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Create a KPI in a View

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This page applies to business users. It describes how to create and manage KPIs in a process view.

About Process KPIs in views

Users can create custom process KPIs in process view pages. KPIs in views display alongside the process diagram, case attributes, and other process details that help users explore a business process. Users can also generate suggested insights, view saved insights, and manually create insights for KPIs in views. For more information, see Drill Down to Insights.

Each process view comes with a set of system-provided KPIs by default. These KPIs represent the most common ways of tracking process performance and efficiency. You can create your own KPIs in views to track performance for more specific use cases.

Tip:  If you don't need to see your KPI in a view, try creating a KPI by building a report based on process data instead.

Once you create a KPI, you can add it to a dashboard with other KPIs and reports. You can give the KPI a custom name and time range in the dashboard.

To get started, choose how you want to create your KPI:

An example view page showing multiple pinned KPIs

Scroll or drag to pan · ⌘+/⌘− to zoom · Esc to closeAn example view page showing multiple pinned KPIs

KPI types

Users can create the following types of KPIs in process view pages:

KPI

Description

Count

Shows the total number of activities, sequences, or attributes.

Duration

Measure by Time to show how long cases, activities, or sequences are taking.

Measure by SLA to show a count of fulfillments or violations of a Service Level Agreement (SLA) for a process, sequence, or activity.

Aggregation

Shows an aggregated value based on a selected numeric attribute.

Note:  The Aggregation KPI is only available if your process contains a numeric attribute.

Generate a KPI from the process diagram

You can quickly generate a count or duration KPI while exploring your process diagram. You must have Analyst permissions for a process to generate a KPI for that process.

To generate a KPI from the process diagram:

  1. Access a process view.
  2. In the Process Diagram tab of the EXPLORE DATA FOR THIS VIEW section, choose a part of the process:
    • Click a node to create a KPI based on an activity. You can only click on nodes if your event data includes a start timestamp and an end timestamp.
    • Click a connector to create a KPI based on a sequence. A dialog appears, displaying details for the part you selected. For example:
    A dialog showing details for the Financial Review activity and buttons to explore count or explore duration

    Scroll or drag to pan · ⌘+/⌘− to zoom · Esc to closeA dialog showing details for the Financial Review activity and buttons to explore count or explore duration

  3. View the process part details to confirm you want to create a KPI for this part of your process.
  4. Click EXPLORE COUNT or EXPLORE DURATION to create a draft of a KPI.
  5. Click SAVE KPI.

Your new KPI is ready to use, and you can skip the rest of the configuration steps on this page. However, if you want to make any changes, you can edit the definition, filters, reference lines and alerts, and properties.

Create a KPI from a view page

When you create a KPI from a process view page, you'll follow a step-by-step dialog to build your KPI by selecting the type, then configuring the KPI definition, filters, and other settings.

You must have Analyst permissions for a process to create a KPI for that process.

The following sections walk you through the steps to create a KPI:

  1. Start creating a KPI.
  2. Define the KPI.
  3. (Optional) Add a filter.
  4. (Optional) Add reference lines and enable alerts for count KPIs and duration KPIs measuring time.
  5. (Optional) Enable alerts for duration KPIs measuring SLA.
  6. Configure the KPI properties.

Start creating a KPI

First, decide whether you want to create a KPI based on Process HQ's suggestions or whether you want to start from scratch.

To start creating a KPI:

  1. Access a process view.
  2. In the PINNED KPIS section, click CREATE KPI.

  3. Decide how you want to create your KPI:

    • Browse Suggested KPIs. Using your process data, AI suggests some KPIs you may find valuable. If you select a suggested KPI, you can edit the definition and properties in later steps. Suggested KPIs persist for you and your collaborators to select from. If you don't see any suggested KPIs that meet your needs, click REGENERATE to refresh the list of options.

      Tip:  Suggested KPIs are available in select regions.

    • Start from Scratch. Create one of the following KPIs from scratch:

      • Count
      • Duration
      • Aggregation
  4. Click NEXT to continue to the Definition step.

Define the KPI

Once you have started creating a KPI, you'll need to configure the KPI definition. The KPI definition determines what exactly the KPI will measure.

  1. In the Definition step of the dialog, configure the options for the type of KPI you're creating:
  2. Click NEXT to continue to the Filters step.

Count KPI options

Configure the following options to define a count KPI:

Option

Action

Select what you want to count

Select whether you want to count activities, sequences, or case attributes.

