality of members at the second layer.
4 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:
propagating the effect to a non-member of the multi-dimensional data set.
5 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:
displaying a second visualization of the effect at the second layer on an electronic display.
6 . The method of claim 5 further comprising:
toggling between a first visualization of the effect at the first layer and the second visualization on the electronic display.
7 . A system comprising:
a processor;
a data source;
a presentation layer; and
a simulation layer, the simulation layer to automatically conduct at least one of drill up, drill down and drill through simulation on a multi-dimensional data set from the data source.
8 . The system of claim 7 wherein the simulation layer comprises:
a set of simulation services to interpret user interactions; and
a simulation engine to execute simulations at runtime.
9 . The system of claim 8 wherein the simulation layer further comprises:
a simulation designer to create analytical models at design time, the analytical models to be used by the simulation engine at runtime.
10 . The system of claim 7 wherein the simulation layer automatically propagates an effect of a parameter change between layers of the multi-dimensional data set.
11 . The system of claim 7 wherein the simulation layer automatically propagates an effect of a parameter change to external non-member data associated with a member of the multi-dimensional data set.
12 . A machine-accessible medium containing instructions that when executed cause a machine to:
apply a parameter value to a first layer of a multi-dimensional data set within a processor;
evaluate an effect of the parameter at the first layer; and
automatically propagate the effect to a second layer to permit visualization of the effect at a different granularity.
13 . The machine-accessible medium of claim 12 wherein the instruction causing the machine to propagate cause the machine to:
aggregate the effect from a plurality of members of the first layer.
14 . The machine-accessible medium of claim 12 wherein the instruction causing the machine to propagate cause the machine to:
distribute the effect from the first layer among a plurality of members at the second layer.
15 . The machine-accessible medium of claim 12 wherein the instruction cause the machine to:
display a second visualization of the effect at the second layer on electronic display.
16 . The machine-accessible medium of claim 15 wherein instruction cause the machine to:
toggle between a first visualization of the effect at the first layer and the second visualization on the electronic display.
17 . The machine-accessible medium of claim 12 wherein the instruction cause the machine to:
propagate the effect to a non-member of the multi-dimensional data set.