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Real-time overview

Updated

Plans and permissions:

  • View the Real-time overview: Admin, Manager, Team Lead, or Standard role, or a custom role with Real-time overview set to Can view overview
  • Change the company view’s panels: Admin role, or a custom role with Real-time overview company panels set to Can edit the company view layout
  • Choose the company view’s metrics: Admin role, or a custom role with Company default settings set to Can edit company default settings
  • Create, edit, or delete thresholds: Admin or Manager role, or a custom role with Real-time overview thresholds set to Can create, edit, and delete thresholds for the overview page
  • Set up threshold notifications: Admin role, or a custom role with Configure notifications

Use the Real-time overview to see how your channels and queues are doing right now, so you can act during the day before a backlog builds or service level slips. It shows live metrics for each channel and queue, such as open cases, calls waiting, wait times, and service level, and highlights any metric that crosses a threshold you set.

To open it, go to Monitor > Real-time overview.

Company view in panel layout, hovering the Average first response time metric on the Phone panel, which is highlighted red for crossing its threshold. Numbered callouts mark the Table / Panel toggle (1), the lookback period buttons from Today to 24hrs (2), the crosshair icon with its Warning 20s and Danger 30s limits (3), and the download icon (4).

# Item What it’s for
1 Table and Panel Switch between one table for all channels and queues, and one panel per channel and queue.
2 Lookback period Today, 15m, 30m, 1hr, 3hrs, 6hrs, or 24hrs: the time window for metrics that count activity over time.
3 Crosshair icon Appears when you hover over a metric. Hover over it to see the metric’s Warning and Danger limits, or select it to set a threshold. See Set thresholds.
4 Download icon Appears when you hover over a metric. Saves the cases behind the metric as a CSV file. See See the cases behind a metric.
Company view Panels shared by everyone who can open the page, so the whole company watches the same metrics.
Personal view Your own panels, for the channels, queues, and metrics you’re responsible for. Changes here affect only you.
Threshold settings All the thresholds set on the page, in one list. Appears if you can manage thresholds. See Set thresholds.
Edit company settings or Edit personal settings Choose which panels appear and which metrics they show. See Set up your panels.
Business hours Appears in Table view if your queues have business hours. Adds first response metrics that count only business hours, and splits cases received during and outside business hours.
By queue and By metric In Table view, choose whether rows are grouped by queue or by metric.
Panel Options menu The three dots on a panel: Select metrics for [channel], Edit panels layout, and Export metrics for [channel].

How the Real-time overview works

  • The page refreshes its metrics every few seconds. Assembled gets this data from your contact platform’s API, so it can lag slightly behind your contact platform.
  • Times use your company’s default time zone, so Today starts at midnight in that time zone.
  • Some metrics are a current count, such as Open cases or Waiting. The lookback period doesn’t change them.
  • Other metrics, such as Cases opened or Service level, count activity in the lookback period you choose. Their tooltips say which time window applies.
  • Assembled remembers the last lookback period you used.
  • The company view is the same for everyone. People with the permissions above choose its panels and metrics, and everyone else can view it.
  • Panels show one channel and queue each. Metrics are chosen per channel, so every panel for a channel shows the same metrics.
  • Panel view suits a few channels and queues you watch closely. Table view is more compact and makes it easier to compare queues.

Company view in table layout grouped By queue, with the queues of each channel as columns and the metrics as rows. The By queue / By metric toggle is boxed.

Set up your panels

Choose the channel and queue combinations to show. Personal panels affect only you; company panels change the view for everyone.

  1. Go to Monitor > Real-time overview and select Personal view or Company view.
  2. Select Edit personal settings (or Edit company settings), then Edit personal panels (or Edit company panels).
  3. Filter by channel or use Search queues… to find the channel and queue combinations you want, and select them. Your selections are listed on the right.
  4. Drag the panels in the list to put them in the order you want.
  5. Select Save panels.

Real-time overview on the Personal view tab with the Edit personal settings menu open. Numbered callouts mark the Edit personal settings button (1) and Edit personal panels (2); Select personal metrics is also boxed.

Edit personal panels window with the Channel filter and Search queues box above the list of channel and queue panels, and the selected panels on the right with drag handles for reordering. The filter and search boxes and the selected list are boxed.

The panels appear on the page. A panel you’ve never added before can take up to 30 seconds to show its data the first time. To change the order or panels later, select Edit panels layout from any panel’s Options menu.

Choose metrics for a channel

  1. On a panel for the channel, select the Options menu (three dots), then Select metrics for [channel].
  2. Select the metrics you want to see. Use Select all or Deselect all to change them all at once.
  3. Select Save.