Specify what to count

Specify what you want the KPI to count:

  • If you selected Activities, select an activity.
  • If you selected Sequences, select a Sequence Type, Start Activity, and End Activity. Sequence Type may be automatic if you started with a suggested KPI.
  • If you selected Attributes, select an attribute type and value.

Count of

If your KPI is counting activities or sequences, select what you want to count:

  • The number of occurrences.
  • The number of cases with the activity or sequence.

Display as

Select how you want to display the KPI value:

  • Number of occurrences or Number of cases: display the KPI value as a number.
  • Percentage of occurrences in this view or Percentage of cases in this view: display the KPI value as a percentage.

Trend direction

Specify the trend you want for this KPI:

  • If this KPI should have a lower value, select Lower is better.
  • If this KPI should have a higher value, select Higher is better.

Enable Baseline

Click to enable a baseline for this KPI. Then, configure the Label, Baseline Value, and Comparison Format.

Label

(If Baseline is enabled) Enter a name to describe what the baseline represents (for example, "before AI features" or "before Appian").

Baseline Value

(If Baseline is enabled) Enter a baseline value. This value appears on the trend chart so you can easily compare it to the KPI's current performance.

Comparison Format

(If Baseline is enabled) Select the checkboxes to customize how the baseline value displays: Difference or Difference (%).

Duration KPI (Time) options

Configure the following options to define a duration KPI measuring time:

Option

Action

Select which duration you want to track

Select whether you want to track duration for activities, sequences, or cases.

Specify what to track

Specify what you want the KPI to track:

  • If you selected Activity Duration, select an activity.
  • If you selected Sequence Duration, select a Sequence Type, Start Activity, and End Activity. Sequence Type may be automatic if you started with a suggested KPI.

Measurement

Select Time to measure how long it takes to complete activities, sequences, or cases. If you want to measure SLA conformance instead, see Duration KPI (SLA) options.

Aggregation

Select how the KPI aggregates durations:

  • Average
  • Median
  • Sum

Unit

Keep the default Detect automatically to display the appropriate unit of time based on the data, or select a specific unit of time. You must select a specific unit of time if you want to configure a target.

Trend direction

Specify the trend you want for this KPI:

  • If this KPI should have a lower value, select Lower is better.
  • If this KPI should have a higher value, select Higher is better.

Enable Target

Click to enable a target for this KPI. Then, enter the target value.

Enable Baseline

Click to enable a baseline for this KPI. Then, configure the Label, Baseline Value, and Comparison Format.

Label

(If Baseline is enabled) Enter a name to describe what the baseline represents (for example, "before AI features" or "before Appian").

Baseline Value

(If Baseline is enabled) Enter a baseline value. This value appears on the trend chart so you can easily compare it to the KPI's current performance.

Comparison Format

(If Baseline is enabled) Select the checkboxes to customize how the baseline value displays: Difference or Difference (%).

Duration KPI (SLA) options

Configure the following options to define a duration KPI measuring SLA:

Option

Action

Select which duration you want to track

Select whether you want to track duration for activities, sequences, or cases.

Specify what to track

Specify what you want the KPI to track:

  • If you selected Activity Duration, select an activity.
  • If you selected Sequence Duration, select a Sequence Type, Start Activity, and End Activity. Sequence Type may be automatic if you started with a suggested KPI.

Measurement

Select SLA to measure SLA conformance. If you want to measure how long it takes to complete parts of the process instead, see Duration KPI (Time) options.

Duration

Enter a value for the amount of time this part of your process should take.

Unit

Select the unit of time the Duration should be measured in.

Display as

Select whether the KPI value should be displayed as a Number, Percentage, or both.

Count cases by

Specify how this KPI should calculate SLA conformance:

  • Violation: The KPI will measure SLA violations for this process.
  • Fulfillment: The KPI will measure SLA fulfillments for this process.

Enable Baseline

Click to enable a baseline for this KPI. Then, configure the Label, Baseline Value, and Comparison Format.

Label

(If Baseline is enabled) Enter a name to describe what the baseline represents (for example, "before AI features" or "before Appian").

Baseline Value

(If Baseline is enabled) Enter a baseline value. This value appears on the trend chart so you can easily compare it to the KPI's current performance.

Comparison Format

(If Baseline is enabled) Select the checkboxes to customize how the baseline value displays: Difference or Difference (%).

