Common workflows

Investigating a sudden drop in traffic

1. Set the date range to cover the period of interest.
2. Click the "Decreasing" tab to surface metrics that have moved down.
3. Open the Page Views (or related Traffic) card.
4. Identify the day(s) where the chart drops noticeably.
5. Click that data point to open the drill-down panel.
6. Pivot between Topics, Boards, and Places to find the specific items that lost views.

Tracking a content quality initiative

1. Click Compare and select related Content metrics: Solutions Accepted, Avg Time to First Solution, and Solutions Views.
2. Set the date range to span before and after the initiative launch.
3. Use the Trend Comparison chart to see whether the metrics moved together.
4. Use the Statistical Summary to compare averages, peaks, and changes across the metrics.

Building a monthly community health report

1. Set the date range to the previous calendar month.
2. Use the search box to locate your stakeholder's preferred KPIs.
3. For each KPI, open the detail dialog and capture the chart, summary tiles, and any notable drill-downs.
4. Use Compare for related KPIs to show them on a single chart for the report.

Identifying engagement drivers by user segment

1. Open a high-level engagement metric (e.g., Engagement Trend or Conversations Participated).
2. In the Breakdown By sidebar, select Rank or Role.
3. Review the chart to see which segments contribute most to the metric.
4. Apply Filters to isolate a single segment for deeper investigation.

FAQ

How many metrics does Metrics Explorer cover?
86 metrics across ten categories: Traffic, Members & Registration, Content, Engagement, Private Messaging, Group Hubs, Knowledge Base, Ideas, Events, and Survey. The total appears as "Metrics (86)" in the page header.

What does the comparison badge on each card mean?
The comparison badge shows the percentage change versus the immediately preceding period of the same length. If you've selected the last 30 days, the badge compares those 30 days against the 30 days before that. Red indicates a decrease, blue indicates an increase, and grey indicates no change.

What's the difference between VS PREV PERIOD and VS LAST YEAR?
VS PREV PERIOD compares the selected range to the immediately preceding range of equal length. VS LAST YEAR compares the same dates one year ago. The first is useful for short-term operational tracking; the second helps you account for seasonality.

What dimensions can I break a metric down by?
The available breakdown dimensions vary by metric, but commonly include Conversation Style, User Type, Role, Rank, Node Type, and Device Type. The Breakdown By sidebar in the detail dialog shows the options that apply to the metric you've opened.

What do I see when I click a chart data point?
Clicking a data point opens the Drill Down panel below the chart. It shows a sortable table of the underlying items (topics, boards, or places) that contributed to the value at that date. You can pivot between Topics, Boards, and Places using the radio buttons at the top of the panel.

Can I compare metrics from different categories?
Yes. The Compare picker shows metrics from every category, and you can mix and match (for example, comparing a Traffic metric with a Content metric) up to a limit of 10 metrics.

Why do I see "New" in the % Change column of the drill-down table?
"New" indicates that the item didn't exist or had no activity in the comparison period. It's a way of distinguishing genuine new contributors from items whose activity simply changed.

What's the difference between the page-level Filters button and the Filters panel inside a metric's detail dialog?
They serve different purposes. The page-level Filters button (top right of the main grid) scopes which metric cards are visible across the whole grid. The Filters panel inside a metric's detail dialog is specific to that metric — its toggles refine how that one metric is calculated, and the available toggles vary by metric.

Can I export the data?
Export options are part of the broader analytics roadmap. For 26.3, Metrics Explorer is primarily an in-app exploration tool. Use the screenshots, breakdowns, and Statistical Summary table to capture findings for reports.