Personal view panels with the Options menu of the Phone panel open. Numbered callouts mark the three dots (1), Select metrics for Phone (2), Edit panels layout (3), and Export metrics for Phone (4).

Every panel for that channel now shows the metrics you chose. To choose metrics for every channel at once, select Edit personal settings (or Edit company settings), then Select personal metrics (or Select company metrics). For what each metric means, see Real-time overview metrics.

Set thresholds

A threshold highlights a metric when it crosses a limit, so problems stand out: orange for Warning and red for Danger. Thresholds are saved for everyone at your company.

To set a threshold from a panel:

  1. Hover over the metric, then select the crosshair icon next to it. Hovering over the icon shows the current limits.
  2. For Warning, Danger, or both, choose Greater than or Less than and enter the value.
  3. Select Set threshold.

Threshold settings for Phone window for the Average first response time metric, opened from the crosshair icon. The Warning (greater than 20 seconds) and Danger (greater than 30 seconds) levels are boxed.

To see or change all thresholds in one place, select the Threshold settings tab:

  • Create threshold opens a form where you choose the Metric, Channel, Queue, and Threshold level, and define the threshold conditions.
  • Sort by and Add filter narrow the list. The Summary column describes each threshold in a sentence.
  • Manage notifications opens Configure > Notifications, where you can send email or Slack notifications when a threshold is crossed. See Notifications.

Threshold settings tab of the Real-time overview listing thresholds by metric, channel, queue, type, and value. Numbered callouts mark Sort by (1), Add filter (2), Manage notifications (3), and the Summary column (4); the Create threshold button is also boxed.

See the cases behind a metric

  • Case breakdown: select a metric value that’s a link to open a side panel listing the cases included in it. Search for a case by ID, or select Download to save the list as a CSV file.
  • Download relevant cases: hover over a metric and select the download icon to save the cases behind it as a CSV file.
  • Export metrics: to save a panel’s current values, select its Options menu, then Export metrics for [channel]. The CSV file lists the channel, queue, metric, and value.

Case breakdown side panel for Average first response time for today on Phone / Inbound, listing the cases used in the calculation with a Download button and a case ID search. The selected 20s metric on the panel is boxed.

Real-time overview metrics

Which metrics you can choose depends on the channel and your contact platform. Hover over a metric’s name on the page to see its definition. Metrics marked with a lookback period below use the window you choose; the others are a current count.

Metric What it shows
New, Open, Snoozed, On hold, and Pending (cases, calls, chats, or SMSes) How many cases have that status right now. Which statuses appear depends on your contact platform.
Cases opened, Calls received, Chats received, SMSes received How many were created or received in the lookback period.
Cases solved Cases solved in the lookback period that are still solved.
Cases responded to Cases moved to a responded state at least once in the lookback period.
Average first response time The average first response time for cases created in the lookback period, including time outside business hours.
Service level The percentage of cases created in the lookback period whose first response met your target response time.
Average handle time The average time from start to end of calls, chats, or SMSes received in the lookback period.
Waiting Calls and callbacks, or chats, waiting right now, including chats assigned to a team member but not yet served.
Unassigned chats Chats waiting right now that aren’t assigned to a team member.
Active chats Chats your team is serving right now.
Longest wait The longest time anyone in the queue has been waiting right now.
Average wait (today), Average wait For calls, the average time callers spent in the queue today. For chats, the average time people currently in the queue have been waiting.
Average chat duration, Average response time For chats being served right now, the average duration and the average time visitors have waited for a team member’s reply.
Calls abandoned (today), Abandoned Calls or chats where the customer left while waiting in the queue, today or in the lookback period.
Number of CSAT responses, CSAT responses, Average CSAT score CSAT responses received, and their average score, in the lookback period.
Messages sent Messages your team sent on cases in the lookback period.
Forecasted cases opened (or calls, chats, or SMSes received), Forecast error, Forecast percentage error What your forecast expected for the lookback period, and how far actual volume is from it.

Note: If your channel uses the case lifecycle model, you see a different set of metrics. For example, Unit of work volume replaces Calls received or Cases opened, and Average handle time per unit of work replaces Average handle time. Average first response time and Service level measure units of work, and Initial contact first response time and Initial contact service level measure each case’s first unit of work. See Case lifecycle metrics.

The sections below explain how these metrics are calculated for Zendesk and Kustomer.

How metrics are calculated for Zendesk

Phone (Zendesk Talk)

Phone cases are the Zendesk tickets created when a call starts in Zendesk Talk. Zendesk Talk’s first response is its time to answer field.

