Showing multiple elements separately or aggregated
Summarize
Summary of Showing multiple elements separately or aggregated
In ServiceNow Performance Analytics dashboards, when multiple breakdown elements are selected, widgets can display their values either separately or as a single aggregated value. This behavior is controlled by theShow multiple elements asfield on the widget form, which sets whether values for multiple elements appear individually or combined.
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Widget Views and Support
- Separate view: Widgets display distinct values for each selected breakdown element.
- Aggregate view: Widgets show one value representing the combined data of all selected elements.
The type of widget determines which views are available:
- Time series widgets support both aggregate and separate views.
- List widgets support both aggregate and separate views.
- Score widgets support only the aggregate view.
- Breakdown widgets support only the aggregate view.
Note: Multiple elements cannot be selected on workbench or text Performance Analytics widgets; such selections are ignored.
Indicator Support for Aggregated Views
The aggregate view is supported only by specific indicator types:
- Automated indicators aggregating data as Count, Sum, Minimum, or Maximum.
- Manual indicators.
- External indicators that do not use SQL AVG() or COUNT(DISTINCT...).
- Formula indicators with aggregation explicitly enabled on their records.
Indicators aggregating as Average or Count Distinct do not support the aggregate view. When aggregate view is selected but an indicator does not support it, that indicator defaults to following the first-level breakdown and element in the widget configuration instead of the dashboard selection.
Results and Limitations of Aggregate View
The aggregate value shown depends on the indicator’s data aggregation method:
- COUNT: Sum of scores for selected elements.
- SUM: Sum of scores, which themselves are sums.
- MAX: Highest value among elements at each time point.
- MIN: Lowest value among elements at each time point.
When aggregate view is enabled, some features are restricted:
- Targets, thresholds, and comments are not available when navigating from widgets to the Analytics Hub with multiple elements aggregated.
- Breakdown selector and search are disabled in this context.
- Targets and thresholds are unavailable in time series widgets.
- Targets and bullet charts are unavailable in list widgets.
Widget Indicator Labeling with Multiple Elements
When multiple breakdown elements are selected, widget indicator names and labels append the breakdown and element names—except when:
- The widget shows an aggregate view but the indicator does not support it.
- The widget does not follow the selected elements.
- The widget indicators do not support the selected breakdown elements.
Practical Example
Consider a dashboard with the Incident.Category breakdown and three elements selected (Inquiry/Help, Network, Software). A time series widget showing the Number of Open Incidents (Count aggregate) can:
- Show separate columns for each element when configured for separate view.
- Show a single aggregated score for all elements combined when configured for aggregate view.
Additional Considerations
- Ensure that formula indicators have aggregation enabled if you want to filter on multiple elements in aggregate view.
- Be aware of widget and indicator type compatibility when configuring dashboards to properly display multiple elements.
When you select multiple elements on a dashboard, widgets that follow these elements can show their values either separately or as an aggregate.
On a widget form, use the Show multiple elements as field to set whether multiple elements are shown separately or as an aggregate. Widgets with the view type Separate show a different value for each breakdown element selected. Widgets with the view type Aggregate show a single value that represents the aggregated value of all selected breakdown elements.
The widget type logically determines whether an aggregated view, a separate view, or both are available. Also, formula indicators support the aggregated view only when the aggregated view is explicitly enabled on the indicator record. For example, a Score widget can only show an aggregated view. Without aggregated views being enabled, a Score widget for a formula indicator cannot be filtered on multiple elements. In this case, the Show multiple element as field displays Not available and is grayed out. For more information, see the section Indicators that support an aggregate of multiple elements.
Widget support of aggregate and separate views
- Time series widgets support aggregate and separate views.
- List widgets support aggregate and separate views.
- Score widgets only support the aggregate view.
- Breakdown widgets only support the aggregate view.
Indicators that support an aggregate of multiple elements
- Automated indicators that aggregate data as a Count, Sum, Minimum, or
Maximum valueNote:The word "aggregate" is used for two different things here: the aggregate view of multiple indicator scores, and the data aggregation that is set on an indicator.
- Manual indicators
- External indicators that do not use
SQL AVG()orSQL COUNT(DISTINCT...)in their SQL statement - Formula indicators that have aggregate element views enabled on their indicator records. For more information, see the entry on the Allow aggregation of multiple breakdown element scores field on the Other tab in Create a formula indicator.
- Indicators that aggregate data as an Average or a Count Distinct do not support the Aggregate view.
- The Show multiple elements as value applies to both the main widget and any indicator widgets. If Aggregate is selected but one of the indicator widgets does not support the Aggregate view, that indicator does not follow the elements on the breakdown dashboard. Instead, the indicator follows any first-level breakdown and element that are set in the widget configuration. The other indicators follow the elements on the breakdown dashboard and show an aggregate of their values.
Results when showing aggregate view
| Automated indicator data aggregation | External indicator SQL statement | In a widget, what an aggregate view of multiple elements shows |
|---|---|---|
| COUNT | SQL COUNT() |
A sum of the scores of the selected elements |
| SUM | SQL SUM() |
A sum of the scores of the selected elements, which themselves are sums |
| MAX | SQL MAX() |
Whichever element had the highest value at each time point |
| MIN | SQL MIN() |
Whichever element had the lowest value at each time point |
- Targets, thresholds, and comments are not available when you navigate to the Analytics Hub from a widget with multiple breakdown elements selected in an aggregate view. The breakdown selector and search functionality are also unavailable.
- Targets and thresholds are not available in time series widgets.
- Targets and bullet charts are not available in list widgets.
Widget indicators and breakdown dashboards
- The widget shows an aggregate view of multiple elements, and the widget indicator does not support this view.
- The widget does not follow elements.
- The widget indicators do not support the selected breakdown elements.
Open incidents with aggregate and separate values for multiple elements
Consider a breakdown dashboard with the Incident.Category breakdown source and the three
elements Inquiry/Help, Network, and Software selected.
The dashboard contains a time series widget called Open Incidents. This widget shows the
Number of Open Incidents indicator, which has the Count aggregate. The widget follows the
elements that are selected on the dashboard. Therefore, the widget can show multiple
elements selected on the dashboard either separately or as an aggregate value. The
Show multiple elements as field is set to
Separate.
On the dashboard, a separate column is shown for each of the three selected elements for
each day.
With the Show multiple elements as field set to
Aggregate, a single, aggregate score is shown for the three
selected elements.