IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Authoring services in Integration Designer > Developing monitor models > What are monitor models? > KPI models
KPI contexts
A key performance indicator (KPI) context is a container for KPIs and their associated triggers and events. Unlike a monitoring context, a KPI context has no keys or metrics. You must create a KPI context as a container before you can create KPIs.
KPI contexts can process inbound events, evaluate recurring wait-time triggers (for example, for checking whether a KPI has gone out of range), and send outbound events (for example, a notification that the KPI is out of range).
Use as many KPI contexts as you require to logically organize your KPIs. Because you need a different KPI context for each different Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) diagram that will display KPI information in the visual model, you might want to group KPIs into KPI contexts based on visualization requirements.
To define an inbound event and have the KPI recalculate its value based on the arrival of the inbound event, create a trigger that is evaluated each time the inbound event arrives. Have the trigger reference the KPI in its expression, perhaps checking the value of the KPI relative to its target. The KPI is then recalculated each time the inbound event arrives.
For example, you might want an Average Order Amount KPI to be recalculated each time an event arrives that signals the completion of an instance of the order process.
Similarly, to send an outbound event based on a KPI, create triggers and outbound events in the KPI context.
For example, you might create a trigger that has a recurring wait time of every 5 minutes. The trigger has a condition that checks to see whether the value of the KPI is greater than the upper limit of one of the ranges. An outbound event in the KPI context is based on that trigger, and the event attributes are populated to send an alert containing useful information to be displayed in the Business Monitor dashboards.