The Harmoni classifications feature helps you manage and organize items into various groups in your project, including trademarks, manufacturer nets, flavor groups, time series groups, or any number of classification groupings required in your project.
A classification spreadsheet is used to identify and manage classification groupings making it easy to keep track of all the definitions.
Within a project, applying classifications to the axes is as simple as dragging in the axes to create your new classification axes.
In this article
- Classification Spreadsheet
- Load and Apply the Classifications to the Project
- Making changes to Classifications
- Time Series Classifications
- Verbatim (open-ended text) Classifications
1. Classification Spreadsheet
The classification spreadsheet is where you name all the classification groupings and then map the elements which will belong to each classification. You can create simple groupings or a hierarchy of groups to meet your needs.
Create the classification spreadsheet using a blank spreadsheet and add the following headings.
You can also download a classification spreadsheet with the headers from the Useful Resources section at the bottom of this article.
There is no set name for the classification spreadsheet; however, it is recommended that you include the project name to help associate it with the right project when you upload it to Harmoni.
| Header | Description |
| SetName | Create one or several sets of classifications to make it easier to manage your spreadsheet. For example, one set of classifications to map your brand groupings and another to map your time series groupings. Every row within one set of classifications will have the same SetName. |
| GroupName | Label for each classification grouping. It may be a trademark, brand net, flavor group or time period, etc. |
| ValueLabel | The label you see in the classification axis in your project tree. If the GroupName is Flavor, then the ValueLabel is each flavor option, e.g., Fruit or Coconut. |
| DataValue | The element name in the project tree that contributes to the ValueLabel definition. Any fruit-flavored brand which is part of the Fruit ValueLabel definition is entered into the DataValue column. |
| ParentGroup | You can create a hierarchy within groups by defining a ParentGroup. For example, define the brands in a trademark and then group the trademarks within a manufacturer. Manufacturer is the ParentGroup. |
This example is based on the brand list in a Brand Tracker project. The classification requirements for this example project are as follows:
- Category Net - classifying the brands into categories.
- Global Net - classifying the brands into global categories.
- Flavor-brand groups are defined by the two flavors: Fruit and Coconut.
- Trademarks - groups the brands into each of their trademark groups.
- Manufacturer - nets the trademarks into their manufacturer groups.
Once you decide on the groups and their values, you can organize your classification spreadsheet. Using the requirements above, here is an example spreadsheet.
2. Load and Apply the Classifications to your Project
Upload or Connect to the classification spreadsheet
Once you complete the spreadsheet, you can load it into Harmoni.
To zoom the GIF, right-click and open the image in a new tab.
- Switch to edit mode and select metadata from the action pane (bottom left menu).
- You can hover over the three-dot menu and select connect, or hover over the Classification tile and select upload.
- For connect, choose the connection type and enter the access information
- For upload, browse to the location of your file and upload.
- Harmoni loads new classifications ready for use in the Project tree.
- Click the Back or OK button to return to the Project tree.
- Click classifications in the action pane to access the new classification set.
Apply the classifications to the project tree
Once you have loaded the classifications into Harmoni, you can see all the groups and items included in the definitions in the classifications panel. The next step is to drag in the axes where you want to apply the classifications.
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- After clicking classifications, the panel opens with your classifications set loaded. The name you listed in the SetName column appears at the top of the panel.
- Use the arrow to expand and view the full list of classifications loaded.
- Click the classification set name to activate the area where you drag in the project tree items.
- From the project tree, select the axes you want to add the classifications to, and drag them into the grey drop zone.
- Click Apply to activate the changes.
A new classification header is created in the project tree for each axis added to the drop zone. Under each header is a new axis for each group name included in the spreadsheet. For example, if you add Tried in Last 3 Months to the drop zone, and there are five groups in your spreadsheet, there will be five new axes, one for each group. Each axis shows the elements that have been named in the ValueLabel column.
Unclassified Elements
If elements in the axes dragged into the drop zone are not included in your classification spreadsheet, they will be grouped into an Unclassified element.
In the example below, the axis Tried in the Last 3 Months includes two brands, Ice Cream Dream and FroYo, which are not listed in the classification spreadsheet. These two brands are grouped into the Unclassified element.
To classify the brands and remove the Unclassified element, add the labels into the groups in the spreadsheet and reload the spreadsheet in the metadata section. The classifications are updated in the project, but you need to reload the project to refresh the project tree.
3. Making Changes to Classifications
The existing definitions can be changed via the spreadsheet or the classifications panel. If you want to add new items, you will need to use the spreadsheet.
Download the classification spreadsheet
If you are using the spreadsheet to update the definitions or add new items, we recommend that you download the spreadsheet before making changes to make sure you have the latest version of the spreadsheet.
Select metadata from the action pane and use the download option in the Classification tile to download the spreadsheet.
Note: When you download the spreadsheet, additional headers are added from columns F onwards. You can ignore these headers and do not need to enter information into these columns.
Download the classification spreadsheet before making changes to make sure you have the latest version of the spreadsheet.
If you connect to a classifications sheet, you may prefer to update your original source file and reconnect to it. You can download the spreadsheet and use upload to update the classifications, but your source file will not be updated.
Making changes in the classification panel
You can also change items directly in the classifications panel. Just as you can edit items in the project tree, you can drag and drop items to move them into different groups or double-click (or press F2) on a name to make changes. This includes element labels that match the project tree label. Ensure that your data value name matches the element label in the project tree.
