Comparing report results over time helps you identify patterns, monitor performance, and spot operational changes that may require attention. By reviewing the same report across consistent reporting periods, you can determine whether key metrics are improving, declining, or remaining stable.
Before you begin
Compare reporting periods
Compare the same report across equivalent reporting periods to understand how your data changes over time. For example, you might compare:
- Today with yesterday
- This week with last week
- This month with last month.
Reviewing the same report over multiple periods provides a clearer picture of operational performance than a single report run.
Interpret trends
Whether a trend is positive or negative depends on the metric you're measuring.
An increase is often a positive sign for metrics such as:
- Cases resolved
- SLA attainment
- Employee satisfaction
- AI triage success.
An increase may require investigation for metrics such as:
- Open cases
- Case backlog
- Unassigned cases
- Time waiting in a status.
Always consider the business context behind the numbers before drawing conclusions.
Use consistent report configurations
Reports provide the most meaningful comparisons when they're run using the same configuration over time.
For reliable trend analysis:
- Use the same date range.
- Apply the same filters.
- Group data in the same way.
- Compare equivalent business periods whenever possible.
Changing filters, grouping, or reporting periods can make it difficult to determine whether differences reflect operational changes or changes to the report itself.
Identify long-term patterns
A single report provides a snapshot of your data. Reviewing the same report over multiple reporting periods helps you identify longer-term trends.
For example, you might notice that:
- Salary inquiries increase after annual pay reviews.
- Case volumes rise during benefits enrollment periods.
- Resolution times improve after introducing a new workflow.
- High-priority cases decrease after updating employee guidance.
Looking at trends over time helps distinguish temporary fluctuations from sustained operational changes.
Investigate unexpected changes
If a metric changes significantly, review the report before drawing conclusions.
Consider the following:
- Verify that the report configuration hasn't changed.
- Compare the results with previous reporting periods.
- Run a Detailed report to review the individual records behind the metric.
- Consider recent operational or organizational changes that could explain the difference.
Best practices
When analyzing trends:
- Compare equivalent reporting periods.
- Keep report configurations consistent.
- Review trends across multiple reporting periods.
- Consider business context alongside the reported values.
- Use detailed reports to investigate significant changes.
Example
A monthly Summary report grouped by Priority shows that high-priority cases have increased over the last three reporting periods.
This trend might indicate increasing employee demand, changes to case classification, or an emerging operational issue. Run a Detailed report using the same filters to identify the individual cases contributing to the increase and determine whether further action is needed.