Aggregation KPI options

Configure the following options to define an aggregation KPI:

Option

Action

Select a numeric attribute

Select whether you want to aggregate the numeric attribute by Average, Minimum, Maximum, Median, or Sum.

ADD UNIT

Enter a unit of measurement for the numeric values. For example, this might be a monetary symbol like the Euro (€).

Numeric Attribute

Click SELECT to choose the numeric attribute to aggregate.

Trend direction

Specify the trend you want for this KPI:

  • If this KPI should have a lower value, select Lower is better.
  • If this KPI should have a higher value, select Higher is better.

Enable Baseline

Click to enable a baseline for this KPI. Then, configure the Label, Baseline Value, and Comparison Format.

Label

(If Baseline is enabled) Enter a name to describe what the baseline represents (for example, "before AI features" or "before Appian").

Baseline Value

(If Baseline is enabled) Enter a baseline value. This value appears on the trend chart so you can easily compare it to the KPI's current performance.

Comparison Format

(If Baseline is enabled) Select the checkboxes to customize how the baseline value displays: Difference or Difference (%).

Add a filter

After defining the KPI, you can apply a filter to refine the data included in the KPI. Keep in mind that the KPI inherits the filters that define the associated view.

See the example filters for a list of example filters for different use cases.

To add a filter to a KPI:

  1. In the Filters step of the dialog, click ADD FILTER. The filter properties section displays.

    For example:

    Edit Filters dialog with filter properties displayed

    Scroll or drag to pan · ⌘+/⌘− to zoom · Esc to closeEdit Filters dialog with filter properties displayed

  2. Configure the filter properties. You can filter on cases with a specific attribute, activity, sequence, or duration. See Example filters for details on each filter type.

  3. Review the metrics and preview chart in the KPI Preview section, which update automatically as you make changes to the KPI configuration.

  4. Continue as appropriate:
    • Click SAVE FILTER to save this filter and see the list of filters.
    • Click SAVE AND ADD ANOTHER to save this filter, refresh the filter options, and add another filter.
    • Click REMOVE to cancel adding the filter.

    Tip:  In the filters list, you can edit or remove any filter by clicking the three-dot menu for the filter in the list, then selecting the relevant option.

  5. Repeat these steps to add more filters.
  6. Click NEXT to continue to the next step:

Example filters

Cases with a specific attribute value

Property

Action

Filter Type

Select Characteristic.

Characteristic Type

Select Attribute.

Attribute

Select the name of the attribute you want to filter on.

Operator

Select an appropriate operator:

  • Equals: Cases related to the KPI must have the selected attribute value(s).
  • Does not equal: Cases related to the KPI cannot have the selected attribute value(s).

Attribute Value

Select any values for the attribute you want to filter on.

For example, if you select Country as Attribute, Equals as Operator, and Spain and Italy as Attribute Value, the KPI would filter only cases from Spain or Italy.

Cases with a specific activity

Property

Action

Filter Type

Select Characteristic.

Characteristic Type

Select Activity.

Operator

Select the appropriate operator:

  • Includes all: Cases related to the KPI must include all of the selected activities.
  • Does not include any: Cases related to the KPI cannot include any of the selected activities.

Activities

Select the activities you want to filter on.

For example, if you select Includes all as Operator and KYC Review and Financial Review as Activities, the KPI would filter only cases that include both the KYC Review and Financial Review activities.

Cases with a specific sequence

Property

Action

Filter Type

Select Characteristic.

Characteristic Type

Select Sequence.

Sequence Type

Select one of the following:

  • Direct: In the sequence, the start activity is immediately followed by the end activity. The KPI will filter cases with direct sequences only. For example, Action A to Action C.
  • Indirect: In the sequence, the start activity is followed by the end activity but other activities can occur between them. The KPI will filter cases with both direct (Action A to Action C) and indirect (Action A to Action B to Action C) versions of the sequence.

Operator

Select the appropriate operator:

  • Includes: Cases related to the KPI must include the specified sequence.
  • Does not include: Cases related to the KPI cannot include the specified sequence.

Start Activity

Select the first activity in the sequence you want to filter on.

End Activity

Select the second activity in the sequence you want to filter on.

For example, if you select Direct as Sequence Type, Includes as Operator, KYC Review as Start Activity, and Financial Review as End Activity, the KPI would filter only cases that include the KYC Review to Financial Review sequence.