Metric How it’s calculated
New calls, Open calls, On hold calls, Pending calls Phone tickets with that status.
Calls received Calls started in the lookback period.
Average first response time The sum of (first response − call start) ÷ the number of phone tickets created in the lookback period with a first response.
Service level Calls started in the lookback period whose first response was within your target response time ÷ calls started in the lookback period with a first response.
Average handle time Call end time − first response, for calls received in the lookback period. Wrap-up time after the call and waiting time before it’s answered aren’t included.
Waiting Zendesk Talk’s calls waiting plus callbacks waiting. See Zendesk’s current queue activity.
Longest wait Zendesk Talk’s longest wait time for a caller currently in the queue.
Average wait (today) Zendesk Talk’s average queue wait time: how long callers waited to be routed to a team member. See Zendesk’s voice stats.
Calls abandoned (today) Zendesk Talk’s contacts abandoned today: calls where the customer hung up while waiting in the queue.

Email

The first response time is the reply time in minutes from Zendesk’s ticket metrics.

Metric How it’s calculated
New cases, Open cases, On hold cases, Pending cases Email tickets with that status.
Cases opened Email tickets created in the lookback period.
Cases solved Tickets that are solved now and moved from new, open, pending, or on hold to solved or closed in the lookback period.
Cases responded to Tickets moved from new or open to pending, on hold, solved, or closed in the lookback period.
Average first response time The sum of first response times ÷ the number of email tickets created in the lookback period with a first response.
Service level Tickets created in the lookback period whose first response was within your target response time ÷ tickets created in the lookback period with a first response.

Chat (Zendesk Chat)

The first response is the first response time on the Zendesk chat, which includes time outside business hours.

Metric How it’s calculated
Chats received Chat tickets created in the lookback period.
Average first response time The sum of (first response − creation time) ÷ the number of chat tickets created in the lookback period with a first response.
Service level Chat tickets created in the lookback period whose first response was within your target response time ÷ chat tickets created in the lookback period with a first response.
Average handle time Chat end time − first response, for chats received in the lookback period. The end time is the chat’s start plus its duration, which is the time of the last message. Wrap-up time and waiting time before the first response aren’t included.
Waiting Zendesk Chat’s incoming chats plus assigned chats. See Zendesk’s Chat API.
Active chats Zendesk Chat’s active chats.
Longest wait Zendesk Chat’s maximum waiting time.
Average chat duration Zendesk Chat’s average chat duration.
Average response time Zendesk Chat’s average response time.

How metrics are calculated for Kustomer

For Kustomer, the first response is Kustomer’s first response time, or, if there isn’t one, the time of the earliest outbound message. It includes time outside business hours. A case meets service level if Kustomer’s SLA isn’t breached, or, if there’s no SLA, if its first response is within your target response time. The SLA takes priority over the first response time.

Email

Metric How it’s calculated
Open cases, Snoozed cases Email cases with that status.
Cases opened Email cases created in the lookback period.
Cases solved Cases that are done now and moved from open or snoozed to done in the lookback period.
Cases responded to Cases moved from open to snoozed or done in the lookback period.
Average first response time The sum of (first response − creation time) ÷ the number of email cases created in the lookback period with a first response.
Service level Cases created in the lookback period that met service level ÷ cases created in the lookback period with a first response.

Phone

Keep in mind: Kustomer doesn’t handle phone natively, and many Kustomer phone integrations don’t send the time a call spent in the queue as part of its creation time. Because of this, Average first response time and Service level aren’t shown for Kustomer phone.

Metric How it’s calculated
Open calls, Snoozed calls Phone cases with that status.
Calls received Phone cases created in the lookback period.
Average handle time Call end time − first response, for calls received in the lookback period. The first response is Kustomer’s answered time, or its first response time if there isn’t one. The end is Kustomer’s ended time. Wrap-up time and waiting time aren’t included.

SMS

Metric How it’s calculated
Open SMSes, Snoozed SMSes SMS cases with that status.
SMSes received SMS cases created in the lookback period.
Average first response time The sum of (first response − creation time) ÷ the number of SMS cases created in the lookback period with a first response.
Service level SMS cases created in the lookback period that met service level ÷ SMS cases created in the lookback period with a first response or an SLA.
Average handle time SMS end time − first response, for SMSes received in the lookback period. The end is Kustomer’s ended time.

Chat

Metric How it’s calculated
Open chats, Snoozed chats Chat cases with that status.
Chats received Chat cases created in the lookback period.
Average first response time The sum of (first response − creation time) ÷ the number of chat cases created in the lookback period with a first response.
Service level Chat cases created in the lookback period that met service level ÷ chat cases created in the lookback period with a first response.
Average handle time Chat end time − first response, for chats received in the lookback period. The end is Kustomer’s ended time. Wrap-up time and waiting time before the first response aren’t included.

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