partition is selected according to the rule defined by the function template associated with an analytic function in an embodiment these function templates are built into the data analysis software and are based on generalizations of typical layouts associated with the usage of analytic functions in an embodiment the u201c order by u201d and u201c partition by u201d are parameters of analytic functions for many types of analytic functions such as cumulative sum and lag lead the placement item determines the value of the u201c order by u201d and u201c partition by u201d elements and use the measure item to determine the measure of the analytic functions however there may be exceptions to this for example an embodiment of the rank function which determines the u201c order by u201d parameter from the measure item in this embodiment the user directly selects whether items are ranked in ascending order or descending order analytic functions can be constructed in a number of different ways by users in an embodiment the user can selects the placement item on a sheet following the selection of the placement item this embodiment of the data analysis software presents a window dialog box or other user interface element to the user that enables the user to specify the u201c order by u201d parameter in a further embodiment a.