Understanding discrepancies between Explore reports and exports

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<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">You mightschedule dashboard reportsout of Explore to deliver PDFs to your team. Or, you might manually pull numbers every month and put them in a spreadsheet. You might alsocreate reportsin Explore for the same numbers. If these methods show different results, that can be confusing—why don’t the numbers match up?</p>
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<p class="p">You might <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408843602714" target="_blank">schedule dashboard reports</a> out of Explore to
deliver PDFs to your team. Or, you might manually pull numbers every month and put them
in a spreadsheet. You might also <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408821589530" target="_blank">create reports</a> in Explore for the same numbers. If these
methods show different results, that can be confusing—why don’t the numbers match up? </p>
<p class="p">As you dig into these discrepancies, the key point to remember is that PDFs and
spreadsheets are static, while Explore is dynamic. </p>
<p class="p">This article contains the following topics: </p>
<ul class="ul" id="Explore_understanding_discrepancies__ul_qjh_ymt_v5b">
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="#topic_fgf_1mt_v5b">Why results change</a>
</li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_wxc_hmt_v5b">Keeping numbers in perspective</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_n5w_hmt_v5b">Using the right aggregators</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_fgf_1mt_v5b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Why results change</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">As an example, say you exported data on August 1 for the whole month of July and put
it into a spreadsheet. But later, in September, you run another report in Explore on
the same data, and it shows different numbers for July.</p>
<div class="p">
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="simpletable" id="topic_fgf_1mt_v5b__simpletable_hk2_3nt_v5b" summary="">
<col style="width:50%">
<col style="width:50%">
<thead></thead>
<tbody>
<tr class="strow">
<td class="stentry" style="vertical-align:top;">July column based on an export run in August:</td>
<td class="stentry" style="vertical-align:top;">July column in a report run in Explore in September:</td>
</tr>
<tr class="strow">
<td class="stentry" style="vertical-align:top;"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_fgf_1mt_v5b__image_ctk_qnt_v5b" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/explore_discrepancies_august_export.png"></td>
<td class="stentry" style="vertical-align:top;"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_fgf_1mt_v5b__image_yrx_rnt_v5b" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/explore_discrepancies_september_report.png"></td>
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<p class="p">Read on to learn: </p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_fgf_1mt_v5b__ul_wcs_jnt_v5b">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_cz2_bmt_v5b">Why is there a difference in tickets created?</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_fyy_cmt_v5b">Why is there a difference in tickets solved?</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_imh_2mt_v5b">Why is there a difference in tickets in a certain category?</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested2" id="topic_cz2_bmt_v5b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title3">Why is there a difference in tickets created?</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">The total number of tickets created can go down if you’ve been deleting tickets. </p>
<p class="p">Deleted tickets are removed from the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408827693594-Metrics-and-attributes-for-Zendesk-Support#topic_zlf_slp_4y" target="_blank">Tickets dataset</a>. So, if you <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408842999066" target="_blank">mark tickets as spam</a> or otherwise
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408883872538" target="_blank">delete them</a>, these tickets are removed
from the overall number of tickets. This, by extension, also changes the number
of ticket creations. </p>
<p class="p">In the example above, the number of tickets created dropped from 705 to 693. That
suggests that 12 tickets were deleted between the data being exported in August
and the report being run in Explore in September. </p>
<p class="p">On the other hand, the total number of tickets created can go up if you’ve been
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408835089050-Viewing-and-recovering-deleted-tickets#topic_zmy_j24_xw" target="_blank">recovering deleted tickets</a>. </p>
<p class="p">To examine your deleted and recovered ticket numbers, you can use the
<strong class="ph b">Deletions</strong> and <strong class="ph b">Recoveries</strong> metrics in the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408827693594-Metrics-and-attributes-for-Zendesk-Support#topic_as3_slp_4y" target="_blank">Updates history dataset</a>. </p>
<p class="p">For <strong class="ph b">Deletions</strong>, you can’t see details like the ticket ID or other
attributes (because the tickets have been deleted), but you can see: </p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_cz2_bmt_v5b__ul_pp5_5nt_v5b">
<li class="li">When the tickets were deleted, using the <strong class="ph b">Update - Timestamp</strong> attribute </li>
<li class="li">Who deleted the tickets, using the <strong class="ph b">Updater name</strong> attribute </li>
</ul>
<p class="p">For <strong class="ph b">Recoveries</strong>, you can look at similar information about when it happened
and who did it, and you can also look at other ticket attributes like the ticket
ID (because the ticket exists again).</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested2" id="topic_fyy_cmt_v5b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title4">Why is there a difference in tickets solved?</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Typically, you look at created tickets by the <strong class="ph b">Ticket created - Date</strong>
attribute, and solved tickets by the <strong class="ph b">Ticket solved - Date</strong> attribute.
