ARM Configuration Basics
An ARM model is made up of two parts, the ‘Knowledge Model’ and the ‘Operational Model’. The Knowledge Model defines what we call in ARM the types of components that are being used and how they relate to each other, whereas the Operational Model contains the actual components of the model. Let us use an example to illustrate. Note that this example is very basic to illustrate configuration concepts.
Figure 16 – Operational Model of Business
Units
If you read the Detailed Output View you will have already seen Figure 16. The figure identifies the objects (Business Units in ARM), in our example model, about which we are keeping measurement results. This detailed object view is part of the Operational Model. Figure 17, in contrast, takes a higher level abstracted view, defining six different types of objects (Business Unit Groups in ARM), that correspond exactly to the Business Units in Figure 16.
Figure 17 – Knowledge Model of Business
Unit Groups
For example, the Business Unit Group ‘Province’ has three Business Units (BC, Ontario and Quebec) associated with it (and perhaps more over time). This Business Unit Group definition (part of the abstracted or Knowledge Model) makes the model definition easier to understand.
Another example should make the value of a Knowledge Model more concrete.
Figure 18 – Operational Model of Numeric
Items
Figure 18 shows the measurement items (called Numeric Items in ARM) associated with each of the Business Units for part of the model. This is part of the Operational Model as it represents the actual objects and not abstractions of these objects. As you can see, each Business Unit has a separate Numeric Item for each of Income, Sales and Cost. The arrows represent calculations, e.g. Each Income is dependent on the Sales and Cost for that Business Unit. Two things you should notice:
· This looks quite complicated
· Only 8 of the 24 Business Units shown in Figure 16 are shown here
In contrast to the complicated Figure 18, look at Figure 19. From a Knowledge Model point of view, only six Numeric Item Groups exist (Sales, Income and Cost for both of Locations and Departments) versus 96 in the full Operational Model (only 25% of which is depicted in Figure 18). Of course, if more Business Units are added, the number of Numeric Item Groups does not change, whereas the number of Numeric Items would increase by three times the number of additional Business Units.
Configuration in ARM has more details, but you now have enough knowledge to understand the basics, which is essentially:
· The Business Unit Groups and the Numeric Item Groups are defined by the configurator
· The Business Units are identified by the configurator
· ARM automatically makes Numeric Items and links where needed throughout the model using the previously specified information
Figure 19 – Knowledge Model of Numeric
Item Groups
Think about that for a minute. ARM automatically makes Numeric Items and links where needed throughout the model. That means that calculation rules are defined in one place, and each instance of that calculation is automatically maintained. Imagine that you have designed this model in Excel, and decide that instead of:
Income = Sales – Costs
we desire:
Income = Sales - Fixed Cost – Variable
Cost
or some other similar change. In Excel, each of the 96 (multiplied by the number of dates being represented – leading to a very large number of cells!) must be changed to reflect the new calculation reality. In ARM, just change the Knowledge Model rules, and the changes automatically propagate throughout the model. As a result, you have the powerful combination of ease of use and robustness.
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Technical View