The data source browser
On the left of the designer, you choose the Data Source and the Query at the top; below them are the fields of the query. An icon in front of each field shows its type: “ab” for text, a clock for date and time, digits for numbers, a check mark for yes/no. The toolbar offers Group Fields by Type, Sort Fields A to Z, Sort Fields Z to A, Reload data and Change the data source for the dashboard item.
What the fields mean is described in
Statistics fields. In the dashboard, upper and lower case
matter: an item bound to a name written differently — isConnected instead
of IsConnected — remains empty. Conversation types and actions appear with
their technical names from the statistics, for example InboundCall or
Connected.
The menu of a data item
On the right of each data item, an arrow opens its menu. What it contains depends on the type of the field and on the section:
| Data item | Menu |
|---|---|
Dimension from text, for example SkillName |
sorting, Sort by, Top N…, No Grouping or Alphabetical, color rules, Rename… |
Dimension from a date, for example ConversationStartTime |
as for text, plus the intervals and Format |
Measure from numbers, for example TotalWaitDuration |
the summary, Edit Filter, Calculation, Format…, color rules, Rename… |
Measure from text, for example guid |
Count, Count Distinct, Min, Max and under More the most frequent value |
Summarizing
A measure summarizes the rows: Count, Count Distinct, Sum, Min, Max, Average and under More statistical measures such as standard deviation and median. This is how you count with the fields of myContactCenter:
| What | How |
|---|---|
| Conversations | guid from ConversationTrackingStatistics with Count — the query has one row per conversation |
| Conversations in the agent actions | ConversationId from AgentTrackingDetails with Count Distinct — a conversation has several rows there |
Flags such as IsConnected or IsAbandoned |
with Sum: they are 0 or 1, so the sum is the count |
Yes/no fields such as isIdle |
with a measure filter on “Yes” or with a calculated field Iif([isIdle], 1, 0) and Sum. Count alone counts all rows, including those with “No”. |
Durations such as TotalWaitDuration |
with Sum or Average, in seconds |
Grouping
The designer initially groups date fields by Year. In the menu, you choose another interval:
- Day-Month-Year, Week-Year, Month-Year and Quarter-Year produce a timeline: each day, week, month or quarter on its own.
- Day, Month, Quarter and under More, for example, Hour, Day of Week and Week of Year combine the same intervals across all periods: Day the days 1 to 31 of all months, Hour the hours 0 to 23 of all days, Day of Week all Mondays, all Tuesdays and so on. This shows patterns, for example the load per time of day.
- The second More offers the date with hour, minute or second, for example Date-Hour.
The times are in UTC: Hour 8 is 9:00 local time in Central Europe, 10:00 in summer, and every day begins at midnight UTC.
You group texts with No Grouping by the full value or with Alphabetical by the first letter. With Continuous, a numeric field on the X-axis of a chart is placed according to its value, with Discrete at equal intervals.
Sorting
The arrow in front of a dimension shows the direction; a click on the dimension reverses it. The menu contains Sort Ascending, Sort Descending and Sort by: (Value) sorts by the values themselves, a measure of the item by its result — then, for example, the skills with the most conversations are at the top. You cannot sort by a measure with a calculation. In grids, you can also sort using the column header.
The top N values
Menu of a dimension › Top N… opens Top N Values. Select Enabled, under Mode: choose Top for the highest values or the other entry for the lowest, under Count: the number and under Measure: the measure by which the ranking is formed. With Show "Others" value:, the designer combines the rest as “Others”; “Others” does not work as a filter. Measures with a calculation cannot form the ranking.
Filtering
- Item filter: Data › Edit Filter opens Filter Editor for … with the name of the item. You put the conditions together from field, comparison and value, across all fields of the query, including hidden ones; a parameter can supply the value. The filter only affects this item; Clear removes it.
- Measure filter: Menu of a measure › Edit Filter filters only this measure. This way, a grid can show the same measure twice, once for calls, once for emails. Clear Filter removes it.
Filters that narrow down other items are described in Filtering and linking.
Formatting numbers
Menu of a measure › Format… opens Numeric Format with Format type:, Unit:, Precision: for the decimal places and Include group separator. The default Auto abbreviates large numbers with “K” or “M”. For seconds, choose Ones as the Unit: and 0 as the Precision:. Minutes come from a calculated field.
You format date dimensions in the menu under Format with the formats that match the interval, for example Full or Abbreviated.
Calculations
Menu of a measure › Calculation continues calculating with the summarized values:
| Calculation | Result |
|---|---|
| Percent of Total | the share, for example of one conversation type in all |
| Running Summary | the accumulated values along the axis, for example the conversations since the start of the month |
| Difference, Percentage Difference | the change from the previous value |
| Rank | the position in the ranking |
| Custom… | the Customize Calculation window offers further types under Calculation Type:, including an expression of your own via Edit in Expression Editor |
Calculated fields
A calculated field calculates a new value for each row from other fields.
- In the data source browser, choose the Query.
- Click Data Source › Add Calculated Field, or right-click the field list.
- Enter the expression in the Expression Editor window. Take fields from the list with a double-click — then their spelling is correct.
- Give the new field a name with right-click › Rename and, if necessary, set the type under Field Type, for example Double for decimal numbers.
The calculated field belongs to the query and is saved with the dashboard; myContactCenter leaves it in place when the dashboard opens. Right-click › Edit Expression… changes it, Delete removes it.
| Purpose | Expression |
|---|---|
| Talk time in minutes | [TotalConnectDuration] / 60 |
| Make yes/no countable | Iif([isIdle], 1, 0) |
| Readable names for the conversation types | Iif([ConversationType] = 'InboundCall', 'Inbound call', [ConversationType] = 'InboundEMail', 'Inbound email', [ConversationType] = 'OutboundEMail', 'Outbound email', [ConversationType] = 'ManualOutboundCall', 'Outbound call', [ConversationType]) |
You write fields in square brackets, exactly as in the data source browser.
The times remain UTC; an expression such as
AddHours([ConversationStartTime], 2) shifts them by a fixed two hours and
is only correct in Central Europe in summer.