Measurement

Every measure in engage.re is defined by three things.

Unit Label

The human-readable name for what you're measuring.

people · hours · GBP · kg CO₂ · satisfaction score

Data Category

What kind of number it is — this determines how values can be combined.

Combination Rule

How multiple values combine when aggregated from teams to projects to strategies.

Data Categories

Different types of data need to be handled differently. Choose the one that best describes what you're measuring:

Count

Whole numbers

Things you can count: people, items, events, sessions.

40 people + 30 people = 70 people

Percentage

0% to 100%

Proportions and rates expressed as percentages.

Percentages are averaged, not added together.

40% and 30% → average is 35%

Currency

Money

Monetary values in any currency.

£500 + £300 = £800

Rate

Per something

Values expressed per unit — like "per 1,000 population" or "per hour".

Rates need weighted averages — larger populations count more.

Crime rate of 15 per 1,000 / 20 in another

Duration

Time spans

How long something takes: hours, days, weeks.

2 hours + 3 hours = 5 hours total

Score

Ratings & scales

Bounded scales like 1-10 ratings, NPS scores, or satisfaction indices.

Scores are averaged, not added.

Ratings of 4, 3, and 5 → average is 4.0

Ordinal

Ranked categories

Categories with a meaningful order: Low / Medium / High, or Bronze / Silver / Gold.

Can only count occurrences — no arithmetic.

You can compare (High > Low)

Combination Rules

When you have multiple values (from different teams, time periods, or locations), how should they be combined?

Rule	What It Does	Use When
Sum	Add all values together	Total people, total money
Average	Calculate the mean	Percentages, ratings, scores
Weighted Average	Larger samples count more	Rates across different-sized populations
Count	How many values exist	Number of responses or reports
Latest	Use the most recent value	Current status, snapshots
Max / Min	Highest or lowest value	Peak attendance, minimum threshold

Common Presets

For convenience, engage.re provides ready-made presets for common measures:

Count · Sum Count of People

Currency · Sum Money (GBP)

Percentage · Average Percentage

Score · Average Rating (1-5)

Duration · Sum Hours

Ordinal · Count Yes/No

Why This Matters

Getting this right prevents mathematical nonsense. If you set up a percentage measure wrong, you might end up with "150% employment rate" — which is meaningless.

engage.re uses your choices to validate data and prevents common aggregation errors when rolling up from teams to projects to strategies.