Configure Indicators and Indicator Sources

Indicators are the heart of Performance Analytics. An indicator (formerly called a KPI or metric) is a measurement you track over time. Each collected value is a score, and scores accumulate into a time series that you analyze for trends. This is the single most important distinction in PA versus Reporting: PA stores a history of scores at regular intervals, whereas a report shows the current state of the data.

Indicator types

There are three kinds of indicators, and knowing how each gets its scores is heavily tested.

• Automated indicator — Collects scores automatically from a table on a regular frequency, driven by an indicator source and a data collection job. This is the default and most common type. You point it at an indicator source, choose an aggregation (count, sum, average, min, max), and the system saves a score each collection period (typically daily). Use automated indicators whenever the data lives in a Now Platform table.
• Manual indicator — Has no indicator source. Scores are entered by hand (or imported), which suits data that does not exist in a table on the platform — for example, results from an external survey, a budget figure from a spreadsheet, or a target set by management. You can enter past scores to build history.
• Formula indicator — Derives its scores by combining other indicators (and constants) with mathematical operators. A classic example is a percentage such as (reopened incidents ÷ resolved incidents) × 100. Formula indicators do not have their own indicator source; they reference the scores of existing indicators. Because of this they depend on those base indicators already having collected scores.

A useful exam mnemonic: automated = from a table via a source; manual = typed/imported, no source; formula = math on other indicators, no source.

Indicator sources

An indicator source defines where and which records an automated indicator measures. It specifies:

• The facts table — the table the scores are collected from (e.g., incident).
• A conditions filter — an encoded query that restricts which records are included (e.g., active incidents only).
• Optionally a conditions string / additional scoping so multiple indicators can reuse one source.

One indicator source can feed many indicators; reusing sources is a best practice because it reduces redundant data collection. The collection of records that match the source at collection time is captured as a snapshot (see Data Collection). Indicator sources are the bridge between raw table data and the indicators built on top of them.

Indicator records and behavior

Key fields on an indicator include its aggregate (the function applied to the facts), unit, direction of improvement (whether higher or lower is better — this drives how trends and targets are colored), frequency (how often scores are collected), and the related indicator source. Indicators can be organized with indicator groups for management and navigation. Indicators are the objects that targets, thresholds, breakdowns, and widgets all attach to.