Case duration

Property

Action

Filter Type

Select Duration.

Duration Type

Select Case.

Operator

Select the appropriate operator:

  • Is longer than: Cases related to the KPI must be longer than the specified duration.
  • Is shorter than: Cases related to the KPI must be shorter than the specified duration.
  • Is longer than or equal to: Cases related to the KPI must be longer than or equal to the specified duration.
  • Is shorter than or equal to: Cases related to the KPI must be shorter than or equal to the specified duration.

Duration

Enter the duration to filter on. This value can only be an integer.

Unit

Select the unit of time for the selected duration. Days is selected by default.

For example, if you select Is longer than as Operator, 3 as Duration, and Days as Unit, the KPI would filter only cases that take longer than 3 days to complete.

Activity duration

Property

Action

Filter Type

Select Duration.

Duration Type

Select Activity.

Activity

Select the activity you want to filter on.

Operator

Select the appropriate operator:

  • Is longer than: The activity duration must be longer than the specified duration.
  • Is shorter than: The activity duration must be shorter than the specified duration.
  • Is longer than or equal to: The activity duration must be longer than or equal to the specified duration.
  • Is shorter than or equal to: The activity duration must be shorter than or equal to the specified duration.

Duration

Enter the duration to filter on. This value can only be an integer.

Unit

Select the unit of time for the selected duration. Days is selected by default.

For example, if you select Financial Review as Activity, Is longer than as Operator, 3 as Duration, and hours as Unit, the KPI would filter only cases with Financial Review activities that take longer than 3 hours to complete.

Sequence duration

Property

Action

Filter Type

Select Duration.

Duration Type

Select Sequence.

Sequence Type

Select one of the following:

  • Direct: In the sequence, the start activity is immediately followed by the end activity. The KPI will filter cases with direct sequences only. For example, Action A to Action C.
  • Indirect: In the sequence, the start activity is followed by the end activity but other activities can occur between them. The KPI will filter cases with both direct (Action A to Action C) and indirect (Action A to Action B to Action C) versions of the sequence.

Start Activity

Select the first activity in the sequence you want to filter on.

End Activity

Select the second activity in the sequence you want to filter on.

Operator

Select the appropriate operator:

  • Is longer than: The sequence duration must be longer than the specified duration.
  • Is shorter than: The sequence duration must be shorter than the specified duration.
  • Is longer than or equal to: The sequence duration must be longer than or equal to the specified duration.
  • Is shorter than or equal to: The sequence duration must be shorter than or equal to the specified duration.

Duration

Enter the duration to filter on. This value can only be an integer.

Unit

Select the unit of time for the selected duration. Days is selected by default.

For example, you might select KYC Review as Start Activity, and Financial Review as End Activity. Then, you might select Is longer than as Operator, 3 as Duration, and Days as Unit. With these selections, the KPI would filter only cases with KYC Review to Financial Review sequences that take 3 days or more to complete.

Add reference lines and enable alerts

After defining the KPI and adding filters, you can add references lines to count KPIs and duration KPIs measuring time.

Reference lines appear in the KPI trend graph to give users additional context for the KPI's performance. You can also configure reference lines to trigger monthly alerts so users subscribed to the KPI can stay informed when the KPI value crosses specific thresholds.

To add reference lines to a count KPI or duration KPI measuring time:

  1. In the Reference Lines step of the dialog, click Add Reference Line.
  2. For Name, enter a name for the reference line. This name will appear as a label in the KPI trend graph.
  3. For Value, enter the value. This value can specify the number of cases or occurrences, depending on the unit of analysis for the KPI.
  4. Select a Line Color and Line Style to customize the appearance of the reference line.

  5. To allow users to subscribe to email alerts related to this reference line, select the Enable Alerts checkbox.

    Note:  You can only enable alerts if the process has scheduled updates.

  6. Click Add Reference Line to add and configure more reference lines as needed.
  7. Click NEXT to continue to the Properties step.

Enable alerts for SLA KPIs

After defining the KPI and adding filters, you can enable alerts for duration KPIs measuring SLA.

To enable alerts for a duration KPI measuring SLA:

  1. In the Alerts step of the dialog, select the Enable Alerts checkbox.

    Note:  You can only enable alerts if the process has scheduled updates.

  2. The Subscribe to alerts for this KPI checkbox is selected by default. Click to unselect the checkbox if you don't want to subscribe.
  3. Click NEXT to continue to the Properties step.

