Importing historical volume for WFM forecasts

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<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">While setting up your WFM forecasts andselecting the historical volume period in Zendesk Workforce management (WFM), you have the option to import your historical volume into your forecast.</p>
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<strong>Add-on</strong>
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<td>Workforce Management (WFM) or Workforce Engagement Management (WEM)</td>
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<p id="docs-ai-summary-content">Importing historical volume data for WFM forecasts allows you to enhance forecasting accuracy by using your own data. You need at least two weeks of data, but two years is recommended. Ensure your data is in UTC, follows the template format, and includes 15-minute intervals. After preparing your CSV file, upload it and save your settings to improve your forecast precision.</p>
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<p class="p" dir="ltr">While setting up your WFM forecasts and <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6443407875354-Setting-up-and-reading-WFM-forecasts#topic_ub5_whd_tzb" target="_blank">selecting the historical volume period in Zendesk
Workforce management (WFM)</a>, you have the option to import your historical
volume into your forecast. </p>
<p class="p">Related articles</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic-1__ul_dyr_5x3_wbc">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6443407875354" target="_blank">Setting up WFM forecasting</a></li>
</ul>
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<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_zyk_fy3_wbc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Importing historical volume</h2>
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<p class="p" dir="ltr">For imports, a minimum of two weeks of data is required for forecasting. For best
results, import two years worth of data. </p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">After the data is uploaded, Zendesk WFM only uses the available data in your
import and will not combine it with your historical Zendesk data. You can always switch back
to using Zendesk data.</p>
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<div class="note tip">
<span class="tiptitle">Tip:</span> You can also forecast outbound volumes by importing outbound ticket data
into a specific workstream.</div>
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<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To import historical volume</strong></p>
<div class="p" dir="ltr">
<ol class="ol" id="topic_zyk_fy3_wbc__ol_enw_fb1_qcc">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408838272410" target="_blank">Workforce management</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_zyk_fy3_wbc__d8e351" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/wfm_forecasts_icon.png" width="16">
<strong class="ph b">Forecasting</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Forecast scenarios</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Select a workstream.</li>
<li class="li">In the <strong class="ph b">Historical volume</strong> panel, select use <strong class="ph b">Imported data </strong>as your Data
source.<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_zyk_fy3_wbc__image_h31_g1k_fgc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/wfm_forecast_uploaded_historical_data.png" width="400"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Download and use the <strong class="ph b">Import volume template</strong>. For best accuracy, import 2 years
of data. </li>
<li class="li">Open the spreadsheet and edit it to include your own historical data. <p class="p" dir="ltr">To
avoid errors when uploading your CSV file, ensure the following aspects are taken into
consideration:</p>
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<ul class="ul" id="topic_zyk_fy3_wbc__ul_fsq_3ck_fgc">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">The first row of the example must be deleted</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">The data's timezone must be UTC</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Ensure that no special characters are used that are not on the
template spreadsheet.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Data must be uploaded with 15-minute increments starting at 00:00:00
on the first day. Entries like 09:10 will result in errors.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Fill in any 15-minute period without volume with zeros in the CSV
file, as intervals cannot be skipped (e.g., 00:00-00:15-00:30-00:45-01:00).</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Check that ' : ' has not been accidentally replaced with ' ; '. </li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Check that ' . ' has not been accidentally replaced with ' , '.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Ensure that the days are in chronological order.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</li>
<li class="li">Upload your new historical volume CSV file.</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save</strong>.</li>
</ol>
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