How do I troubleshoot an allocation that is working - but seems to be built incorrectly?  Where do I start?

Are you sure you have located the true source of the allocation logic?

Arthur Nez is the one who pointed this out (apptio consultant).  He said we could talk about it next week but I was hoping to figure it out beforehand.  How do I locate the "true source of the allocation logic?"

If you have access to the studio, go to the model tab, select the correct model (upper right hand corner), locate the objects (in the model) and the line that connects both. Click on it and in the right hand panel you will get the description of the allocation logic.

As juanjosejarillo mentions, reviewing the allocation definition between the two objects is a terrific place to start. More information about defining allocations can be found in the online Help documentation (accessible while viewing your Apptio web site and clicking the Help link at the very bottom). If you opt to review the Help documentation, I recommend searching for "Ways to define allocations" via the search box in the top right corner.

Additionally, I recommend familiarizing yourself with the transforms backing each object being allocated from and to.

Afterwards, you'll need to start making some decisions based on your findings. For example...a recent finding for me was my target (aka to) object was defined with the wrong Identifier. I wanted to allocate and load costs into it given data found in two columns. Previously, I set the object's Identifier referencing one column. Later, I created a new column in the backing transform as a concatenation of the two columns, reset the objects Identifier to the new (concatenated) column, and voila! =)

My example may certainly not apply to you, but my point is you need to be aware of the backing transforms and the allocation definition before you can take any real action.

This is really helpful, thank you!