> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.ins-pi.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.ins-pi.com/command/features/measures.md).
# Measures
Record, trend and total the numbers you track on your records, such as cost, headcount or risk, with actual and planned values side by side.
Measures are the numbers you track on your records: cost, headcount, users, risk, or any figure you define. One model sits behind all of them, so every measure can be recorded over time, totalled across a portfolio and compared between actual and plan. A missing value is always shown as missing, never as zero.
## What it is
| Concept | What it means |
| ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Measure** | What is being measured, with its unit. Related measures are grouped into families and subtypes. |
| **Value** | The number recorded for a measure on a record, for a period. |
| **Reference** | Which kind of value it is, such as **Actual**, **Planned** or **Budget**, so actual and plan sit side by side. |
| Over time | Values are recorded per period, so a measure can be charted and trended. |
| Total | A measure can be summed or averaged across many records. |
| Coverage | Every total says how many records have data, so a partial total is never mistaken for a full one. |
## When to use it
* You track cost, users or another figure per application and want the portfolio total.
* You want to compare planned against actual over time.
* You model a change in a scenario and want to see its effect on cost.
* A score, a framework check or a visual needs a number to work from.
## How to
### Enter values on a record
1. Open the record as a [Form](/command/the-portal/content-types.md#form) and go to the **Measures** section.
2. Choose the **Value reference**, for example actual or planned, and the period granularity (month or quarter).
3. Click **+ Add measure** to add one from the catalogue, or **+ Add date** to add a period.
4. Type the values in the grid.
5. Click **Save measures**. You need editor rights on the record.
The Measures section of a Form
Calculated measures are read-only.
### Total measures across your content
1. In a Table, Gravity Map, Hierarchy Map, Scenario or TIME Analysis, open the content's **⋮** menu and switch on the **Metric** panel.
2. Click **Select measures**, or **Automatically add** to show every measure with data.
3. Read each card's total and how many records have data. Click a card to filter to the records that have that measure.
4. Switch on the **Timeline** panel and drag the **Time** scrubber, or click **Today**, to see the values for another period.
### Use measures elsewhere
* **Table:** add measure columns from the **Measures** category in **Columns**.
* **Dashboard:** add a **Measure gauge**, **Measure trend** or **Record measures** widget.
* **Scenario:** set a what-if value for a measure on a record in that scenario only, then compare **Baseline**, **Scenario** or **Scenario vs Baseline**. Reset a what-if to fall back to the baseline value.
## Good to know
* A record without a value is left out of a total, never counted as zero. A card or cell with no data shows a dash or **no value**.
* Administrators define measures, families, subtypes and references in **Global Settings > Measures**.
* Measures feed [Scoring](/command/features/scoring.md), the [Framework Intelligence Center](/command/features/framework-intelligence-center.md) and visuals such as the Gravity Map and TIME Analysis.
* [Data Governance](/command/features/data-governance.md) can check that the measures that matter are filled in.
{% hint style="info" %}
If a total looks low, check how many records have data before you rely on it.
{% endhint %}
## Related
* [Scoring](/command/features/scoring.md)
* [Future State Repository](/command/features/future-state-repository.md)
* [Content Types](/command/the-portal/content-types.md)
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