Connect a column of values to their corresponding, closest without going over, value from another set of values

[Chandler_Chang]

Put simply, I have thousands of users and a number associated with each user. Let’s say the number represents their activity on a website.

Ex:
Anna, 202
Bob, 109
Charlie, 146
Don, 106
Emily, 68
Fernando, 120

I have another list of numbers (cutoffs) and an associated descriptor.

Ex:
200, very active
150, active
100, somewhat active
0, inactive

I want to match these such that every user is given the appropriate descriptor: match the users to the descriptor that is closest without going over.

Ex:
Anna, 202, very active
Bob, 109, somewhat active
Charlie, 146, somewhat active
Don, 106, somewhat active
Emily, 68, inactive
Fernando, 170, active

Any ideas on how I can implement this in Parabola? Thanks!

[daniel]

Hi @Chandler_Chang,

The simplest way to do this is to use the Insert if/else column step to set up multiple rules based on the activity values associated with each person.

I mocked out your data below so you can see how to set up those rules.

Source Data

Transformed data (if/else)

You can start by creating a new column. In this example, I’m creating a new column called Descriptor. Next, you can target the Number column to set your conditionals.

For example, if the value in your Number column is greater than or equal to 0 and is less than 100, set the value of the Descriptor column to somewhat active

You can add additional rules to include each tier of an activity descriptor.

Let me know if that helps!