[Data Prep and Transformation] When using a window function to calculate averages in Prism, what field type must the function operate on?

Window functions in Workday Prism Analytics perform calculations across a set of table rows. The AVERAGE function specifically calculates the arithmetic mean of a group of values. By its mathematical definition, an average is computed by summing a set of numbers and dividing by the count of those numbers. Therefore, the function must operate on a field with a Numeric data type (such as integer or decimal) to perform the required addition and division operations successfully.

A. Text: Mathematical operations like summation, which are required to calculate an average, cannot be performed on text strings.
B. Boolean: The AVERAGE function is not designed to operate on logical True/False values; it requires quantitative data.
D. Date: While specialized functions can find a central point in time, the standard AVERAGE function is intended for numeric values, not date fields.

1. Workday, Inc. (2023). Workday Prism Analytics: Prepare Data. Section: Add a Window Function Step.

This official guide details the configuration of the Window transformation step. In the documentation for the AVG() function, it specifies that the expression or column provided as an argument must be of a numeric data type.

2. Workday, Inc. (2023). Prism Analytics: Reference for PQL Functions. Section: Aggregate Functions.

The reference for Prism Query Language (PQL) explicitly defines the syntax and data type requirements for its functions. The AVG(numericexpression) function is documented as accepting only numeric arguments to return their average value.