Configure KPI properties

When you're ready to save your KPI, configure the KPI properties.

  1. In the Properties step of the dialog, configure the following options:
    • For Name, enter a unique name for the KPI.
    • (Optional) For Description, enter a brief description for the KPI.
    • (Optional) To unpin the KPI from the current view, clear the Pin KPI checkbox.
  2. Click CREATE. Process HQ creates the KPI and applies the KPI filters to the data you're seeing.

Access a KPI in a view

You can easily access any pinned KPI by clicking on the KPI in the PINNED KPIS section of the process view page. You can find KPIs that aren't pinned in the All KPIs tab.

To access a KPI in a process view page:

  1. Access the view associated with the KPI.

  2. Go to the All KPIs tab of the EXPLORE DATA FOR THIS VIEW section of the page. This tab contains a list of all KPIs associated with the current view.

    For example:

    All KPIs tab in a process view, listing three KPIs

    Scroll or drag to pan · ⌘+/⌘− to zoom · Esc to closeAll KPIs tab in a process view, listing three KPIs

  3. (Optional) Search by KPI name or description.
  4. In the KPI list, click the name of the KPI you want to access.

Process HQ applies the KPI filters to the data you're viewing. The header of the Process Insights page will contain common elements like the count of cases associated with the current exploration level. It will also include KPI elements, the date of the last process update, and the number of insights related to the KPI.

Subscribe to a KPI

You can subscribe to duration KPIs and count KPIs to receive email alerts about your business processes.

For duration KPIs measuring SLA, subscribers will receive alerts if there are any SLA violations in the previous month.

For count KPIs and duration KPIs measuring time, alerts trigger for all reference lines that have alerts enabled. Subscribers receive alerts if the KPI exceeded or fell below reference line values in the previous month.

  • If the KPI's Trend direction is set to Lower is better, subscribers are alerted when the KPI value exceeds the reference line.
  • If the KPI's Trend direction is set to Higher is better, subscribers are alerted when the KPI value falls below the reference line.

Any user with at least Viewer permissions for a process can subscribe to KPIs for that process. Email alerts are only available for user-created duration KPIs and count KPIs with alerts enabled.

To allow users to subscribe to KPIs:

  1. Schedule process updates.
  2. Enable outbound emails in the Admin Console.
  3. Enable alerts for the KPI:

To subscribe to a KPI:

  1. Access a view.
  2. Go to either the PINNED KPIS section or the All KPIs tab.
  3. Click the bell icon for the KPI you want to subscribe to.

Manage KPIs

You can pin KPIs to the process view page so users can quickly see the most relevant or frequently used KPIs for the view. Pinned KPIs are pinned for all users accessing the view. All user-created and system-provided KPIs are pinned by default, but you can unpin them as needed.

You must have Analyst permissions for a process to delete a KPI associated with the process. You cannot delete system-provided KPIs.

Note:  When you delete a KPI, you also delete any insights related to that KPI.

You must have Analyst permissions for a process to edit the definition, filters, references lines, alerts, or properties for a KPI associated with the process. You cannot edit system-provided KPIs.

Note:  Editing a KPI definition may make saved insights related to the KPI inaccurate or read-only. For example, you can change the activity or sequence that a count KPI is tracking, but saved insights will reflect counts of the original activity or sequence.

KPI permissions

You can manage KPIs based on process permissions and whether the KPI is system-provided or user-created KPIs, as summarized in the table below.

Task

System-provided KPIs

User-created KPIs

View a KPI

🅐 Ⓥ

🅐 Ⓥ

View KPI definition

–

🅐 Ⓥ

View KPI filters

–

🅐 Ⓥ

View KPI reference lines and alerts

–

🅐 Ⓥ

View KPI properties

🅐 Ⓥ

🅐 Ⓥ

Create a KPI

🅐

🅐

Pin/unpin KPI

🅐

🅐

Edit KPI definition

🅐

🅐

Edit KPI filters

🅐

🅐

Edit KPI reference lines and alerts

🅐

🅐

Edit KPI properties

🅐

🅐

Subscribe to a KPI

–

🅐 Ⓥ

Delete a KPI

🅐

🅐

Start drilling down

🅐 (Average Case Duration only)

🅐 (Count or Duration only)

Legend: 🅐 = Process Analyst; Ⓥ = Process Viewer

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