Prior means - the same time unit (quarter or month) from the year before. If it's a prior year, it means just the year before.
It's 02/2009 and Q1/2009 at this moment, so:
Prior month would be 02/2008.
Prior quarter would be Q1/2008.
Prior year would be 2008.
Previous means - the time unit (quarter or month or year) immediately preceding. A previous year also means the year before.
Previous month would be 01/2009
Previous quarter would be 04/2008
Previous year would be 2008.
Prior and Previous year mean the same thing, because they both refer to the same year - the year before.
I think they are there for completenesss... believe someone complained because they were doing priors and couldn't find prior year, even though prior and previous year are synonymous.
thanks
Bob Jude Ferrante
Director of Business and Development
WebFOCUS Performance Management
Bob_Ferrante@ibi.com
917-339-5105
I'll take any questions about PMF - business or technical - anytime!