Reading metrics and freshness

Every number on a dashboard comes with its context: the unit, the period it covers, what it is compared with, and how far the underlying data reaches. This page explains how to read that context and how to look at a different period without changing the saved dashboard.

The parts of a dashboard

At the top are the dashboard's title, the date the data reaches, the period control, and Refresh data. Below them, the dashboard is arranged in sections of KPI tiles, charts, and tables.

Each value tells you its unit, its period, and what it is compared with. A tile showing a change compares the current period with the comparison period named on the tile. When there is no comparison data, the tile shows no change rather than an invented one.

Periods

Periods follow the Jakarta calendar, and weeks start on Monday. "This month" ends today. A previous period, like "last month", always means the whole period.

A period that is still running, such as the current month, is marked as in progress so you don't read a partial month as a complete one.

Changing the period

Use the period control to look at a different time. Depending on how the dashboard was built, you can choose:

• daily, weekly, or monthly time detail
• a single calendar period, such as one month
• a range, or custom start and end dates

When you change the time detail, the dashboard moves to the latest complete period at that detail. A metric that only exists at one level of detail, such as a monthly figure, keeps that detail.

Some dashboards offer period filtering without a choice of time detail. Detail that a metric doesn't support is refused rather than ignored.

Selecting a point on a trend chart switches the view to that point's period.

A few date rules apply:

• A single day means that day only.
• A range can't run backwards and can't be entirely in the future.
• A range must be shorter than twelve months.

If you enter a date the dashboard can't use, it keeps showing the last valid view.

Temporary views

A period you choose yourself is a temporary view. The dashboard marks it as unsaved. It doesn't change the saved dashboard, what other people see, the refresh schedule, or the period any alert checks.

KPIs with a fixed window

Some KPI tiles follow the period you select. Others always cover their own fixed window, such as "last 30 days". The tiles are grouped so you can tell which is which, and a fixed-window tile keeps its stated window when you change the period.

How current the data is

The data-through date at the top shows the latest date the underlying data actually reaches. It is not the end of the period you selected. If the data stops before the end of your period, the dashboard makes that visible. If Nalar can't tell how far the data reaches, it says so instead of implying the data is current.

Refreshing

Refresh data runs the saved metric definitions again against the latest data you're allowed to use. The Dashboard Owner can refresh at any time and can set how often the dashboard refreshes on its own. Viewers see the result but can't trigger a saved refresh.

Keep in mind:

• A refresh can return the same values as before. That is a successful refresh, not a failure.
• The refresh time is when Nalar last calculated the numbers. It doesn't mean the source system synchronized at that moment.
• If one metric fails to refresh, the dashboard names it and keeps its previous value with its original date.

When a number is missing

A dashboard keeps these situations apart, so you never mistake one for another:

Nalar never turns missing data into a zero. Estimates are labeled as estimates. If Nalar finds that two cards contradict each other, it holds back those cards and leaves the rest of the dashboard visible.

Where to go next