Understanding the Metrics Bucketing and Avoiding Bucket Misclassification

Issue:

When defining metrics buckets, such as < 3 days and 4 to 6 days, cases that have been open for exactly 3 days may appear under the 4 to 6 days bucket instead of < 3 days. This behavior can cause confusion and inaccurate reporting.

(Note: The above screenshot is an example of overlapping bucket classification)

Reason:

This behavior is due to the inclusive boundary logic used in bucketing. With this logic:

• The upper boundary of one bucket (e.g., 3 days) is excluded from that bucket.
• Cases with durations that precisely meet the boundary value (e.g., exactly 3 days or 5 days) are counted in the next bucket.

For example:

• A case open for 3 days and 5 hours:
  • Is not included in < 3 days.
  • Falls under the 4 to 6 days bucket.
• Even though the case is displayed as "open for 3 days," it does not qualify for < 3 days due to the boundary logic.

Recommendation:

To avoid such issues, use overlapping buckets in your metrics configuration. Overlapping buckets ensure that cases are captured consistently across intervals, accounting for edge cases caused by inclusive boundary logic.

Suggested Bucket Configuration

Instead of configuring buckets as:

• < 3 days
• 4 to 7 days

Adjust to:

• < 3 days
• 3 to 7 days

Conclusion:

By switching to overlapping buckets, you avoid the ambiguity and ensure accurate reporting.