Lists can be aggregated into a structured hierarchical list. There are two kinds of hierarchical lists: composite lists and parallel hierarchies.
Composite lists
Composite lists are also referred to as composite hierarchies or hierarchy lists.
Composite lists are created from a series of lists, each of which is assigned a parent in the hierarchy. Complex structures can be defined very rapidly. The component lists in a composite hierarchy can be used many times within a model, in many different composite lists, reducing cell count and sparsity for the model.
Example of a composite hierarchy
In this example, << Org Hierarchy >>, we can see a flat list of employee names:
- Employees L5, is assigned a parent, Sub-Depts L4.
- Sub-Depts L4 is a child of Departments L3.
- Departments L3 is a child of Region L2.
- Region L2 is a child of Geo L1.
The components of this hierarchical list can be used in other hierarchies, created for a different purpose. For example, Region L2, from the << Org Hierarchy >> is used here in the << Revenue Structure >> as the parent of Sub Region R3
.
Create a composite hierarchy
To create a composite hierarchy, go to Model Settings > General Lists and select a parent for a list from the Parent Hierarchy dropdown.
Parallel Hierarchies
A parallel hierarchy is a hierarchy that shows a set of data organized in two completely different ways.
For example, one hierarchy can display the data for Cost Centers in an organization by functional area: Machines Division, Consulting Division, Head Office. The same data for those Cost Centers could also be displayed in a different hierarchy by area: North, South, East, West. These two hierarchies comprise a parallel hierarchy – the same data presented in different ways:
Example of a parallel hierarchy
Profit and Loss | |||
Functional Area | Geographic Area | ||
Machines Division | North | ||
Cost Center A | Cost Center A | ||
Cost Center B | Cost Center 1 | ||
Cost Center C | Cost Center 2 | ||
Consulting Division |
South |
||
Cost Center 1 | Cost Center B | ||
Cost Center 2 | |||
Cost Center 3 | |||
Head Office | East | ||
Cost Center Z | Cost Center 3 | ||
Cost Center C | |||
West | |||
Cost Center Z |
Create a parallel hierarchy
There are two ways to create a parallel hierarchy:
- use a module to map one hierarchy to the other; or,
- use properties in a master list to facilitate an alternative roll-up.