Three Numbers for the Same Incidents
A dashboard shared with the 300-member 'Service Desk Managers' group shows 'Open incidents by assignment group' = 4,180. A manager runs an incident list with Active = true and gets 4,020. The report is on Incident, filter Active = true, grouped by Assignment group, and has no other filter. The list filter also includes Assignment group is not empty. The report's blank group row is not visible because the dashboard widget is too short. One manager with a limited role sees 3,650 on the same widget. The service desk director wants one number for the weekly ops review and asks whether the report or the list is 'wrong'.
1. Reconcile the three numbers. Which one is 'right'?
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None is necessarily wrong; they answer different questions.
- 4,180 is total open incidents for a full-access viewer, including 160 incidents with an empty assignment group. The blank group row is hidden by widget height, so the total looks like assigned-only.
- 4,020 is assigned-only open incidents because the list adds 'Assignment group is not empty'.
- 3,650 is what a limited-role manager sees because reports respect ACLs and domain visibility; the widget is not a privileged snapshot.
So 4,180 = 4,020 assigned + 160 unassigned for a full-access viewer. The director must decide whether the business question is 'open incidents' or 'open assigned incidents'.
2. How would you fix the dashboard so the ops review quotes one defensible number?
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Define one metric. If the question is total open, keep the report but make unassigned visible: add an explicit 'Unassigned' series/widget filtered to Assignment group is empty, or use a calculated field that maps blank to 'Unassigned' if available, and size the widget to show all groups. If the question is assigned workload, add Assignment group is not empty to the report so it matches the list.
Label the widget with its filter. Do not rely on a hidden blank row for a number executives will quote. Validate by impersonating a limited-role manager and comparing the widget to that user's list.
3. What reporting governance would prevent this next quarter?
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Publish a certified report or dashboard, share it with the managers group rather than individual users, and document the filter in the description. Validate with impersonation across at least two role profiles. Add a data-quality check for unassigned incidents so the 160 do not silently disappear.
If trend over time is needed, use Performance Analytics rather than a daily snapshot report; PA indicators have their own collection job and ACL behavior, so validate them separately. Keep one owned definition of 'open incidents' and retire duplicate widgets that use different filters.