Understanding percentage calculations in Freshservice Analytics

Percentage is a comparison calculation. Simply put, it is a ratio between two numbers: the part and the whole. On one hand, you’ll have the number to compare (the part, i.e. the numerator), and on the other the number compared with (the whole, i.e. the denominator).

Percentage (%) = Part / Whole

Freshworks Analytics works on the concept of metrics. And in any percentage calculation, 

• The metric is always the part, and hence considered the numerator, while
• The envelope holding the metric (widget, page, report) becomes the whole, and hence seen as the denominator.

Let us make this easier with an example: The Tickets module with the following setup as on date.

Example:

Let’s assume we have a Tickets module with the following data.

Scenario 1: Percentage of tickets, with no filters applied at any levels

Whole = 15

Part = 15

% = Part/ Whole = 15/15 = 100%

• Scenario 2: Percentage of tickets, with filter applied to the widget (or page, or report)
  
  

  Filter applied to widget:

  • Priority = Urgent

• 
  

  Whole = 4

  Part = 4

  % = Part/ Whole = 4/4 = 100%

  
  Percentage calculation behaves the same way when only filters are applied to either the page or the report level. This is because, the whole (the denominator) is reduced based on the filter applied, and no filter is applied to the part (the numerator).

  
  

  Scenario 3: Percentage of tickets, with filter applied to the metric
  
  Filter applied to metric:

  • Priority = Urgent

• 
  

  Filter applied to widget (or page, or report):

  • None

• 
  

  Whole = 15

  Part = 4

  % = Part/ Whole = 4/15 = 26.67%
  
  

  Scenario 4: Percentage of tickets, with filter applied to the metric and the widget (or page, or report)
  
  Filter applied to metric:

  • Priority = Urgent

• 
  

  Filter applied to widget (or page, or report):

  • Status = Open

• 
  

  Whole = 4

  Part = 2 (only 2 ‘Urgent’ tickets that are ‘Open’)

  % = Part/ Whole = 2/4 = 50%

  
  

  Scenario 5: Contribution percentage vs. Performance percentage
  
  

  Percentage calculation is straightforward when it comes to simple scenarios as explained above. But when a context gets added, say by means of a group-by clause, percentage can be calculated in two different ways based on the question that needs to be answered.

  
  

  Context 1: Find the contribution of the agents to closed tickets (i.e., what is the contribution of an all agents against an outcome?)

  
  

  Whole (total closed tickets) = 9

  Part from Agent A (total tickets closed by agent A) = 2

  Part from Agent B (total tickets closed by agent B) = 3

  Part from Agent C (total tickets closed by agent C) = 4

  
  

  Therefore, 

  • Contribution from Agent A = Part from Agent A/ Whole = 2/9 = 22.23%
  • Contribution from Agent B = Part from Agent B/ Whole = 3/9 = 33.34%
  • Contribution from Agent C = Part from Agent C/ Whole = 2/9 = 44.45%

Since the whole (the denominator) is the same across, the total contribution always sums to a 100%. 

This is the default mode of percentage calculation in Freshworks Analytics, unless explicitly mentioned otherwise. 

And so, an example configuration will follow as below:

Config applied to metric:

Filter: Status = Closed

Group-by: Agent name

Context 2: Find the total closed tickets agent-wise (i.e., what is the performance of an agent against their individual outcomes?)

Agent A:

• Whole (total tickets assigned to agent) = 5
• Part (total tickets closed by agent) = 2

Therefore, Whole = 5 & Part = 2, and

% = Part/ Whole = 2/5 = 40%

Agent B:

• Whole (total tickets assigned to agent) = 6
• Part (total tickets closed by agent) = 3

Therefore, Whole = 6 & Part = 3, and

% = Part/ Whole = 3/6 = 50%

Agent C:

• Whole (total tickets assigned to agent) = 4
• Part (total tickets closed by agent) = 4

Therefore, Whole = 4 & Part = 4, and

% = Part/ Whole = 4/4 = 100%

Since the whole (the denominator) is the subject to the agent chosen, the total performance sum across all agents is irrelevant to the context.

Performance percentages are configured only on chosen metrics. Please consult the <product document> for more details.

The example below shows one such metric that is pre-configured to work as a performance percentage.