FactorPrism® Documentation

Quick Start

Get up and running with FactorPrism® in under 5 minutes.

1. Enable AI Features (Recommended)

   Go to the Privileges tab in the app and grant the CORTEX_USER database role to enable AI-powered insights.

2. Open the App

   Navigate to Apps in Snowsight and click on FactorPrism® to launch.

3. Connect Your Data

   Click "Connect Table" and grant access to a table containing your metrics data.

4. Configure Your Analysis

   Select your date column, metric column, and dimension columns for analysis.

5. Run Analysis

   Click "Run Analysis" and FactorPrism® will identify the key drivers of change in your data.

Data Requirements

Your source table must include the following column types:

Column Type	Description	Examples
Date	Time dimension for analysis (DATE or TIMESTAMP)	ORDER_DATE, TRANSACTION_DATE, CREATED_AT
Metric	Numeric value to analyze	REVENUE, SALES_QTY, COST, COUNT
Dimensions	Categorical columns to break down by	REGION, PRODUCT_TYPE, CUSTOMER_SEGMENT, CHANNEL

Minimum Requirements

• At least 2 time periods of data
• At least 1 dimension column
• Numeric metric values (or use row count mode for counting records)

Enabling AI Features

FactorPrism® integrates with Snowflake Cortex to provide AI-powered insights. When enabled, you get:

• Smart Configuration: AI suggests the best date, metric, and hierarchy columns
• Executive Summaries: Natural language explanations of findings
• Hypothesis Generation: AI suggests possible business causes for observed patterns

How to Enable

Go to the Privileges tab in the app and grant the CORTEX_USER database role.

Cortex Availability

Snowflake Cortex is available in most regions. If you see "AI Analysis Unavailable," Cortex may not be enabled in your region. Contact Snowflake support or check the Cortex availability documentation.

Connecting Your Data

Granting Table Access

FactorPrism® needs read-only access to your data table. When you click "Connect Table," you'll be prompted to grant SELECT access to a specific table.

1. Click "Connect Table"

   On the Setup page, click the Connect Table button.

2. Select Database and Schema

   Navigate to the database and schema containing your data.

3. Choose Your Table

   Select the table you want to analyze and confirm the access grant.

Changing Tables

To analyze a different table, return to the Setup page and click "Connect Different Table" to grant access to a new table.

Running an Analysis

Step 1: Select Your Fields

Date Field	The column containing dates or timestamps for time-based analysis
Metric Field	The numeric column to analyze (e.g., Revenue, Quantity). Select "Row Count" to count records instead.
Date Rollup	How to aggregate dates: Day, Week, Month, or Year

Step 2: Configure Hierarchies

Hierarchies define how FactorPrism® groups and analyzes your data. You can create multiple hierarchy groups, each with multiple levels.

Step 3: Select Time Range

Choose the comparison and results periods:

• Comparison Period: The baseline period (e.g., last month)
• Results Period: The period to analyze (e.g., this month)

Step 4: Run Analysis

Click "Run Analysis" to start. Analysis time depends on data volume—typically 10-60 seconds.

Understanding Results

Factor Breakdown

Results show which segments are driving changes in your metric, ranked by impact:

• Factor Name: The segment or combination (e.g., "Northeast > New York")
• Impact: How much this factor contributed to the total change
• Percentage: This factor's share of the total change

Segment-Wide Impact

When you see "Segment-Wide Impact," it means the change affected your entire selected scope uniformly. This typically indicates:

• Market-wide trends
• Seasonal effects
• Company-wide initiatives
• Economic factors

Trend Visualization

The trend chart shows your metric over time with the analysis periods highlighted. You can:

• Click and drag to select different time ranges
• Hover over points to see exact values
• Use the controls to zoom or pan

AI Insights

When Cortex is enabled, you'll see AI-generated insights including:

• Executive Summary: Plain-language explanation of key findings
• Hypotheses: Possible business reasons for observed patterns
• Recommendations: Suggested next steps or areas to investigate

Security & Privacy

Data Protection

• Your data stays in your account: FactorPrism® runs entirely within your Snowflake environment
• No data extraction: We never copy or transmit your data outside Snowflake
• Read-only access: We only request SELECT permissions—we cannot modify your data
• Server-side processing: All computation happens via Snowpark within Snowflake's secure infrastructure

Results Storage

Analysis results are stored in tables within the FactorPrism® application schema. Only you can access these results—they're part of your Snowflake account.

AI Features

When using Cortex AI features, your data is processed by Snowflake's Cortex service, which operates within Snowflake's security boundary. No data is sent to external AI providers.

For our complete privacy policy, see Privacy Policy.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue	Solution
"No significant factors found"	Ensure your date range spans multiple periods Try a broader rollup (weekly instead of daily) Check that your metric has meaningful variation
"AI Analysis Unavailable"	Grant CORTEX_USER role (see Enabling AI Features) Cortex may not be available in your region Core analysis still works without AI
"Unable to connect to table"	Verify the table exists and you have SELECT access Check that the table is in an accessible database/schema Try granting access again from the Setup page
Analysis runs slowly	Use weekly or monthly rollups instead of daily Reduce the number of hierarchy levels Narrow the date range

Support

We're here to help you get the most out of FactorPrism®.

Contact Us

• Email: info@factorprism.com
• GitHub Issues: Report a bug or request a feature

Additional Resources

• How FactorPrism® Works - Learn about the science behind driver discovery
• Privacy Policy - How we handle your data