Use a report range to define intervals that break up continuous timespan data in table fields. It is necessary to break this data into discreet chunks for presentation.

Sometimes it can be helpful to group results into ranges or buckets rather than viewing every result as an individual score. Think of a bar or pie chart which shows the business duration of incidents. By default each individual value would be a separate slice, creating an unnecessarily crowded-looking visual. However, segmenting the results into logical groups of scores can add context and help the audience understand which ranges are good, bad, or concerning. A report range is used to define data intervals for the following charts:
  • Core UI: Bar, pie, and donut reports
  • Platform Analytics: All relevant data visualization types including heatmap and time series, when the data source is a table.

Example use case: There is a significant cost involved to a business each time a SLA is breached at a company. A Service Manager can understand which SLAs are being easily met versus which ones are being breached, or are coming close to being breached by viewing how many tasks were completed well within the SLA versus how many elapsed during the SLA.. This information helps them identify which SLAs may need to be adjusted.

Note: It is not possible to set report ranges for dates in the future.
Figure 1. Incidents created date with ranges
Vertical bar report with configured report ranges highlighted

How report ranges work

Report ranges work with elements that hold only dates, lists, or integers.

Table 1. Report range elements list
Type Examples
Dates Using the Created field in the Incident table: Same Day, 2 Days, 2–5 Days, 5–7 Days, 1–2 Weeks, 2–4 Weeks, 1–2 Months, > 2 Months
Lists Using the Priority field in the Incident table: Low, Moderate, High, Critical, Planning
Integers Using the Count field in the Incident table: Overloaded, Optimized, Under Utilized

Report ranges can be globally applied to all date type fields (date, due date, duration, date/time, date time), or you can limit report ranges to a specific table.

View all report ranges

To view all currently configured report ranges, navigate to All > Reports > Administration > Report Ranges. If your instance is migrated to Platform Analytics experience, navigate instead to All > Platform Analytics Administration > Color Settings > Report ranges.

Figure 2. Report ranges list
Report ranges list

The following are important columns and their associated data types:

Table 2. Report range list field
Field Corresponding data type
Upper value duration Date - works with elements that store dates.
Upper value int Integer - works with elements that store numbers.
Value list List - works with elements that store a list item.

Create a report range

Create a report range to define data intervals that are used in bar and pie charts.

Before you begin

Role required: itil, report_user, report_group, report_global, report_admin, or admin.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to All > Reports > Administration > Report Ranges.
    If your instance is migrated to Platform Analytics experience, navigate to All > Platform Analytics Administration > Color Settings > Report ranges.
  2. Select New.
  3. Fill in the form (see table):
    New report ranges form

    Use the following fields to refine the data displayed in the report and to design the appearance of your report visualization:

    Table 3. Report range form fields
    FieldDescription
    Name The name of the table to draw the values from.
    Note: This field is required before you can select from the Element list.
    Element The table field to draw the values from.
    Label The name for the report range that is displayed in reports.
    Value list

    For list elements, this field defines which values are within the range. After the range is saved, the value list is populated with the choices of the element.
    Color name
    The color to display this report range in. The color appears in the Display field. If you enter a color name, you do not need to enter a color value.
    Note: When creating reports, colors may not display as specified for ranges on Group by report fields selected via dot-walking. For this feature to work appropriately, select applicable Group by fields from the base table only.
    Color
    The hexadecimal value for the color to report this report range in. The color appears in the Display field. If you enter a value for color, you do not need to enter a color name.
    Note: When creating reports, colors may not display as specified for ranges on Group by report fields selected via dot-walking. For this feature to work appropriately, select applicable Group by fields from the base table only.
    Upper value int

    For integer-type elements, this field defines the upper limit of the range. The upper value of the report range with nearest lower Order defines the lower limit of this range. If no range with a lower Order exists, the lower limit is zero.

    Example: One report range has an upper limit of 10 and an Order of 20. A second report range has an upper limit of 5 and the Order of 19. The first report shows values from 6 to 10 in the formatting specified by this range. The second report shows values of 5 or less.
    Upper value duration

    For duration-type elements, this field defines the upper limit of the range. The upper value of the report range with nearest lower Order defines the lower limit of this range. If no range with a lower Order exists, the lower limit is zero.

    Example: One report range has an upper limit of 10 and an Order of 20. A second report range has an upper limit of 5 and the Order of 19. Values from 5 to 10 display the formatting specified by this range.
    Display Read-only. Shows the color that is used for the specific report range.
    Order

    The order in which the report ranges are used. If a value is defined within more than one label, it is reported under the report range with the lowest order.
    Note: Once configured, a report range will show as empty if there's no data available in your report. Context fields such as data labels or legend related to the configured report range will still show and be highlighted.

Enable the report range module

To use report ranges in your bar and pie charts, you must enable the report range module.

Before you begin

Role required: admin

Procedure

  1. Navigate to All > System Definition > Application Menus.
  2. Open the Reports application menu.
  3. In the Modules related list, enable the Report Ranges module.Application menu form showing the Modules related list and the Report Ranges module highlighted.
    The Modules related list may have over 100 entries. Filter it on the word range to shorten your search.

Result

You can define report ranges for your pie and bar charts.