Essbase Dynamic Time Series provides period-to-date calculations that support consistent financial and operational reporting.

Out-of-Box Essbase Dynamic Time Series

You can use Dynamic Time Series (DTS) members to create reports that show period-to-date data, such as quarter-to-date expenses. DTS members are used with members of the Period dimension. For example, to calculate quarter-to-date values, you can enable the Q-T-D member and associate it with generation number 2. You can then use the Q-T-D DTS period to calculate monthly values up to the current month in the quarter.

There are 8 predefined Dynamic Time Series members:

1. Y-T-D: Year-to-date
2. H-T-D: History-to-date
3. S-T-D: Season-to-date
4. Q-T-D: Quarter-to-date
5. P-T-D: Period-to-date
6. M-T-D: Month-to-date
7. W-T-D: Week-to-date
8. D-T-D: Day-to-date

Using all 8 DTS members is not required, but the intended period hierarchy should be set up upon initial implementation to enable the DTS members. For example, the Period hierarchy below has the YearTotal as the 1st generation, the Qtr as 2nd generation, and Period as the 3rd generation in the hierarchy. Once the Period primary hierarchy is developed it cannot be edited.

With this detail, the Y-T-D, Q-T-D, and M-T-D dynamic time series can be enabled.

Alternative Essbase Dynamic Time Series Option

As mentioned in the previous section, once the period dimension is set up, it cannot be changed. However, member formulas can be used to create the Dynamic Time Series if it is later needed.

In the example below, the hierarchy did not include the Quarters during the initial implementation, therefore the Q-T-D DTS cannot be enabled.

However, an alternate hierarchy can be created with member formulas for QTD. For accounts with the account type “Balance,” you can create a UDA to calculate the Balance member based on the current period. This approach is less efficient than using DTS but is an option if the period setup has changed since implementation and requires more detail.

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Planning the Period Dimension

Plan the Period dimension before enabling DTS members. Confirm the fiscal calendar, number of periods, quarter structure, weekly or monthly requirements, and any adjustment periods. The generation assigned to each predefined member must match the hierarchy that users expect to analyze. A calendar design review with finance and reporting teams can prevent later workarounds.

Use clear naming conventions and document which DTS members are enabled. Security, aliases, forms, reports, and Smart View templates should be tested with representative users. If the application uses alternate period hierarchies, confirm that they do not create ambiguous paths or unexpected calculation behavior.

Validate DTS Calculations and Reports

Validation should compare Y-T-D, Q-T-D, and M-T-D results with manually calculated totals for several accounts and periods. Test balance, flow, expense, and statistical accounts because aggregation behavior can differ. Include the first and last month of each quarter, year-end, missing data, and adjustment periods. These checks help establish confidence before the logic is introduced into production reports.

Performance testing is also important. DTS members calculate values dynamically, so administrators should review retrieval speed in forms, reports, ad hoc grids, and larger Smart View queries. When a formula-based alternative is required, test calculation order, sparse and dense dimension behavior, and the effect of UDAs used to distinguish balance accounts.

Related Oracle Essbase Resources

Explore MindStream guidance for Oracle Essbase Cloud Service, Oracle EPM Cloud, Oracle Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service, Oracle Smart View, Oracle Hyperion 11.2, and Smart View reporting. The official Oracle Essbase documentation provides current product administration guidance.