Locking the classification panel
To prevent changes from being made in the classification panel, you can lock it using the lock icon .
With the project in edit mode, select the classification set name and click the lock icon. A lock image will appear next to the set name.
Locking the classification set means that changes can't be made here that may then be overwritten if an older spreadsheet is uploaded or connected to.
A personalization key controls whether you can see the lock icon so please contact Support if you need this activated.
Adding new items
If the changes you make involve adding new items to the spreadsheet, for example, if you want to remove unclassified elements, add these to the spreadsheet and reload it.
Any changes are applied to the classification panel. To see these changes in the project tree, you need to reload the project, and the classifications axes in the tree are updated.
Changing existing items
If you change a definition in the spreadsheet, for example, you need to move a brand from one group to another or a new grouping; after you load the spreadsheet, you need to manually remove the brand from the original definition in the classification panel.
In this example, FroYo and BanaFru are being added to a new flavor, Banana, and should be removed from the two flavors they currently belong to. When you load the updated spreadsheet, the new flavor is added with the two brands, but the brands also remain in the existing definitions for Coconut and Fruit.
To delete items in the classification, select an item and use the trash can icon to delete it. You can use the shift or ctrl key to select multiple items and then use the delete icon.
Note: If the classification set is locked, Harmoni will automatically remove items from existing definitions, and you won't need to remove them manually.
Moving classification axes in the project tree
Once your new classification axes are added to your project tree, you can move the axes to a new location. You may prefer, for example, to see all the Awareness classifications included with the Awareness axes. If needed, you can move the axes under different headings.
If you update the definitions and upload a new spreadsheet, all changes are applied to the axes, even if they have been moved and labels changed.
Deleting classification axes in the project tree
To delete classification axes in the project tree, you need to remove the axes in the classification panel and then remove them from the project tree.
- Open the classification pane and remove the items you don't need by clicking the x next to the axis name. Remember to apply the changes.
- The classification axes in the project tree become constructed axes with the orange dot.
- Delete the axes using the delete option in the design menu. Harmoni will ask you to confirm the deletion.
- You cannot select the header and delete it. You need to select all the axes within the header and click delete from the design menu. All the axes and the header are removed.
4. Time Series Classifications
Use classifications to build grouped time periods, for example, 3MMT, MAT, or YTD.
In the example below, TimeSeries is added to the classifications spreadsheet as a second classification set. Here we are using the month element to define the 3MMT. Although the project currently has data only till April, we can add all the 3MMT items for the year, and then hide them in the project until they are needed.
Time Series - Spreadsheet Example
You can only use text formats in your classification spreadsheet. Add an apostrophe before the date element, e.g., 'Jun 2021, to apply a text format in Excel.
Harmoni does not recognize a date format from an Excel spreadsheet.
Load and apply the time period classifications
If you have classifications in your project, before making any changes, download the classification spreadsheet to ensure you have the latest version.
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- Add the time series classification set to your spreadsheet.
- Load the classification spreadsheet through the metadata area.
- Open classifications and select the time series classification set.
- Drag in the axes you want to apply the classifications to and click Apply.
- You may like to move the new axis to a different section in the project tree, for example, moving all time series under a time heading.
- Select the new classification axis and flag it as a date. Learn more about how Harmoni handles dates here.
- In this example, all the time periods are hidden after Apr 2021 3MMT and will be unhidden as each monthly data update is completed.
When you add new grouped time series into your classification sheet and load it, Harmoni adds the elements in alphabetical order. When you apply the classifications to a time axis, you will need to reorder the elements manually into time order.
Date Flag 
Classifications have their own date icon, so you can easily identify time series created using classifications. You use the same date flag option as a standard axis, but the classification date icon displays.
- Make sure you are in edit mode
- Highlight the classification variable
- Click the date flag option
5. Verbatim (open-ended text) Classifications
You can use classifications to group verbatims with similar themes into organized nets allowing for easier analysis.
Create your classification spreadsheet and define your nets, adding the verbatim text into the DataValue column. You can export the verbatims directly from Harmoni or take from the source file. With each update you need to add any new verbatims to your spreadsheet and reload it. New verbatims that are not netted are added to an Unclassified element.
In the example below, the comments about food and beverage satisfaction ratings are grouped into nets and added into the project.
Remember that if there are already classifications in your project, download the spreadsheet first and then add the new classifications to it.
- Add the verbatims classification set to your spreadsheet.
- Load the classification spreadsheet through the metadata area.
- Open classifications and select the Verbatims set.
- Drag in the axes you want to apply the classifications to and click Apply.
Exact Match vs. Contains
Harmoni identifies verbatim variables and does not process the data in the same way as categorical variables. Instead of using ‘Exact Match’ like it does with categorical variables, it uses ‘Contains’.
The text you enter in the DataValue column can be contained within the string of text and grouped under the ValueLabel. For example, including 'tasty' in the DataValue column means any text string that contains this text will be included in the Good Food ValueLabel once you apply this in the project.
Because Harmoni uses contains with verbatims, using classifications
to convert string variables to categorical variables may not be the best option.
If, for example, you are classifying letters into Socio-Economic nets, and you have A, AB, and ABC in the DataValue column, the letter A will be counted in all three options.
In this case, you need to adjust your source data prior to importing it into Harmoni, so that it is treated as a categorical variable and not a verbatim. Learn more about preparing data sources.
Useful Resources
Classification spreadsheet with headers