As you collect data about your Information Supply Chains into LINQ, there are many reasons why you might want to export that data:
- For analysis in other applications
- To allow a broader range of visualisations in other applications
- To provide specific data for other IT or business modelling applications
LINQ provides an export to the Microsoft Excel XLSX format using this button:
Clicking this button leads to two choices of Export:
Important Notes:
- Either export option will export potentially sensitive information such as employee hourly rates, other cost information and any custom properties. Care should be taken to share exported data appropriately.
- Once data has been exported from LINQ, it cannot be re-imported. LINQ should always be regarded as the system of record for Information Flow Modelling data.
Basic Export versus Full Export
The Export function creates a .XLSX file in your download folder. The following worksheets and fields are exported (those only in the Full Export are italicised:
- LINQset Summary: This summarises the LINQsets (areas of like value) in the exported sketch. The following fields are exported:
- LINQset UUID: a universally unique identifier for the LINQset which will allow the LINQ graph to be reassembled in external applications
- LINQset Description: The description that creates the LINQset Label
- LINQset URL: If the LINQset has a URL property
- LINQset Value: The Business Value Index for the LINQset
- LINQset Cost: The aggregate cost of the LINQset (the sum of all Action costs)
- Information Nodes: the number of Information nodes in the LINQset
- Action Nodes: the number of Action nodes in the LINQset
- People Nodes: the number of People nodes in the LINQset
- System Nodes: the number of System nodes in the LINQset
- Tags: any Tags that have been entered against the LINQset
- Annual Hours: the total number of annual hours recorded in the LINQset (the sum of all Frequencies x Durations)
- Annual People Hours: the total number of annual people hours recorded in the LINQset (the sum of Frequencies and Durations associated with People performing an Action)
- Annual System Hours: the total number of annual system hours recorded in the LINQset (the sum of Frequencies and Durations associated with Systems automating an Action and Systems being Used By a Person)
- Any Custom Properties that have been added to the LINQset
- LINQ Node List: This lists all nodes contained in the sketch along with their properties
- LINQset UUID: a universally unique identifier for the LINQset which contains the node. This will allow the LINQ graph to be reassembled in external applications
- LINQset Description: the description of the LINQset which contains the node.
- UUID: a universally unique identifier for the Node which will allow the LINQ graph to be reassembled in external applications
- Node Description: The description that creates the Node Label
- Super-type: The top category of Action, Information, People or System
- Type: the sub-category of Node (e.g. Capture, Outcome, File Paper etc)
- Node Value: the Business Value Index of the Node
- LINQset Cost: the annual aggregate cost recorded against the LINQset which contains the Node
- Action Cost: the annual cost of the Action node
- Duration (hours): the duration of the Action in hours
- Frequency (times per year): the frequency of the Action in times per year
- Hourly Rate: the hourly rate of the Person
- URL: If the node references a URL
- Tags: Any tags that have been entered against the node
- Contract Hours: May be used to represent the annual contract hours of a Person
- Annual Hours: The total annual hours of an Action (the frequency multiplied by duration)
- Annual People Hours: The total annual hours of an Action which is performed by a person
- Annual System Hours: The total annual hours of an Action which is either automated by a System or where a System is used by a Person to perform an Action
- Any Custom Properties that have been added to the Nodes
- LINQ Edge List: This lists all edges (connectors) contained in the sketch and is only exported as part of a Full Export
- Edge UUID: A universally unique identifier for the Edge
- Source Node UUID: The universally unique identifier for the Node where the edge originates - used to reassemble the graph in external applications
- Source Node Type: The type of source Node
- Source Node Description: The description of the source Node
- Target Node UUID: The universally unique identifier for the Node where the edge terminates - used to reassemble the graph in external applications
- Target Node Type: The type of target Node
- Target Node Description: The description of the target Node
- Edge Type: The type of Edge (represents the 'verbs' of the LINQ Language)
- Supported Outcomes and Orgs: This lists the Business Outcomes and/or External Organisations that are supported by the Sketch.
- LINQset / Node Description: This is the LINQset or Action node (unusual) that is supporting the Business Outcome or external Organisation
- Outcome / Org Supported: This is the description of the Business Outcome or Organisation which is supported
- Type: This specifies whether it is a Business Outcome or Organisation
- Supported Info Outputs: This lists the Information Outputs in the Sketch
- LINQset / Node Description: This is the description (label) of the LINQset or Action node (unusual) that is supporting the Information Output
- Information Output Description: This is the description (label) of the Information Output
- Value: This is the Business Value Index that has been assigned to the Information Output
Export Possibilities
Once exported, there are a number of possibilities to exploit the exported data:
- Within Excel, the data can be pivoted to show different groupings of information and the statistics pertinent to those groups.
- The XSLX tables may be imported into a wide range of business intelligence tools where advanced analyses can be performed to gain new insights from the LINQ data
- The Full Export can be imported into a node-edge graph editor (examples are yEd from yWorks GmbH and Gephi an open source graph package) for advanced analysis