About critical numbers

Critical numbers are key performance indicators (KPIs) that you can use to get a quick view of important statistics or track progress. Use critical numbers to answer these kinds of questions:

How am I doing?
What should I be doing?
Where are things in jeopardy?

Critical numbers are based on stored procedure calculations or on IDO calculations. With the appropriate permissions, you can add critical numbers to forms. This application is designed to support both simple and complex critical numbers to meet a wide range of users and needs.

For example, within the IDO critical number definitions, you can quickly generate numbers based on this kind of information:

The sum, count, average, minimum or maximum of a value
The Group By and Date Range properties
Comparisons with other properties on the form

You can see the details behind the critical number using an enhanced drilldown and do further analysis on issues you discover.

Where critical numbers can be used

Critical numbers can be added to any form. To add a critical number as a component on a form, you must have the authorizations and editing permissions to access the form and, in Design Mode, to add the component.

Critical numbers can also be used in widgets on a user's Start form.

Critical numbers can be surfaced as Infor OS Portal or Infor Ming.le^® widgets, or used as widgets in the workspaces or homepages. To configure this, use the User Critical Number Selection form.

Critical number definitions

Before they can be used to display data on a form, critical numbers must be defined. Define critical numbers on the Critical Numbers Setup form. On this form, the basic process is this:

Specify a source for the data that is to be used.
Define how the critical number's actual value is to be calculated.
Determine whether to use Goal and Alert settings, and if so, how.
See About critical number goals and alerts.
Optionally, you can also include this information:
- Specify what critical number drilldowns are to be used when the user seeks more information about how the critical number was calculated and what it means.
  See About critical number drilldowns.
- Determine what groups and users have access to the critical number data, using critical number categories and individual user or group assignments.
  The ability to view a critical number is controlled by the permissions set for the specific number. User or group permissions can be set for a category of critical numbers using the Critical Number Category form; or user permissions can be set for a specific number on the Critical Number Setup form.
- Define critical number parameters and how they are to be used in critical number calculations and displays.
  See Setting up a critical number drilldown.
- Determine and set up filters to be used in retrieving critical number data.
  See Setting up a critical number/drilldown IDO filter.
- Specify whether snapshots of critical number values are to be captured whenever the critical number is queried.
  See About critical number snapshots.

For the complete procedure to define a critical number, see Defining a critical number.

Goal and Alert settings

Critical numbers are color-coded to show their Goal and Alert status. These colors are used by default:

Red: The value of the number is in the alert or critical range.
Yellow: The value of the number is in the warning range.
Green: The value of the number is within the normal or ideal range.
Gray: The number represents an "informational" value only.

You can use themes to change from the default colors.