Data snapshots and multiple breakdowns

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 3 minutes to read
    • Summarize
    Summarized using AI
    This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.

    Summary of Data snapshots and multiple breakdowns

    Data snapshots in Platform Analytics enable ServiceNow customers to apply multiple breakdown levels when analyzing indicators (KPIs), overcoming the traditional limitation of only two breakdowns in Classic Performance Analytics. This enhancement uses a change data capture (CDC) process to efficiently capture data changes from configurable tables optimized for run-time score and time series generation.

    Show full answer Show less

    This capability significantly expands analytical depth and insight generation by allowing more granular data analysis through multiple breakdowns. It requires the RaptorDB Professional database and is not supported in domain-separated instances.

    Key Features

    • Supports multiple breakdown levels beyond the classic two, enhancing detailed KPI analysis.
    • Utilizes CDC instead of breakdown matrices to improve performance and scalability.
    • Requires activation of the Data Snapshots (com.snc.pa.mlb) plugin along with a Performance Analytics subscription and admin role.
    • Supports only Platform Analytics experience components such as Data Visualizations and KPI Details; Core UI components like PA widgets and Analytics Hub support only up to two breakdown levels.
    • Supports non-scripted automated indicators, formula indicators with non-scripted contributing indicators, and nested formula indicators ultimately based on non-scripted indicators.
    • Filters behave differently for indicators supporting multiple breakdowns versus those that do not, affecting how dashboard filters apply across visualizations.
    • Data snapshots collection jobs increase storage usage by copying daily changes of relevant records.

    Important Considerations and Limitations

    • Data snapshots and multiple breakdowns cannot be applied retroactively to data collected before activation; such data supports only two breakdown levels.
    • Indicators that do not support data snapshots will display warnings on their record pages explaining the reasons.
    • Some breakdown and indicator features are not supported with data snapshots, and the feature is incompatible with domain-separated instances.
    • Multiple breakdowns can be enabled or disabled on a per-indicator basis if supported.
    • Testing in a development environment is recommended before enabling data snapshots on production instances.

    Activation and Usage

    To enable multiple breakdowns, customers must activate the Data Snapshots plugin and then enable data snapshots on individual supported indicators. This setup allows more flexible and powerful KPI analysis within Platform Analytics. Visual cues and warnings in KPI Details help users understand data availability when multiple breakdowns are applied.

    Data snapshots also manage data sources and mappings for indicator score collection, ensuring accurate and efficient data processing for analytics.

    Data snapshots in Platform Analytics allows for multiple breakdowns while analyzing your indicators (KPIs). This architecture uses a change data capture (CDC) process, which captures data changes from configurable tables that are optimized for generating scores and time series at run-time.

    Classic Performance Analytics has always calculated multiple breakdowns applied to an indicator through a matrix. Mathematically, the number of calculations increases geometrically with the number of breakdowns. Practically, this approach limits you to a maximum of two breakdowns that can be applied to an indicator simultaneously.

    Data snapshots does not use breakdown matrices. Thanks to the use of CDC instead, you can apply multiple breakdown levels. The ability to apply more than two levels of breakdown addresses one of the longstanding pain points of Performance Analytics. This feature deepens your ability to analyze data and broadens the insights you can gain through Performance Analytics.

    Important:
    • Data snapshots requires that your instance uses the RaptorDB Professional database.
    • Domain-separated instances are not supported.
    • To get data snapshots and enable multiple levels of breakdown, activate the Data Snapshots (com.snc.pa.mlb) plugin. A Performance Analytics subscription and the admin role are required. Consider testing data snapshots in a development environment before activating them on a production instance.
    • When you have activated the Data Snapshots plugin, you still have to enable it for supported indicators. For more information, see Activate data snapshots.
    • Only Platform Analytics experience components (Data visualizations, KPI Details) support data snapshots. You cannot show more than two levels of breakdowns in Core UI components like PA widgets and the Analytics Hub.
    • Data snapshots collection jobs may result in increased storage use by Performance Analytics. The jobs copy subsets of the source tables and store every daily change for related records.
    The following indicators support data snapshots:
    • Automated indicators that do not use scripted aggregations (non-scripted indicators).
    • Formula indicators with only non-scripted, automated contributing indicators
    • Formula indicators that contain other formula indicators, provided that ultimately the underlying indicators are non-scripted, automated indicators.

    If an indicator does not support data snapshots, the reasons appear in a warning on the indicator's record page.

    Important:
    You cannot apply multiple breakdowns to data that was collected before the feature was activated. You can apply only two levels of breakdown to such data. If you try to apply more levels of breakdown, the result is an empty area for that date range on your data visualization or KPI Details chart.

    Supported and unsupported indicators

    Filters apply differently to visualizations of indicators that support and that don’t support multiple breakdowns. In this example, you have a dashboard with two pivot table data visualizations. One pivot table shows the indicator Number of open incidents. This indicator isn’t scripted and thus supports multiple breakdowns. The other pivot table shows the indicator Summed age of open incidents. This indicator is scripted so doesn’t support multiple breakdowns. The dashboard has three filters, each of which filters on a breakdown that is on both indicators. All three filters are being applied. The filters were applied in the following chronological order: first Priority, then Category, then State. The visualization of Number of open incidents shows three filters applied, but the visualization of Summed age of open incidents shows only two.
    Dashboard with visualizations of an indicator that supports multiple breakdowns and one that does not.
    Examining the filters that are applied to the Number of open incidents indicator, you see that all three filters are being applied.
    An indicator that supports multiple breakdown with three breakdowns applied.
    For the Summed age of open incidents indicator, you see that only the first two filters that were applied to the dashboard apply to this indicator.
    An indicator that does not support multiple breakdowns, showing that only the first two of three breakdowns applied to the dashboard are applied to the indicator.

    KPI Details for an indicator that uses data snapshots

    This example shows the KPI Details for the indicator Number of open incidents. The indicator supports data snapshots and multiple breakdowns, as is shown by a badge in the header. Two breakdowns have been set, each with two elements.
    KPI Details for an indicator that supports multiple breakdowns, with two breakdowns selected.
    You can select a third breakdown. However, data snapshots were only implemented on this instance a few days ago. Once you select a third breakdown, no data before this date is shown. You have a banner warning you to this effect.
    KPI Details for an indicator that supports multiple breakdowns, with three breakdowns selected but no data from before the implementation of multiple breakdowns.