Using the Trend Analyzer component, you can calculate trends in a series of data. You can then display these trends in a chart so that you can view them next to the actual data and make your analysis. This component can also forecast future trends based on actual data.
For this recipe, we need some data, so open a new SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards file and enter the values in the spreadsheet as shown in the following screenshot:
- Drag a Combination Chart component into the canvas.
- Bind the data By Range to the spreadsheet cells A5:O7.
- Drag a Trend Analyzer component from the Other category into the canvas.
- Bind the Data field to cells A6:L6.
- Set Trend/Regression Type as Linear.
- Bind the Analyzed Data Destination field to cells A7:O7.
- Set Number of Forecast Periods to
3:
- Now preview the dashboard:
In the previous example, we created a chart that shows a data series over a 12-month period. We selected Linear trend type, so the Trend Analyzer component calculates a linear trend based on all the 12 values. Also, a forecast is calculated for the three months we didn't have data for. The combination chart visualizes both the actual and the calculated trend data series, where the latter is a straight line. As the Trend Analyzer component is a background component, it won't be shown during runtime.
Besides the Linear option for Trend/Regression Type, we can choose Logarithmic, Polynomial, Power, or Exponential. Also, we can use the Best Fit option and trust SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards to choose the correct one for us.
The properties pane of the Trend Analyzer component has a More Options section. Here you can bind information about the chosen Trend/Regression Type to the spreadsheet cells and display them in your dashboard. The fields you can show are Equation Type Destination, Equation Destination (that's the equation), R2 Value Destination, and F Value Destination:
