Conditions and Preview
Choose the metric and condition an alert watches, split it by segment, and preview how often it would have fired over the last 30, 60, or 90 days.
An alert rule has two parts: the metric it measures for each period, and the condition that sends a notification.
The Metric
The metric is one column combined over each day, week, or month:
- Watch picks the column and how to combine it: Total, Average, Minimum, Maximum, Count, or Distinct count. Choose Number of rows to count rows instead.
- Date column decides which period each row belongs to.
- Per sets the period: Day, Week, or Month. Weeks start on Monday.
For example, "Total of revenue per day" or "Distinct count of user_id per week".
Split by a Segment
Use Split by to check each value of a column separately, such as each region, channel, or campaign. Choose up to 25 values. Each value is checked on its own, and a notification names the values that met the condition.
The values are fixed when you save. A new value that appears in the data later isn't added automatically; edit the alert to include it.
Filter Rows
Use Only rows where to count only matching rows, such as country is US. You can add up to 10 filters, and a row must match all of them.
Conditions
| Condition | Fires when |
|---|---|
| Crosses a threshold | The metric rises above or falls below a number you set |
| Changes by a percentage | The metric rises by, drops by, or moves by at least that percentage compared with the previous period |
| Changes by an amount | The metric rises by, drops by, or moves by at least that amount compared with the previous period |
| Has no data | No rows arrive for the period, which catches data that has stopped arriving |
Change conditions compare each period with the one right before it: yesterday with the day before, or last week with the week before. A percentage change can't be measured against a previous period of zero, so it doesn't fire then.
When you choose a threshold, the form suggests a starting value from your data. Adjust it while you watch the preview.
Preview How Often It Would Have Fired
The preview runs your rule over the table's recent history, using the same logic as real checks. It shows:
- How many alerts would have been sent in the last 30, 60, or 90 days. Switch between them above the chart.
- A chart of the metric for each period, with the periods that would have fired marked. With Split by, choose which value to chart.
- A warning when the rule would never have fired in the last 90 days, or would have fired in most periods.
The preview updates as you change the rule, so you can tune the threshold before anyone is notified. After you save, the alert page keeps the 90-day count from the moment you saved it.
How Much History the Preview Uses
If the table covers less than the preview needs, Better Analyst pulls up to 90 days of history from the source for the preview, on every plan. This happens automatically and can take a moment.
The preview uses only the history already in the table when:
- The source has a fixed date range
- You've used today's history pulls
- The history pull doesn't finish
When the history is shorter than the window, the preview counts only the days available and says so.