However, there are scenarios in which these numbers fluctuate based on certain
events. </p>
<p class="p">When looking at solved tickets by <em class="ph i">solved</em> date, these numbers are affected
by the <strong class="ph b">Reopens</strong> metric (available in the Tickets and Updates history
datasets). This number changes if tickets are reopened between the time the data
is exported and the time the report is run in Explore. A reopen can either
remove a ticket from this metric entirely (because it’s no longer solved) or
move it from one period to another (if the last solve was in a different period
than the first solve). </p>
<p class="p">When looking at solved tickets by <em class="ph i">creation</em> date, these numbers are
affected by resolutions over time. If 10 tickets were created on Monday, and 2
were solved the same day, an export shows 2 solved tickets for Monday. If
another 3 are solved on Tuesday, the report—and next export— show 5 solved
tickets were created on Monday. </p>
<p class="p">The <strong class="ph b">Tickets solved</strong> metric in the Updates history dataset looks only at the
<em class="ph i">last</em> solve of the currently solved tickets. You can see this by
looking at the metric’s formula, specifically the two conditions in bold: </p>
<div class="p">
<pre class="pre">IF ([Changes - Field name]="status"
AND [Changes - Previous value]!="solved"
AND ([Changes - New value]="solved" OR [Changes - New value]="closed")
<strong class="ph b">AND ([Ticket status - Unsorted] = "Solved" OR [Ticket status - Unsorted] = "Closed")
AND [Update - Timestamp]=[Ticket solved - Timestamp])</strong>
THEN [Update ID]
ENDIF</pre>
</div>
<p class="p">If you want to track <em class="ph i">all</em> solves, you can <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408824243738" target="_blank">create a standard calculated metric</a>
that strips out those two conditions for current status and date, leaving you
with the following formula: </p>
<div class="p">
<pre class="pre">IF ([Changes - Field name]="status"
AND [Changes - Previous value]!="solved"
AND ([Changes - New value]="solved" OR [Changes - New value]="closed"))
THEN [Update ID]
ENDIF</pre>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title5" class="topic nested2" id="topic_imh_2mt_v5b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title5">Why is there a difference in tickets in a certain category?</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">The Tickets dataset looks at the current state of tickets—including status,
group, assignee, priority, custom fields, and more. That means that if a field
is changed between the time the data is exported and the time you run a report
in Explore, there will likely be changes in your results. </p>
<p class="p">In the example screenshots above, you can see that the export from August shows
10 blips and 61 bugs. But in the September report, Explore shows 2 blips and 69
bugs. This suggests that 8 tickets were recategorized from blip to bug between
when the export and report were run. </p>
<p class="p">This type of change can also affect your report’s filters. For example, say that
you have a report filtered to show only tickets for Group A. If a ticket is
moved from Group A to another group between the time of the export and the
report, that ticket won’t appear in your report anymore. </p>
<p class="p">The reverse is true for tickets that were originally assigned to Group B and then
reassigned to Group A. More tickets will appear in your report than previously,
due to the filter.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title6" class="topic nested1" id="topic_wxc_hmt_v5b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title6">Keeping numbers in perspective</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">When looking at discrepancies between Explore reports and exports, it helps to keep
the actual numbers themselves in perspective. Consider the following: </p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_wxc_hmt_v5b__ul_qw4_kqt_v5b">
<li class="li">If one result changes from 20 tickets to 21, the increase is 1. That doesn’t
feel big. But that’s a 5% change. </li>
<li class="li">If another result changes from 1,998 to 2,100, the difference is 102. That might
feel big. But it’s also only a 5% change. </li>
</ul>
<p class="p">When it comes to variances, look at the percentage as well as the raw number. This
can help you to understand what is material or not. </p>
<p class="p">Think about how many agents you have. If you have 200 agents, and one result changes
by 102, this suggests that approximately half your agents, on average, changed that
field on one ticket between the data being exported and the report being run in
Explore. </p>
<p class="p">Again, you can examine these results in the Updates history dataset. Use the
<strong class="ph b">Updater name</strong> attribute to filter a report showing the relevant [Changes -
Field name] attribute and the previous or new result that’s puzzling you. </p>
<div class="p">
<div class="note tip" id="topic_wxc_hmt_v5b__note_ygk_4qt_v5b">
<span class="tiptitle">Tip:</span> See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408835929882" target="_blank">Explore recipe: Tracking ticket assigns
across groups</a> for an example of how to create a formula using
[Changes - Field name]. </div>
</div>
<p class="p">Frequently, you’ll see a wide distribution of changes—for example, 100 agents all
making approximately one field change in the period. </p>
<p class="p">However, you might see that one or two agents are changing field results more often.
Perhaps they’re a manager tidying up after their team members. Or maybe they’re new
and didn’t initially understand how to apply the field, in which case more training
might be useful.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title7" class="topic nested1" id="topic_n5w_hmt_v5b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title7">Using the right aggregators</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Finally, when you’re looking at durations, it’s a good idea to remember “quantity vs.
quality.” </p>
<p class="p">By default, Explore uses the median (MED) aggregator for metrics like first reply
time and resolution time. But you might have some assignees or groups who deal with
very few tickets, and in a very different way from your regular agents. Perhaps
they’re from finance or security teams who aren’t brought into tickets very
frequently and who don’t have the same expectations for response times. </p>
<p class="p">Using the MED aggregator on duration metrics helps protect you from these outliers.
If you use the mean (AVG) aggregator, this protection is reduced. For example, say
the finance team has been sitting on that one ticket from that one client for six
months while the rest of your team is routinely solving tickets within a week. The
finance team outlier seriously impacts your unsolved tickets age, especially if
you’re using the AVG aggregator. </p>
<p class="p">When the finance team finally does solve that ticket, the resolution time for the
period in which they solved it could also be significantly affected—again,
especially if you’re using AVG.</p>
</div>
</div>
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