Performance Analytics widgets

  • Release version: Washingtondc
  • Updated February 1, 2024
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Performance Analytics Widgets

    Performance Analytics widgets are tools that allow users to create visual representations of indicator scores, which can be displayed on dashboards. This feature is part of the Core UI and not supported on Platform Analytics dashboards except in compatibility mode. The feature is in maintenance mode, receiving only security updates.

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    Key Features

    • Widget Types: Users can create various types of widgets based on their business goals, including:
      • Time Series Widget: Visualizes changes over time, typically using line graphs.
      • Breakdown Widget: Groups scores by breakdown elements, using charts like pie and funnel.
      • Score Widget: Displays aggregate scores against a target using speedometers or real-time scores.
      • List Widget: Lists metrics for multiple indicators.
      • Pivot Widget: Groups scores by two breakdown elements.
      • Text Analytics Widget: Visualizes word frequencies through word clouds.
      • Workbench Widget: Shows multiple indicators and their relationships.
    • User Roles: To create or edit widgets, users need the paadmin or papoweruser role. All users can view widgets on dashboards.
    • Aggregation and Rounding: Values are rounded and abbreviated (e.g., 11,234 becomes 11K) and may display rounding errors in averages.
    • Security Requirements: Widgets adhere to access control lists (ACLs) for indicators and breakdowns, especially in instances upgraded from versions prior to Quebec.
    • Data Accessibility: Enabling accessibility preferences allows data tables to replace charts for improved accessibility.

    Key Outcomes

    By using Performance Analytics widgets, customers can effectively visualize and analyze indicator scores, facilitating better decision-making. Users can navigate to the Analytics Hub from widgets for in-depth analysis, and accessibility options ensure all users can interact with the data presented. Understanding widget types and security requirements ensures proper configuration and usage within the ServiceNow environment.

    Widgets enable you to define visualizations for indicator scores. Widgets are shown on dashboards.

    Note:
    This feature is part of the Core UI front end. It is not supported on Platform Analytics dashboards or UI Builder pages, except to a limited extent when migrated in compatibility mode. To build Platform Analytics components, see Data visualizations in Platform Analytics or Filters in Platform Analytics.

    This feature is in maintenance mode and is no longer being augmented or changed. Only security fixes to this feature will be addressed.

    A Performance Analytics widget ties an indicator to a visualization, such as a trend line, a set of columns, or a pie chart. Within the widget, you can filter or group indicator scores by breakdowns. You can also apply time series functions, such as 7-day sums, to the scores.

    To create or edit a Performance Analytics widget, the user must have the pa_admin or pa_power_user role. These roles are also required to add widgets to a dashboard. However, any user can view a widget that has been added to a dashboard.
    Note:
    If a user is prevented from viewing a visualization, a warning message prompts the user to contact the administrator.
    If the dashboard is so configured, you can select breakdown elements on the dashboard that apply to all the widgets on the dashboard. If you click a score in a widget on a dashboard, you open the Analytics Hub focused on that indicator.
    Note:
    Time series aggregations are validated on the Analytics Hub and in KPI Details but not in widgets. Therefore, you might navigate from a working widget to the Analytics Hub and get a warning that the indicator has an invalid aggregation.

    Rounding off

    Values between 10,000 and 999,999 are rounded off to the nearest thousand and abbreviated with a K, such as 11K for 11,234. Values between 1 million and 999,999,999 are rounded off to the nearest million and abbreviated with an M. Values of 1 billion and higher are rounded off to the nearest billion and abbreviated with a G.

    Rounded calculations based on averages may be off by a small amount due to rounding errors.

    Widget types and creation details

    The first step in creating a widget is to select the type of widget to create. Base this decision on the business goals you are trying to achieve with the widget.

    Widget type Purpose Typical Visualizations
    Time Series widget Shows changes over time in indicator scores. Line visualization is the most usual. Other visualizations are: spline, step, column, stacked column, area, and relative compare.
    Breakdown widget Groups indicator scores by the elements of a breakdown. Scorecard, pie and similar charts, funnel and pyramid, column and similar charts, relative compare, line, Pareto, pivot scorecard, and treemap.
    Score widget Shows aggregate indicator scores. Can show an indicator score against a target. Latest score, speedometer, real-time score.
    List widget Lists the metrics for several indicators. Scorecard, spider web.
    Pivot widget Groups the scores of one indicator by the elements of two breakdowns. Heatmap
    Text analytics Visualizes word frequencies and groupings in the text that users enter in forms Word cloud
    Workbench widget Shows multiple indicators and their relations, to monitor a workflow or other process. Workbench

    Security requirements for viewing widgets

    Starting with Quebec, widgets follow indicator and breakdown access control lists (ACLs). Outside of ACLs, no roles are required for viewing widgets.

    However, if you upgrade an instance from a version earlier than Quebec, by default the rules from before Quebec still apply. Indicator and breakdown ACLs are followed only in these areas:
    • List widgets follow indicator ACLs.
    • When viewing breakdowns, breakdown ACLs apply.
    Furthermore, on an upgraded instance, the following widgets may require users to have the pa_viewer role:
    • List widgets
    • Text widgets
    • The Breakdowns section of Workbench widgets

    Upgraded instances cannot automatically follow the rules introduced in Quebec because of the variation in how ACLs are configured.

    Data tables for widget accessibility

    If under Preferences you have enabled Accessibility > Enable data table for charts and graphs, tables replace the graphical charts for all Performance Analytics widgets on your instance. Workspace widgets are an exception, as they show both charts and tables. For more information about accessibility and widgets, including how to replace colors with patterns, see Accessibility options on dashboards.

    Workbench widget with the Data tables accessibility preference activated, showing both a chart and a table.