About Hierarchies

Definition: Hierarchies

Hierarchies are tree-like organizational structures that you can use to relate the values of dimensions in your database. Hierarchies enable the data associated with dimension values to be aggregated at various levels along the structure. Dimensions that are associated with hierarchies in this way are called embedded total dimensions because the levels of aggregation are embedded in the dimension's values. Typically, these dimensions include Time, Product, and Organization, but you can define hierarchies for any dimension in your system.

For more information about dimensions and dimension values, refer to Chapter 3.

Who can work with hierarchies?

Administrators

As an administrator, it is your responsibility to maintain the hierarchies that your users access in the shared database that you administer. When you create or modify a hierarchy and want other users to be able to access it, you must distribute the hierarchy to the shared database and to other users.

Budget workstation users

As a Budget workstation user, you can create and modify hierarchies for your own personal use. You can modify hierarchies that your administrator has created for you, but you cannot save the modifications unless you assign a new name to the modified hierarchy, retaining the original.